AES Consulting Group
AES Consulting Group is a privately held, employee-owned Virginia civil engineering and land planning firm founded in 1980, delivering integrated civil engineering, surveying, land planning, landscape architecture, and municipal utilities services across four Virginia offices to developers, homebuilders, municipalities, healthcare, and military clients.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1980
- HeadquartersWilliamsburg, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What AES Consulting Group does
AES Consulting Group (legal name: AES Consulting Engineers) is a privately held, employee-owned civil engineering and land planning firm founded in 1980 in Williamsburg, Virginia, by Paul Small. The firm delivers five integrated service lines — civil engineering, land planning, surveying, landscape architecture, and municipal utilities — to property developers, home builders, municipalities, healthcare and senior living operators, and government/military clients across Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic. Operations span four offices (Williamsburg, Richmond, Chesapeake, Harrisonburg) with 60+ professionals including project managers, civil engineers, landscape architects, land surveyors, designers, and field staff. The firm uses Trimble GPS equipment (5800 and R10 receivers, Robotic Total Stations, VX Scanning Total Stations) and AutoCAD Civil 3D with wirelessly integrated field tablets to provide an end-to-end field-to-office survey and design workflow, including 3D modeling, machine control data preparation, and site visualization renderings.
AES operates a project-based, sales-led professional services model with revenue earned through one-time design and construction administration fees rather than recurring contracts. Pricing is determined per engagement based on scope and complexity, and the firm is employee-owned (not an ESOP) with shareholders drawn exclusively from active employees who receive annual distributions tied to company performance. Growth has been driven by a recurring 8-9 year cadence of acqui-hires of small regional firms — Sutton & James (2005), Engineering Resources Group (2014), and Blackwell Engineering (2022) — each opening a new regional office. Notable enterprise clients include Lennar, Oxford Properties, Andor Development, Westmoreland Development, and Frye Properties, alongside healthcare projects such as Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital and Quantico Corporate Center for military/defense use.
The competitive position rests on long-tenured technical talent (managers averaging ~80% career-equivalent experience; multiple Virginia Tech PE staff with full-career tenure at AES), deep jurisdictional knowledge in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic, and an employee-ownership model that aligns incentives with client outcomes. The firm has been recognized regionally as a Best Place to Work for four consecutive years through 2026. Leadership transitioned from founder Paul Small to Richard Costello to Arch Marston and currently Jason Noah (President since 2019), reflecting a planned succession discipline.
AES Consulting Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- AES Consulting Group
- Legal name
- AES Consulting Engineers
- Website
- https://aesva.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1980
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- AES Consulting Group is a privately held, employee-owned Virginia civil engineering and land planning firm founded in 1980, delivering integrated civil engineering, surveying, land planning, landscape architecture, and municipal utilities services across four Virginia offices to developers, homebuilders, municipalities, healthcare, and military clients.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
AES Consulting Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Civil Engineering Services
- NAICS
- Engineering Services (54133), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Other Specialized Design Services (54149)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering Services (8711)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Real Estate Development & Feasibility Advisory (Highest-and-Best-Use, Entitlements Support) (BPAJANAC)
Keywords
Where AES Consulting Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Williamsburg
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
AES Consulting Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Professional Engineering Services: AES generates revenue through project-based professional engineering and consulting service engagements including civil engineering, land planning, surveying, landscape architecture, and municipal utilities design. Revenue is earned through one-time project fees for design services and construction administration rather than recurring contracts.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Project-based professional services |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
AES Consulting Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
AES Consulting Engineers is a civil engineering and land planning firm that delivers integrated site development services including civil engineering design, land planning, surveying, landscape architecture, and municipal utilities design. Services span subdivision design, site plan design, stormwater management, utility design, entitlement support, and construction administration, delivered through project-based professional engagements for developers, municipalities, home builders, and commercial real estate clients across Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic.
Product overview
AES Consulting Engineers is a civil engineering and land planning firm that operates as a unified service-based business rather than a software product company. The company offers five core service areas: Civil Engineering (site design, subdivision design, utilities, stormwater management), Land Planning (master planning, feasibility studies, entitlement support, rezoning), Surveying (boundary, topographic, ALTA surveys, construction stakeout), Landscape Architecture (planting, hardscape, streetscape, signage design), and Municipal Utilities (water/wastewater systems, pumping stations, drainage). These services are delivered through project-based consulting engagements rather than software products or modules.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Civil Engineering Civil site design services for residential subdivisions, commercial site plans, and mixed-use developments, including site plan design, subdivision design, road design, water and sanitary sewer system design, stormwater management, site grading, dam analysis, value engineering, and construction administration. Delivered to developers, builders, municipalities, and commercial clients across Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic.
- Land Planning Land planning services including site analysis, feasibility studies, master planning, conceptual layouts, entitlement process support, rezoning support, zoning consultation, permitting assistance, flood studies, photo simulations, marketing and illustrative plans, and 3D visualizations and renderings. Delivered to developers, builders, and municipalities planning residential, commercial, and mixed-use projects.
- Surveying Comprehensive design and construction surveying services including boundary surveys, topographic surveys, ALTA/ACSM land title surveys, riparian surveys, archaeological site mapping, subsurface utility mapping, environmental assessment mapping, large area control networks for photogrammetry, construction stakeout and layout, as-built surveys, volumetric surveys, settlement monitoring, GPS control site calibrations, and 3D modeling and data preparation for GPS machine control. Performed for developers, builders, contractors, architects, and municipalities.
- Landscape Architecture Landscape architecture services including planting design, hardscape design, streetscape design, lighting plan design, signage and monumentation design, urban plaza design, neighborhood parks design, and recreation design. Delivered alongside civil engineering and land planning for developers and municipalities.
- Municipal Utilities Municipal utilities design services including water distribution systems, wastewater collection systems, water and wastewater pumping stations, storm drainage systems, and stormwater management facilities. Delivered to municipalities and public authorities across Virginia.
Quantifiable outcome
- High client satisfaction as evidenced by multiple positive testimonials from major developers
Companies that use AES Consulting Group
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
AES Consulting Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
AES Consulting Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Blackwell EngineeringcoreBlackwell Engineering joined AES to create the Harrisonburg Office, expanding operations into the Shenandoah Valley region.
- Engineering Resources Group (ERG)coreEngineering Resources Group joined AES, bringing additional capabilities and team members to the organization.
- Sutton & JamesminorSutton & James joined AES to create the Gloucester Office, expanding AES's presence in Gloucester County.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
AES Consulting Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Kimley-Horn: One of the largest U.S. engineering consultancies with a full civil engineering, land planning, and surveying practice serving real estate developers and municipalities. Highly comparable service mix to AES but with national scale and significantly broader capability breadth.
- VHB: Mid-Atlantic-headquartered engineering, planning, and design firm with a strong land development, transportation, and environmental practice. Comparable to AES on real estate development and municipal infrastructure work, but with much broader service breadth.
- Clark Nexsen: Mid-Atlantic architecture, engineering, and planning firm with civil/site engineering, surveying, and landscape architecture capabilities. Comparable to AES on developer and government clients, with broader architecture and structural service breadth.
- Bowman Consulting Group: Publicly traded engineering and consulting firm with civil engineering, land planning, and surveying services, growing heavily through acquisitions of regional civil firms. Acquired-firm model parallels AES's growth strategy, but at much larger scale.
- Colliers Engineering (formerly Maser Consulting): Multi-discipline engineering consultancy (acquired by Colliers) offering civil/site design, surveying, landscape architecture, and municipal services to developers and municipalities nationwide. Similar service mix to AES and similar acquisitive regional growth pattern.
Direct peers
- Bohler Engineering: Site/civil engineering and land surveying consultancy focused on land development for commercial, residential, and institutional clients. Closest direct peer to AES in terms of service mix, customer base (developers and homebuilders), and regional growth model via acquisitions.
- Pennoni: Mid-Atlantic-based engineering consultancy offering civil/site design, surveying, landscape architecture, and municipal services comparable to AES's five core service lines. Similar scale and geographic focus across the Eastern U.S.
- Timmons Group: Richmond, Virginia-based civil engineering and surveying firm serving real estate developers, homebuilders, and municipalities. Most direct geographic overlap with AES, both headquartered/operating across Virginia with similar mid-market land development work.
- Draper Aden Associates: Virginia-based engineering, surveying, and environmental services firm serving private developers and public clients throughout the Mid-Atlantic. Comparable scale and full-service land development capabilities to AES.
- McKim & Creed: Mid-Atlantic/Southeast engineering firm providing surveying, civil/site design, and land planning for residential, commercial, and municipal clients. Directly comparable service portfolio and mid-market private-firm positioning to AES.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
AES Consulting Group social profiles
Digital presenceAES Consulting Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
AES Consulting Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
AES Consulting Group subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
AES Consulting Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
AES Consulting Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about AES Consulting Group
What does AES Consulting Group do?
AES Consulting Engineers is a civil engineering and land planning firm that delivers integrated site development services including civil engineering design, land planning, surveying, landscape architecture, and municipal utilities design. Services span subdivision design, site plan design, stormwater management, utility design, entitlement support, and construction administration, delivered through project-based professional engagements for developers, municipalities, home builders, and commercial real estate clients across Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic.
Is AES Consulting Group a public or private company?
AES Consulting Group is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was AES Consulting Group founded?
AES Consulting Group was founded in 1980. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is AES Consulting Group based?
AES Consulting Group is headquartered in Williamsburg, United States, in the North America region.
How does AES Consulting Group make money?
One revenue line is on record: professional Engineering Services.
Who are AES Consulting Group's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Kimley-Horn, VHB, Clark Nexsen, Bowman Consulting Group and Colliers Engineering (formerly Maser Consulting). Direct peers are Bohler Engineering, Pennoni, Timmons Group, Draper Aden Associates and McKim & Creed.
Does AES Consulting Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for AES Consulting Group.
What industry is AES Consulting Group in?
AES Consulting Group's product category is Civil Engineering Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAIAA, Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting, with a secondary code of BPAJANAC, Real Estate Development & Feasibility Advisory (Highest-and-Best-Use, Entitlements Support). Its NAICS code is 54133 and its SIC code is 8711.