Gourdie Fraser Inc.

What Gourdie Fraser Inc. does

Gourdie Fraser, Inc. (GFA) is an employee-owned civil engineering and surveying consulting firm established in 1948 in Traverse City, Michigan, and headquartered today at 1820 Oak Hollow Drive. The firm was originally founded as John C. Norton & Associates, passed through the Norton and Kobbins, Inc. era, and adopted the Gourdie-Fraser name in the early 1970s before merging with Pearson & Case Associates in February 2000. GFA operates a single integrated practice organized around four service lines: civil engineering, surveying, wastewater and drinking water operations and maintenance, and geographic information systems (GIS), supported by an in-house materials testing laboratory.

GFA delivers municipal engineering, transportation engineering, site development, shoreline stabilization, parks and recreation, and construction services using a standard industry technology stack including AutoCAD Civil3D, Bentley OpenRoads, ProjectWise, FieldManager, WaterCad, SewerCad, EPA-SWMM, HEC-HMS, and HEC-RAS. Its surveying practice combines land surveying with a hydrographic fleet of three vessels plus a remote-controlled echoboat carrying single- and multi-beam SONAR, UAV/drone mapping achieving sub-3 cm accuracy with GPS base station, robotic total stations, digital levels, GPR, and GPS units. The firm holds 17 Michigan Department of Transportation pre-qualifications enabling it to perform construction engineering and inspection on state and Federally funded road projects, alongside MDOT Local Agency Program work, NRCS-funded stream crossing projects, and grand-scale initiatives such as the $24.7 million Grandview Parkway Reconstruction.

GFA's commercial model is project-based professional services billed to municipalities, road commissions, townships, tribal governments, conservation districts, and private developers across Northern Michigan, with revenue generated primarily through engineering fees, surveying fees, construction observation, materials testing, and 24/7 water/wastewater operations contracts. It is owned by active working employees through a profit-sharing and ownership opportunity program, with no external parent company, private equity, or venture capital ownership indicated. Customer acquisition is relationship-driven: long-tenured engineer-of-record engagements (City of Clare for over 50 years, Northport Point for 17 years, Benzie County Road Commission since 2016), a Bid Center for project procurement, and active membership in MSPE, NSPS, ACEC, APWA, AWWA, ASCE, Michigan Water Environment Association, and the Builders Exchange of Northwest Michigan.

Name

Gourdie Fraser Inc.

Legal name

Gourdie Fraser, Inc.

Website

https://gfa.tc

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gourdie Fraser, Inc. is an employee-owned civil engineering and surveying consulting firm founded in 1948, headquartered in Traverse City, Michigan. It provides engineering, surveying, construction services, GIS, and water/wastewater operations to municipalities and private developers across Northern Michigan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Traverse City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Professional Engineering Consulting Services: GFA provides civil engineering, surveying, construction services, geographic information systems (GIS), and wastewater/drinking water operations and maintenance as professional consulting services to municipal and private clients on a project basis.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

GFA is a full-service civil engineering and surveying consulting firm that delivers municipal and transportation engineering, land and hydrographic surveying, construction engineering and observation, geographic information systems (GIS), and wastewater and drinking water operations and maintenance. Services are contracted directly with municipalities, road commissions, townships, and private developers across Northern Michigan on a project basis, supported by 17 MDOT pre-qualifications and an in-house materials testing laboratory.

Product overview

Gourdie Fraser, Inc. (GFA) is a full-service civil engineering and surveying consulting firm established in 1948. The company operates as a single integrated practice offering civil engineering services (municipal engineering, shoreline stabilization, parks and recreation, site development, transportation engineering, and construction services), surveying services (land surveying, hydrographic surveying, energy surveying, and specialized services including UAV/drone surveying), wastewater and drinking water operations and maintenance, and geographic information systems (GIS). The firm holds 17 MDOT pre-qualifications and employs over 30 professionals serving municipalities and private clients across Northern Michigan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Civil Engineering Services

Quantifiable outcome

• MDOT's $24.7 million Grandview Parkway Reconstruction completed as largest infrastructure improvement project to date in Northwest Michigan region
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Little Traverse Bay of Odawa IndianscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGFA partnered with the Little Traverse Bay of Odawa Indians on stream crossing replacement projects including the Lake Shore Drive Over Wycamp Creek Timber Bridge and Lower Shore Drive Over Five Mile Creek Box Culvert. These NRCS-funded projects required collaboration between GFA's engineering services and the tribal community's needs.
• Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGFA maintains 17 MDOT pre-qualifications and provides construction engineering services on MDOT projects including the $24.7 million Grandview Parkway Reconstruction, I-75 Ultra-Thin Overlay, M-55 Bridge, and Iron Belle Trail. The firm has extensive experience with MDOT LAP (Local Agency Program) processes.
• Grand Traverse Conservation DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGFA has partnered with the Grand Traverse Conservation District on multiple projects including the Ottaway Crossing pedestrian bridge connecting trail systems following the Sabin Dam removal, and the Brown Bridge Quiet Area Pedestrian Bridge. GFA team members also volunteered with the district to assist in bridge installation.
• Paddle AntrimminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGFA worked with Paddle Antrim (501(C)3 nonprofit) and the Village of Elk Rapids to develop engineering plans for improvements to Elk Rapids Rotary Park, providing universally accessible non-motorized access to the Chain of Lakes Water Trail. GFA assisted in securing grants from Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Wade Trim: Michigan-headquartered civil engineering and consulting firm serving municipal clients statewide. Directly comparable in target market (Michigan municipalities), service mix (civil engineering, surveying, water/wastewater), and project scale, though Wade Trim operates with a larger professional headcount across more offices.
• OHM Advisors: Michigan-based engineering, architecture, and planning firm with strong municipal and MDOT practice. Directly comparable in serving Michigan local governments with infrastructure, transportation, and water/wastewater engineering services.
• Fleis & VandenBrink: Michigan-based full-service engineering firm with strong municipal water/wastewater, transportation, and surveying practice. Highly comparable in target clients (Michigan municipalities), service offerings, and project types including MDOT work.
• Spicer Group: Michigan-headquartered engineering, surveying, and construction services firm serving municipalities and private developers. Comparable in civil engineering and surveying focus, MDOT pre-qualifications, and municipal client base.
• ROWE Professional Services: Michigan-based multi-disciplinary firm providing civil engineering, surveying, and landscape architecture. Closely comparable in serving Northern Michigan municipalities with similar municipal and land development services.
• Prein&Newhof: Michigan civil engineering and surveying firm specializing in municipal water/wastewater, transportation, and site development. Comparable scale, geography, and service mix, including surveying and engineering for Michigan municipalities.
• Mannik & Smith Group: Michigan/Ohio-based civil engineering and environmental consulting firm serving municipal clients. Comparable in water/wastewater infrastructure, MDOT work, and surveying capabilities, with similar scale and footprint.
• Abonmarche: Michigan/Indiana engineering and surveying firm strong in shoreline, marine, and waterfront projects. Comparable in hydrographic surveying capabilities and waterfront/municipality client base, particularly in coastal Great Lakes markets.

Broad incumbents

• DLZ: National engineering, architecture, and surveying firm active across the Midwest including Michigan. Comparable in surveying, transportation engineering, and municipal infrastructure, though larger and broader in geographic and service scope than GFA.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting firm with substantial Michigan presence in transportation, water, and environmental engineering. Overlaps significantly with GFA on large MDOT and municipal projects, though operates at vastly greater scale and broader service portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/michigrants
• Facebookfacebook.com/gfafan
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gourdie-fraser-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gourdie Fraser Inc.