What LACO Associates does

LACO Associates is a privately held, multi-disciplinary civil engineering and consulting firm founded in 1954 and headquartered in Eureka, California. The firm delivers integrated professional services across four practice areas—land surveying (including geospatial/LiDAR and drone-based aerial photogrammetry), civil engineering and site design, planning/permitting and environmental compliance consulting (CEQA/NEPA), and grant writing and funding development. It primarily serves government-adjacent buyers in rural Northern California: federally recognized tribal governments, counties, municipalities, and special districts, with a secondary segment of private developers. Named clients include the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, County of Mendocino, City of Ukiah, City of Fort Bragg, the Yurok Tribe, and Open Door Community Health Centers.

The business model is fee-for-service professional consulting sold on a project-by-project basis, with quote-based, project-specific pricing (e.g., a FEMA Elevation Certificate base fee starting at $1,500). Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, leveraging six-plus decades of local relationships, referrals from tribal leaders and municipal officials, and direct engagement with government agencies. A distinguishing commercial mechanic is the firm's grant writing capability, which secures federal, state, and private funding (CDBG, FEMA, USDA, BIA, IHS, HUD programs) for resource-constrained public clients—reportedly tens of millions of dollars in aggregate, including $9.8M for Open Door Community Health Centers—thereby funding the downstream engineering and planning work LACO also performs.

Operationally, LACO runs four California offices (Eureka HQ, Ukiah, Santa Rosa, Chico) plus remote staff in several other states. In March 2023 it became majority Native-owned when Rod Wilburn (Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians) became majority owner and Chairman; Mike Nelson has served as President/CEO since 2016. The firm is a Certified California Small Business. Its core assets are its licensed and certified professional staff (civil engineers, AICP planners, licensed surveyors, certified grant writers) and its established agency relationships rather than any software, IP, or platform technology.

Name

LACO Associates

Legal name

LACO Associates

Website

https://lacoassociates.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

LACO Associates is a Native-owned civil engineering and consulting firm serving Northern California tribal governments, counties, municipalities, and special districts with land surveying, civil engineering, environmental planning/permitting, and grant writing services on a project-based fee-for-service basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civil Engineering Consulting

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Construction - Special Trade Contractors (1700)

akta.pro primary industry

Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Construction Management & Delivery (EPCM/CMAR/Design-Build Oversight) (EUANALAE)

Keywords

• Civil engineering consulting
• Land surveying services
• Environmental planning permitting
• Grant writing services
• Site design engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

Eureka

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Consulting Services: Fee-for-service professional consulting for land surveying, civil engineering, planning, permitting, environmental compliance, and grant writing services. Services are provided on a project-by-project basis to tribal governments, municipalities, special districts, and private clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

LACO Associates is a Native-owned multi-disciplinary consulting firm providing professional land surveying, civil engineering, planning/permitting/environmental compliance, and grant writing services for tribal, municipal, and private clients in Northern California. Services are delivered by licensed civil engineers, AICP-certified planners, licensed land surveyors, and certified grant writers as integrated project teams that shepherd projects from concept through construction.

Product overview

LACO Associates is a Native-owned, multi-disciplinary consulting firm offering an integrated portfolio of professional services centered around four core practice areas: Land Surveying (including Geospatial/LiDAR capabilities), Civil Engineering (with Site Design), Planning Permitting and Environmental Compliance Consulting, and Grant Writing & Funding Development. The firm also specializes in Tribal Communities services. Rather than a single software product or platform, LACO provides comprehensive consulting services where these disciplines work collaboratively, allowing clients to access survey, engineering, planning, and grant expertise through one firm. Services are delivered through four California offices (Eureka, Ukiah, Santa Rosa, Chico) with staff working both on-site and remotely.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Land Surveying Services Professional land surveying services including boundary establishment, topographic mapping, construction staking, ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys, FEMA elevation certificates, subdivision maps, and records of survey for government, tribal, and private clients.
• Geospatial and LiDAR Surveying Advanced geospatial services including aerial photogrammetry, LiDAR, and drone surveys for detailed terrain mapping and data collection.
• Civil Engineering Comprehensive civil engineering services including infrastructure improvements, transportation facilities, subdivisions, public utilities, water resources engineering, stormwater management, and construction observation for government, tribal, and private clients.
• Site Design Site design services for commercial, residential, and mixed-use developments including site selection assistance, entitlement processing, design, construction documents, and construction management.
• Planning Permitting and Environmental Compliance Consulting Environmental planning and permitting services including CEQA/NEPA compliance documents, environmental impact reports, master site plans, and regulatory compliance for land development projects.
• Grant Writing & Funding Development Grant writing and funding development services helping tribal, municipal, and special district clients secure funding from state, federal, and private sources including CDBG, FEMA, USDA, and various California state agencies.
• Tribal Communities Services Specialized services for tribal governments including infrastructure development, transportation, community development, economic development, natural resource management, water/wastewater systems, and grant funding support.
• Elevation Certificate Survey Service FEMA Elevation Certificate survey service used to certify building elevations for floodplain compliance, with a base fee starting at $1,500.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $9.8 million secured for Open Door Community Health Centers
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Crawford & AssociatesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 October 2023LACO transitioned its Geology and Materials Testing & Inspection services in the Santa Rosa, Ukiah, and Eureka areas to Crawford & Associates, a Sacramento-based Geotechnical consulting firm. This allows LACO to sharpen focus on core consulting services while Crawford & Associates expands presence on the North Coast with new offices in Eureka, Ukiah, and Santa Rosa.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Psomas: West Coast engineering, surveying, and planning consulting firm with comparable multi-disciplinary delivery to public agencies, utilities, and private developers, sharing LACO's core service mix.
• LSA Associates: California-based multi-disciplinary consulting firm offering planning, environmental, civil engineering, and survey services to public agencies — closely mirrors LACO's integrated service model and government client base.
• BKF Engineers: California-headquartered civil engineering, surveying, and land planning firm serving municipalities, agencies, and private developers — a direct functional match for LACO's core services.
• Coastland Civil Engineering: Northern California municipal engineering and building department services firm serving cities, counties, and special districts — overlaps directly with LACO's municipal/city government segment.
• R.E.Y. Engineers: California-based civil engineering and land surveying firm serving Northern and Central California public agencies and private developers, comparable to LACO in scope and regional focus.
• SHN Consulting Engineers & Geologists: Northern California engineering, surveying, and environmental services firm — closely comparable in geography, service mix, and tribal/community client base, and a known prior employer of LACO's senior surveyor.

Broad incumbents

• NV5 Global: U.S. infrastructure, environmental, and geospatial consulting firm whose service portfolio (surveying, civil engineering, environmental) competes with LACO and has acquired multiple regional survey/engineering firms to scale.
• Tetra Tech: Global engineering and environmental consulting firm whose water, environmental planning, and infrastructure groups directly overlap LACO's environmental compliance and water/wastewater engineering services.
• Stantec: Global multi-disciplinary engineering, environmental, and planning consultancy whose infrastructure and environmental practices compete for the same municipal and tribal engineering engagements as LACO at a much larger scale.

Regional players

• Dibble & Associates: Arizona-based civil engineering and surveying firm serving municipalities and tribal communities — comparable service model to LACO with tribal government as a primary client segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/laco_associates
• Facebookfacebook.com/lacoassociates
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/laco-associates
• Instagraminstagram.com/laco.associates

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 LACO Associates