CTI Engineers, Inc.

What CTI Engineers, Inc. does

CTI Engineers, Inc. is a 100% employee-owned civil engineering consulting firm founded in 1991 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, specializing in the planning, design, permitting, and construction management of municipal and private water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure. The firm operates across seven integrated service areas — Wastewater Treatment, Water Treatment, Collection & Distribution, Storm Water, Site & Civil, Environmental, and Solid Waste — delivered from five branch offices in Chattanooga, Nashville and Knoxville (Tennessee), Akron (Ohio), and Cartersville (Georgia). Its technical toolkit includes hydraulic and transient pressure modeling, GIS mapping, SCADA/telemetry systems design, membrane filtration, and Integrated Fixed-Film Activated Sludge (IFAS) nutrient removal, with a documented track record of complex projects including Tennessee River waterline crossings, a 140 MGD wastewater treatment plant, and the first IFAS installation in Ohio.

The firm generates revenue through project-based professional services fees, with individual engagements ranging from approximately $51,000 to over $30 million, sourced primarily through municipal RFPs, public bidding, and direct relationship-based selling. Its customer base is dominated by municipal governments (cities, water and sewerage authorities, counties), supplemented by state agencies (Ohio DNR, Tennessee STREAM) and private utilities such as Tennessee American Water. CTI maintains close working relationships with regulatory and funding partners including Ohio EPA, TDEC, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Economic Development Administration, and the Ohio Water Development Authority. The company is led by an executive team drawn from its founding engineers, with average employee tenure exceeding 15 years and a deliberate leadership succession culminating in Dave Kohlmeier's appointment as third CEO in 2026.

Name

CTI Engineers, Inc.

Legal name

CTI Engineers, Inc.

Website

https://ctiengr.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CTI Engineers is a 100% employee-owned civil engineering consulting firm providing planning, design, and construction management services for municipal water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure across the southeastern United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civil Engineering Consulting

NAICS

Engineering Services (54133)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Instrumentation, Controls & Automation Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAM)

Keywords

• Civil engineering consulting
• Water treatment design
• Wastewater infrastructure
• Stormwater management
• Municipal infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Chattanooga

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Engineering Consulting Services: Professional engineering services including planning, design, permitting, and construction phase services for municipal water, wastewater, stormwater, and civil infrastructure projects. Revenue is generated through project-based consulting fees, typically on a per-project basis for government and private sector clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CTI Engineers is an employee-owned civil engineering consulting firm that provides planning, design, permitting, and construction management services for municipal and private water, wastewater, stormwater, and civil infrastructure projects. The firm delivers end-to-end engineering services from concept through construction completion, operating through five branch offices in Tennessee, Ohio, and Georgia.

Product overview

CTI Engineers, Inc. is an employee-owned civil engineering consulting firm offering specialized infrastructure services across seven integrated practice areas. The core service portfolio includes Wastewater Treatment, Water Treatment, Collection & Distribution, Storm Water, Site & Civil, Environmental, and Solid Waste services. These services work together to provide comprehensive municipal and private infrastructure solutions—from initial planning through design, permitting, construction, and operations support—focused on sustainable water, wastewater, and storm water infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wastewater Treatment
• Water Treatment Water treatment services including membrane and conventional treatment, water source development, water quality studies, SCADA and telemetry systems, and sludge disposal for ensuring communities have access to clean, safe drinking water.
• Collection & Distribution Infrastructure services for wastewater collection and drinking water distribution systems including river crossings, GIS mapping, hydraulic modeling, master planning, water source development, waterlines, storage reservoirs, pump and lift stations, sewer rehabilitation, and system design.
• Storm Water Storm water management solutions including post-construction management, drainage basins, detention systems, water quality controls, spillways, FEMA certifications, and HEC modeling for resilient community infrastructure.
• Site & Civil Site planning and development services including site selection, remediation, access design, stormwater management, utilities planning, multi-use paths, campground facilities, and parks and recreation facilities.
• Environmental Environmental consulting services including source water evaluations, stream determinations, wetland delineation, stream restoration, erosion control, soils evaluations, hydrologic assessments, and permitting assistance.
• Solid Waste Solid waste management engineering including permitting, new facilities design, expansion, support facilities, leachate collection, gas collection, groundwater monitoring, and closure/post-closure planning.

Quantifiable outcome

• 35+ years of continuous service since 1991
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 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

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• Ohio EPAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCTI works closely with Ohio EPA for project approvals and funding assistance. For the Village of Bellaire project, CTI coordinated with Ohio EPA to secure 50% principal forgiveness through the WSRLA program. Ohio EPA approved alternative treatment approaches and provided regulatory guidance for various water treatment projects.
• TAM ConstructioncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCTI partners with TAM Construction under the Design-Build model for Ohio state park camping facility upgrades. This partnership has delivered improvements across 25 Ohio state parks, with CTI providing engineering design and TAM handling construction.
• Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTDEC requires public water systems to expand design capacity when reaching 80% utilization. CTI assists clients with TDEC permitting and regulatory compliance for water treatment plant expansions and infrastructure projects.
• US Army Corps of EngineersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCTI obtains permits from the US Army Corps of Engineers for river crossings and water infrastructure projects affecting navigable waterways. Projects like the Tennessee River waterline required extensive Corps permitting for riverbed work and navigational compliance.
• Belomar Regional CouncilsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional council assisting with project coordination and funding support for water infrastructure projects in Ohio. Partnered with CTI on Village of Bellaire water treatment project.
• RCAP (Rural Community Assistance Partnership)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerRCAP provides technical assistance and funding support for rural water infrastructure. CTI collaborated with RCAP on the Village of Bellaire project to assist with funding secured through Ohio EPA programs.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Brown and Caldwell: Brown and Caldwell is a specialized environmental engineering and consulting firm focused exclusively on water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure for municipal clients. Like CTI, it provides planning, design, and construction management for water treatment plants, and serves similar government utility clients across multiple US regions.
• Carollo Engineers: Carollo Engineers is a 100% employee-owned engineering firm specializing in water, wastewater, and reuse infrastructure for municipal clients nationwide. CTI shares the employee-ownership structure and municipal water/wastewater focus, making it a near-direct mirror in business model and service offering.
• Hazen and Sawyer: Hazen and Sawyer is an employee-owned civil and environmental engineering firm focused on water, wastewater, and water resource projects for municipal and private clients. It shares CTI's PE-driven engineering consulting model, municipal client base, and specialization in water infrastructure planning, design, and construction services.
• Barge Design Solutions: Barge Design Solutions is a privately held, employee-owned engineering and architecture firm headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, with water, civil, and environmental practices serving municipal and private clients across the Southeast. It directly competes with CTI in the Tennessee water/wastewater market and shares the employee-owned mid-size consulting model.

Broad incumbents

• Tetra Tech: Tetra Tech is a global consulting and engineering firm with major practices in water, environment, and sustainable infrastructure, serving municipal, federal, and commercial clients. While significantly larger than CTI and broader in scope, its water and environmental practices compete directly for municipal water/wastewater engagements.
• Arcadis: Arcadis is a global design and engineering consultancy providing water, infrastructure, environmental, and resilience services to public and private clients. It competes with CTI on municipal water/wastewater projects at the regional scale and brings deeper digital and asset management capabilities to similar client engagements.
• Kimley-Horn: Kimley-Horn is a large employee-owned engineering, planning, and consulting firm with a significant water and environmental practice serving public and private clients nationwide. Its municipal water/wastewater, stormwater, and site/civil practices overlap meaningfully with CTI's core service lines, though Kimley-Horn operates at a substantially larger scale.
• HDR Inc. HDR is a major employee-owned engineering, architecture, and consulting firm with a substantial water practice serving municipal clients across the United States. Its water resources, wastewater, and treatment plant capabilities directly overlap CTI's offerings, though HDR's scale and national footprint exceed CTI's regional presence.
• Stantec: Stantec is a global engineering, architecture, and environmental consulting firm with deep water and infrastructure practices serving municipal clients. Its water treatment, wastewater, and stormwater service lines directly parallel CTI's offerings, and it competes for similar municipal and state government engagements in the southeastern US.

Regional players

• Woolpert: Woolpert is an engineering, architecture, and geospatial firm with significant operations in the southeastern United States and capabilities across water infrastructure, civil engineering, and site development. While broader than CTI, its regional presence and civil/municipal infrastructure practice create direct overlap in CTI's core southeastern markets.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ctiengr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cti-engineers-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 CTI Engineers, Inc.