Vickrey & Associates, Inc.

What Vickrey & Associates, Inc. does

Vickrey & Associates, Inc. (now operating as ESP Associates, Inc.) is a multi-disciplinary civil engineering and consulting firm founded in 1971 in San Antonio, Texas, by Kennon and Norma Vickrey. Following its December 2020 acquisition by ESP Associates, Inc. and subsequent 2024 rebrand, the company functions as the Texas arm of an ENR Top 500 platform that delivers services across nine core lines — Planning & Landscape Architecture, Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering, Water Resources Engineering, Power & Broadband, Survey & Geospatial, Geo-Environmental, Construction-Phase Services, and PM/CM — and five specialty subsidiary brands (Pickett for power, CivilCorp for transportation, Ditesco for broadband, and MCE and RAS added in 2026).

The firm's technical differentiation rests on advanced surveying and geospatial capabilities: mobile LiDAR, 3D laser scanning, aerial LiDAR and photogrammetry, UAS/drone-based inspection, hydrographic/bathymetric surveys, and subsurface utility engineering using 3D ground-penetrating radar. These tools support high-precision data collection for roadway, bridge, transmission, broadband, and municipal infrastructure projects. Service delivery spans the full project lifecycle from planning and master planning through design, construction-phase services, and program/construction management.

The business model is project-based professional services revenue earned through contracts awarded via competitive bidding and direct engagement with federal, state, regional, and municipal government clients, supplemented by select commercial work. Named engagements include FEMA Risk MAP production, a Texas DOT US 59 freeway project, a 13-county Southeast Colorado broadband blueprint, and the City of Raleigh's Dix Park Sunflower Towers transmission-tower transformation. Operations are concentrated in Texas with additional geographies in South Carolina (corporate headquarters in Fort Mill), North Carolina, and Southeast Colorado.

Name

Vickrey & Associates, Inc.

Legal name

ESP Associates, Inc.

Website

https://vickreyinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Vickrey & Associates, Inc. (now ESP Associates, Inc.) is a multi-disciplinary civil engineering and consulting firm serving federal, state, and municipal government clients across Texas, the Carolinas, and Colorado with surveying, transportation, water resources, power, and broadband infrastructure services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Antonio

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Engineering and Consulting Services: Project-based professional services revenue from civil engineering, transportation engineering, water resources, surveying, and geospatial services. Revenue generated through contracts for infrastructure design, construction-phase services, and program/project management.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Vickrey & Associates, Inc. (operating as ESP Associates, Inc.) is a civil engineering and consulting firm that delivers infrastructure engineering services to government agencies and commercial clients. Its core offering spans planning, landscape architecture, civil, transportation, water resources, power and broadband engineering, survey and geospatial services, geo-environmental services, construction-phase services, and program/construction management, delivered through the parent ESP brand and five subsidiary companies.

Product overview

ESP Associates, Inc. (formerly Vickrey & Associates, LLC) is a multi-service civil engineering and consulting firm organized as a platform of integrated service lines rather than a single product. The core offering consists of nine primary service departments: Planning & Landscape Architecture, Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering, Water Resources Engineering, Power & Broadband, Survey & Geospatial, Geo-Environmental, Construction-Phase Services, and PM/CM. These services are delivered through the parent ESP brand and five subsidiary companies (Pickett, CivilCorp, Ditesco, MCE, and RAS), enabling the firm to serve markets including Community Development, Transportation, Power, Broadband, Emergency Management, Municipal Infrastructure, and Education. The subsidiary brands operate as specialized divisions within the ESP portfolio, allowing cross-selling of services across multiple markets while maintaining domain expertise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Planning & Landscape Architecture Comprehensive planning and landscape architecture services for public and private sector clients developing master-planned communities, healthcare facilities, mixed-use developments, campuses, parks, and urban streetscapes.
• Civil Engineering Civil engineering services covering site civil design, structural engineering, stormwater capital improvements, and water/wastewater planning and design for commercial, residential, and municipal clients.
• Transportation Engineering Transportation engineering services including roadway design, bridge and interchange design, pavement engineering, bike and pedestrian path design, transit/port/aviation facilities, and GIS and applications development for state DOTs, counties, and municipalities.
• Water Resources Engineering Water resources engineering services focused on stormwater management, flood studies, and hazard mitigation planning for cities, counties, and regional agencies.
• Power & Broadband Engineering Power and broadband infrastructure engineering services including power transmission/distribution engineering and broadband planning and network buildout for utility companies and public-sector broadband initiatives.
• Survey & Geospatial Survey and geospatial services including conventional and GPS surveying, mobile LiDAR scanning, 3D laser scanning, aerial LiDAR and photogrammetry, UAS/drone services, hydrographic/bathymetric surveys, and subsurface utility engineering and 3D GPR for infrastructure projects.
• Geo-Environmental Services Geo-environmental services including geotechnical engineering, environmental consulting, and geophysical services for infrastructure and development projects.
• Construction-Phase Services Construction-phase services including construction materials testing, special inspections, construction engineering and inspection, utility coordination, and vibration monitoring for active infrastructure projects.
• Program Management & Construction Management (PM/CM) Program management and construction management services that oversee and coordinate infrastructure projects from planning through completion for government agencies and commercial clients.

Named customers5 records

Segments6 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

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• PickettcoreOthersESP subsidiary company specializing in power infrastructure. Transformed 115kV transmission towers into artistic 'Sunflower Towers' at Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, NC. Provides specialized power generation, transmission, and distribution engineering services.
• CivilCorpcoreOthersESP subsidiary company focused on transportation infrastructure. Provided schematic design and PS&E for the US 59 Corrigan Relief Route, a 6.4-mile freeway in rural Polk County, TX.
• DitescocoreOthersESP subsidiary company specializing in broadband and communications infrastructure. Developed broadband implementation blueprint for 13 counties in Southeast Colorado for SCEDD.
• MCE (acquired June 2026)coreOthersRecently acquired ESP subsidiary expanding services and geographic footprint. Addition announced June 2026.
• RAS (Roadway Asset Services)coreOthersRecently acquired ESP subsidiary focused on roadway asset services. Addition announced June 2026 alongside MCE, expanding services and footprint.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Kimley-Horn: One of the largest US engineering consulting firms offering planning, civil, transportation, water resources, and environmental services to public and private clients. Directly comparable multi-disciplinary engineering services platform with similar public-sector mix and ENR Top 500 standing.
• Garver: Multi-disciplinary engineering firm providing transportation, water, environmental, and facilities design across the central and southern US. Comparable mid-size engineering platform with similar public-sector infrastructure client base and ENR ranking.
• Freese and Nichols: Texas-based engineering, architecture, and consulting firm specializing in water resources, wastewater, transportation, and infrastructure. Directly comparable on water/wastewater and municipal infrastructure service lines with strong public-sector focus.
• Pape-Dawson Engineers: San Antonio-headquartered civil engineering firm focused on land development, transportation, water resources, and surveying across Texas. Comparable Texas-based mid-size engineering services firm with overlapping public-sector client mix.
• Halff Associates: Texas-headquartered engineering and architecture firm providing civil, transportation, water, environmental, and survey services with strong public-sector client base. Comparable Texas-anchored mid-size engineering platform with similar service-line breadth.

Broad incumbents

• Burns & McDonnell: Employee-owned engineering, architecture, and construction firm with significant infrastructure, power, and water practices. Broader incumbent with overlapping power infrastructure and municipal engineering capabilities.
• Stantec: Global engineering, architecture, and environmental consulting firm with extensive infrastructure and water practice. Broader incumbent providing overlapping civil, transportation, water resources, and environmental services at greater scale.
• HDR Inc. Employee-owned engineering, architecture, and consulting firm with strong transportation, water, and infrastructure practices. Comparable diversified infrastructure engineering firm serving public-sector clients at larger scale.
• WSP: Global professional services consulting firm with significant transportation, property, and environment practices. Broad incumbent with overlapping capabilities in transportation and municipal infrastructure engineering.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting firm with major transportation, water, and environment practices. Broad incumbent competing for large public-sector infrastructure work with significantly greater scale and geographic reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCaCSrc8FyJDH4Xe44eYG3vA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/esp-associates
• Facebookfacebook.com/vickrey.sanantonio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries5 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 Vickrey & Associates, Inc.