Sam O Hirota

What Sam O Hirota does

Sam O. Hirota, Inc. (SOH) is a privately held Honolulu-based consulting engineering and surveying firm founded in 1963 and incorporated in 1969, providing integrated civil engineering, land surveying, and 3D geospatial documentation services to federal, state, and private clients across Hawaii, the Trust Territories, and the South Pacific. The firm's service portfolio spans master planning and site analysis, FEMA/NPDES permitting, ALTA/NSPS land title surveys, precision digital leveling, aerial LiDAR and photogrammetry via fixed-wing aircraft and UAVs, terrestrial and mobile laser scanning, large-scale 3D city scanning, and Scan-to-BIM digital twin creation. Technology stack centers on a multi-platform laser scanning fleet (Riegl VZ 600i, VZ 400i, Z+F 5010X, Trimble SX12, Navvis M6/VLX, Artec Leo, Leica BLK360/BLK2GO), integrated with Reality Capture and Veesus visualization software, and supported by partnerships with Lanmar Services (BIM modeling) and NV5 (aerial processing).

The firm operates on a project-based professional services model with direct client engagement and no public pricing. Customer segments span federal government (US Army Garrison-Hawaii, GSA), state government (Hawaii State DOT), luxury resort and residential developers (Four Seasons Hualalai, Four Seasons Wailea, Kona Village Resort, Prince Resorts Hawaii, Kennedy Wilson), private land development firms, and educational institutions (Punahou School, Hanahauoli School). Marquee engagements include 120,974-acre boundary surveys across eight US Army installations, a 1.15 million square meter Honolulu 3D city scan producing 8 billion points, and multi-decade civil infrastructure restoration of tsunami-damaged Kona Village Resort. SOH has earned ACECH Grand Conceptor, ACECH Engineering Excellence, and Historic Hawaii Foundation Honor Awards, and is currently led by President Dr. Dennis I. Hirota, PhD, PE, LPS, continuing the firm founded by his father Sam O. Hirota.

Name

Sam O Hirota

Legal name

Sam O. Hirota, Inc.

Website

https://samhirota.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sam O. Hirota, Inc. is a Honolulu-based civil engineering and land surveying firm founded in 1963, delivering integrated surveying, 3D laser scanning, aerial LiDAR, and Scan-to-BIM services to federal, state, and luxury resort clients across Hawaii and the Pacific.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Land Surveying and Civil Engineering Consulting

NAICS

Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370)

akta.pro primary industry

Remote Sensing & Geospatial Vision (satellite/drone imagery) (HDAAAEAL)

Keywords

• Land surveying services
• Civil engineering consulting
• 3D laser scanning
• Aerial LiDAR mapping
• ALTA land title surveys

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

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, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Civil Engineering Consulting Services: Project-based consulting fees for civil engineering master planning, site analysis, environmental assessments, drainage studies, FEMA permitting, and infrastructure design.
2. Land Surveying Services: Professional surveying services including boundary surveys, topographic surveys, ALTA surveys, precision digital leveling, and specialized surveys for federal, state, and private clients.
3. 3D Laser Scanning and Imaging Services: High-precision laser scanning services for building condition assessments, historic documentation, as-built documentation, and urban planning. Includes terrestrial, mobile, and aerial scanning capabilities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sam O. Hirota, Inc. is a Honolulu-based consulting engineering and surveying firm that provides civil engineering, land surveying, ALTA/NSPS surveys, aerial LiDAR/photogrammetry/UAV mapping, 3D laser scanning/imaging, 3D city scanning, and Scan-to-BIM services. The firm delivers these professional services to federal, state, and local government agencies, educational institutions, luxury resort developers, and private landowners throughout Hawaii, the Trust Territories, and the South Pacific.

Product overview

Sam O. Hirota, Inc. (SOH) is a Honolulu-based consulting engineering and surveying firm founded in 1963, offering a comprehensive suite of geospatial and civil engineering services. The company's core offerings include Civil Engineering Services, Land Surveying Services, ALTA Surveys, Aerial LiDAR/Photogrammetry/UAV Services, 3D Laser Scanning/Imaging, 3D City Scanning, and Scan-to-BIM. These services are delivered using advanced technology including Riegl VZ 600i scanners, mobile mapping systems, and specialized software like Reality Capture and RiScan Pro. SOH serves federal, state, and local government clients as well as private sector customers across Hawaii and the Pacific Rim, specializing in projects ranging from small residential surveys to large-scale urban 3D documentation and resort development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Civil Engineering Services Comprehensive civil engineering consulting including master planning, site analysis, environmental assessments, flood and drainage studies, HEC-RAS hydraulics, FEMA permitting, NPDES approvals, drainage systems, water and wastewater distribution, fire protection, traffic planning, and parking design. Served to government agencies, private developers, and educational institutions in Hawaii.
• Land Surveying Services Professional land surveying and mapping including ALTA/NSPS Land Title surveys, aerial LiDAR, boundary, topographic, utility, and control surveys, FEMA elevation certification, precision digital leveling, and hydrographic surveying for federal, state, and private clients.
• ALTA Surveys ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys compliant with 2021 standards covering property boundary documentation, easement identification, utility location, and title survey certification for commercial real estate transactions.
• Aerial LiDAR / Photogrammetry / UAV Services Aerial geospatial data collection using fixed-wing aircraft and UAVs (drones), including LiDAR scanning, orthophoto generation, 3D modeling, terrain analysis, and volumetric calculations for large-area mapping projects.
• 3D Laser Scanning / Imaging Services Terrestrial and mobile laser scanning using Riegl, Z+F, Trimble, NavVis, Artec, and Leica scanners to capture detailed 3D point cloud data for building condition assessments, historic documentation, retrofitting, and as-built documentation.
• 3D City Scanning Services Large-scale urban 3D documentation of city streets, sidewalks, and buildings using color LiDAR scanners, including point cloud generation, moving object removal, change detection, and street-level visualization for planning and analysis.
• Scan-to-BIM Services Conversion of laser-scanned point clouds into intelligent Building Information Models (BIM). Partnered with Lanmar Services for Revit modeling, creating accurate digital twins for renovation, retrofitting, and facility management.
• Riegl VZ 600i Scanning Advanced full-color 3D laser scanning using Riegl VZ 600i with 3mm positional accuracy, 6mm point spacing at 10m, internal GNSS/RTK correction, and simultaneous image capture. Capable of approximately 1 scan per minute using Stop and Go techniques.
• Resort / Residential Development Services Civil engineering and surveying services for luxury resort and residential development including master planning, permitting, NPDES, and construction administration for projects along the Kona Coast including Four Seasons Hualalai, Kona Village, and Kukio communities.
• U.S. Army Boundary Studies Boundary surveys and cadastral survey-grade GIS database development for U.S. Army installations on Oahu and Hawaii Island, covering 120,974 acres across 8 facilities including title reports, boundary evidence recovery, and fence location surveys.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,000+ land surveying and mapping projects completed in past 10 years
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 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

Integration1 record

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Lanmar ServicescoreTechnology or IntegrationAustin, Texas-based BIM modeling specialists. SOH provides laser scan point clouds and 360° panoramic images; Lanmar converts data into accurate 3D Revit models for building management and maintenance. Partnership enables end-to-end Scan-to-BIM service delivery.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AECOM: Global engineering, design and construction services firm. Operates a major Honolulu office and competes for the same federal (US Army, GSA), state DOT and large private development work that SOH serves, but at vastly larger scale and broader service mix.
• WSP USA: Global professional services firm with surveying, geospatial and civil engineering practices that overlap with SOH's service portfolio. WSP Hawaii competes for state DOT, federal and private development work alongside SOH.
• Stantec: Global engineering, architecture and environmental services firm with surveying and geospatial practices. Competes for federal, infrastructure and resort/community development work comparable to SOH's portfolio.
• Tetra Tech: Global engineering and consulting firm specializing in water, environment and infrastructure. Overlaps with SOH on FEMA, NPDES, drainage and environmental permitting work for federal and resort clients.
• Jacobs Solutions: Global engineering and technical services firm with federal, infrastructure and geospatial practices. Competes for the same US Army, GSA and state-level contracts that anchor SOH's federal/state revenue.

Direct peers

• Group 70 International: Honolulu-based architecture, planning and engineering firm. Comparable to SOH in serving Hawaii-based resort, residential, government and institutional clients with master planning and civil engineering services.
• NV5 Global: Technical engineering and geospatial services firm with strong aerial LiDAR, photogrammetry and surveying capabilities. Both an SOH processing partner (orthophoto stitching) and a competitor for geospatial/3D documentation work.
• R.M. Towill Engineering Co. Honolulu-based civil engineering, surveying and planning firm founded in 1954. Closest direct competitor to SOH in Hawaii, serving overlapping federal, state and private clients with similar surveying, mapping and civil engineering capabilities.
• Belt Collins Hawaii: Honolulu-based planning, engineering, landscape architecture and environmental consulting firm with deep Hawaii roots. Overlaps with SOH on resort development, land planning and environmental permitting work.

Others

• Trimble Inc. Geospatial technology vendor (SX12 scanner and software ecosystem) whose equipment SOH operates. Comparable as a surveying/scanning technology provider, but serves as both supplier and adjacent participant in the same market rather than direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

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 Sam O Hirota