Earth Retention

What Earth Retention does

Earth Retention is a privately held civil engineering firm specializing in retaining wall and earth retention design for commercial, residential, transportation, and institutional construction projects across the United States. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Woodstock, Georgia, the firm employs 6 licensed Professional Engineers with active PE registrations in more than 40 states, enabling direct issuance of PE-stamped designs for MSE walls, soldier pile and lagging, soil nail walls, wire-faced rock-filled walls, post-and-panel sound barriers, gravity walls, and reinforced slopes. Its gtm_motion is enterprise field sales executed through a Design-Assist Partner model, with the company working alongside general contractors, developers, wall builders, excavators, and grading contractors during preconstruction and participating in Design-Build, IPD, and CMAR delivery methods.

The company's core technology stack is anchored by ER Design Studio (formerly CTiware), a proprietary MSE wall design software suite comprising Vespa 2, Vespa 3 (which adds AASHTO methodologies for inextensible reinforcement and the Simplified Stiffness Method), AWall 2 (a specialized CAD tool for plan and elevation views), and the EZER Toolbar (a CAD automation utility). Over 20 million square feet of retaining walls have been designed using Vespa, and the firm reports a "three days of work → three hours" productivity improvement on MSE wall design tasks. Earth Retention also offers Post Form™, a trademarked pre-molded fence foundation form for retaining wall fall protection, and supplements these products with adjacent industry-standard tools (PLAXIS 2D/3D, GeoStudio, L-Pile, AutoCAD/Civil 3D).

Earth Retention generates revenue across four streams: (i) engineering and design services sold via project-based fees for PE-stamped designs from preliminary layouts through construction-ready shop drawings; (ii) materials supply of geogrid, geotextiles, welded wire forms, facing systems, and accessories, with over $75M supplied to date and typically coordinated with the firm's own designs; (iii) software subscriptions for ER Design Studio, priced from $69/month to $2,099/year in tiers such as Vespa 2 Monthly, Vespa 2 Annual, Vespa 2 + AWall Bundle, Vespa 3 Annual, EZER Toolbar Annual, and the Premium Bundle; and (iv) training and workshops under the Earth Retention University (ERU) brand, offering up to 7 PDH credits per session. The combined Design+Supply+Support model — supported by documented DOT projects (FDOT I-4 Ultimate, VDOT I-64 High Rise Bridge), commercial developments (Kennesaw Marketplace), logistics facilities (CSX Intermodal in Worcester, MA), and institutional work (University of Michigan helipad) — is the core commercial differentiator.

Name

Earth Retention

Legal name

Earth Retention

Website

https://earthretention.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Earth Retention is a privately held U.S. civil engineering firm that delivers PE-stamped retaining wall and earth retention designs, materials supply, and engineering software (ER Design Studio) to general contractors, developers, DOTs, and wall builders across 40+ states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Geotechnical Engineering Services

akta.pro primary industry

Earth Retention & Excavation Support (Sheet/Soldier Piles, Diaphragm Walls, Bracing) (IMAFAOAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Retaining Walls & Slope Stabilization (Embankments, Rockfall Protection) (IMAFAEAH)

Keywords

• Retaining wall engineering
• Earth retention design
• MSE wall design
• Geotechnical engineering services
• Construction materials supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Woodstock

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Engineering and Design Services: PE-stamped retaining wall designs in 40+ states. Full stability analysis, structural design, and construction-ready drawings. Revenue from engineering fees for preliminary layouts through construction-ready shop drawings.
2. Materials Supply: Supply of geogrid, geotextiles, welded wire forms, facing systems, and accessories. Coordinated with designs and delivered to project sites. Over $75M in materials supplied to date.
3. Software Subscriptions: ER Design Studio software (Vespa 2, Vespa 3, AWall 2, EZER Toolbar). Monthly and annual subscription models. Software sold to engineers, designers, and contractors in the retaining wall industry.
4. Training and Workshops: Earth Retention U workshops and lunch-and-learn sessions for retaining wall professionals. Up to 7 PDH credits per session. Available on-site or virtual.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Earth Retention provides PE-stamped retaining wall engineering design, materials supply, and field support for commercial, residential, transportation (DOT), and institutional construction projects. Their services cover MSE walls, soldier pile and lagging, soil nail walls, wire-faced rock-filled walls, post-and-panel sound barriers, gravity walls, and reinforced slopes, with PE-stamped plans delivered in 40+ U.S. states. The firm also sells its proprietary ER Design Studio software (Vespa 2, Vespa 3, AWall 2, EZER Toolbar) to civil engineers and runs Earth Retention U training workshops.

Product overview

Earth Retention offers a comprehensive retaining wall engineering and materials supply solution. Their core product is ER Design Studio (formerly CTiware), a proprietary MSE wall design software suite that includes Vespa 2, Vespa 3, AWall 2, and the EZER Toolbar. These integrated tools enable engineers to design MSE walls using NCMA, AASHTO LRFD, and LEM methodologies, with direct CAD integration. The product ecosystem extends to Post Form™ accessories and Earth Retention U training workshops offering PDH credits. The company also supplies geogrid, geotextiles, welded wire forms, and facing systems as a separate service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ER Design Studio (formerly CTiware): MSE wall design software including Vespa 2, Vespa 3, AWall 2, and EZER Toolbar for retaining wall engineers.
• Earth Retention U
• Post Form™
• Vespa 2
• Vespa 3
• AWall 2
• EZER Toolbar

Products and services

• Retaining Wall Engineering & Design Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 25M+ square feet of retaining wall designs completed
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ACPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLarge retaining wall installer in Florida. Earth Retention worked with ACP to coordinate stamped engineering, site supervision, and wall installation with the architect and general contractor for the St. John's River Residence project. Resulted in a 60%+ cost savings compared to alternative designs.
• Allan BlockcoreTechnology or IntegrationSegmental retaining wall block manufacturer. Used as facing for geogrid reinforced retaining walls on CSX Intermodal project. Changed design from shotcrete and soil nails to use Allan Block to face the entire wall including geogrid and non-geogrid reinforced areas to meet aesthetics requirements.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Allan Block: Allan Block is a leading manufacturer of segmental retaining wall (SRW) blocks and provides engineering resources for wall design. Earth Retention already partners with Allan Block as a facing provider on projects like CSX Intermodal, making it both a competitor and a complementor in the SRW design-and-supply space.
• Tensar International: Tensar International is a leading manufacturer of geogrids and provider of MSE wall systems and soil reinforcement solutions. It is directly comparable to Earth Retention in geogrid-reinforced retaining wall design and supply, with overlapping DOT and commercial development customers.
• Hilfiker Retaining Walls: Hilfiker Retaining Walls manufactures welded wire MSE retaining wall systems and provides engineering design services. It is a direct peer given Earth Retention's ER Wire Wall system, which uses comparable welded wire form technology for tall MSE walls.
• Redi-Rock International: Redi-Rock International manufactures large precast concrete block retaining wall systems with engineering design services. It competes directly with Earth Retention in MSE and gravity wall design for commercial, transportation, and residential-grade projects.
• Anchor Wall Systems: Anchor Wall Systems (part of CRH/Oldcastle APG) is a major manufacturer of segmental retaining wall products with engineering support. It is directly comparable to Earth Retention as a vertically integrated SRW design and supply provider serving DOT and commercial markets.
• The Reinforced Earth Company: The Reinforced Earth Company is a global pioneer in Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) wall systems, providing design, materials supply, and construction services. It directly competes with Earth Retention in the MSE retaining wall engineering and materials market.
• Stone Strong Systems: Stone Strong Systems manufactures precast concrete modular block retaining wall systems and offers engineering support. It directly competes with Earth Retention in segmental and large-block retaining wall design and supply for commercial and transportation markets.

Broad incumbents

• Maccaferri: Maccaferri is a global provider of gabion and geosynthetic solutions for civil engineering and earth retention projects. It is a broader incumbent in retaining walls and soil reinforcement with overlapping products, design services, and an international footprint.
• Terracon: Terracon is one of the largest US geotechnical engineering and environmental services firms, providing earth retention, foundation, and construction materials engineering. It is a broad incumbent competing with Earth Retention in geotechnical and retaining wall engineering services across DOT and commercial markets.
• Kleinfelder: Kleinfelder is a major US engineering, construction management, and design firm with significant geotechnical and earth retention capabilities. It competes with Earth Retention in DOT, transportation, and commercial retaining wall design at a much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/earthretention
• Facebookfacebook.com/EarthRetentionSystems
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/earthretention

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Earth Retention