First Group Engineering Inc

What First Group Engineering Inc does

First Group Engineering, Inc. is a privately held civil engineering and surveying firm founded in 1986 in Indianapolis, Indiana by Randall M. Willing and Dennis W. Cobb. The company operates six integrated service lines — Transportation Engineering, Traffic Engineering, Construction Inspection, Land Surveying, Right of Way, and Telecommunications — providing end-to-end project support from initial survey through design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction inspection for roadway, intersection, traffic signal, drainage, ADA, and telecommunications infrastructure projects.

The firm's core technology stack centers on conventional civil engineering and surveying tools, including AutoCAD Civil 3D for design, combined with field hardware such as GPS receivers, robotic total stations, and LiDAR for topographic and route surveys. Right-of-way capabilities include parcel plats, legal descriptions, title review, appraising, and acquisition management. The telecommunications line has completed over 5,000 wireless site surveys and construction drawings since 1996 across the Midwest.

First Group Engineering generates revenue through project-based professional services contracts with government clients — primarily the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and local Indiana municipalities — and with private telecommunications carriers and tower companies including T-Mobile, Crown Castle, American Tower, and SBA Communications. Pricing is quote-based with multi-year contract cadence, and go-to-market is relationship-driven direct sales with principals and engineers personally engaged with clients throughout project lifecycles. The firm maintains offices in Indianapolis (headquarters) and Hammond, Indiana, and reports 11-50 employees with high retention (nearly half with 20+ years of tenure).

Name

First Group Engineering Inc

Legal name

First Group Engineering, Inc.

Website

https://firstgroupengineering.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

First Group Engineering is a privately held Indianapolis-based civil engineering firm offering six integrated service lines — transportation, traffic, construction inspection, surveying, right of way, and telecommunications — serving INDOT, Indiana municipalities, and Midwest wireless carriers and tower companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civil Engineering Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (54133), Engineering Services (541330), Power and Communication Line and Related Structures Construction (237130)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Transportation & Traffic Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA), Structural & Civil Engineering for Sites (Design, Reinforcement, Foundations) (HDAIAKAI), Right-of-way access, foundations & civil works for T&D projects (EUADAKAJ)

Keywords

• Civil engineering services
• Transportation engineering
• Traffic engineering
• Construction inspection
• Land surveying

Headquarters

HQ city

Indianapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Engineering Consulting Services: Professional engineering services billed on a project basis for transportation engineering, traffic engineering, construction inspection, land surveying, right of way, and telecommunications services. Revenue generated through contracts with government agencies (INDOT, local municipalities) and private clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

First Group Engineering, Inc. provides civil, transportation, traffic, surveying, inspection, right-of-way, and telecommunications engineering services to government agencies (including INDOT and Indiana municipalities) and private clients. Project work spans locally and federally funded roadway, intersection, traffic signal, ADA, drainage, and wireless-telecommunications infrastructure projects, delivered through six integrated service lines covering survey, design, right of way, and construction inspection.

Product overview

First Group Engineering, Inc. is a civil engineering and surveying firm established in 1986, offering a portfolio of six integrated service lines: Transportation Engineering, Traffic Engineering, Construction Inspection, Land Surveying, Right of Way services, and Telecommunications. The company primarily serves Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), local Indiana municipalities, and private clients on locally and federally funded infrastructure projects. Services range from initial surveying and design through right of way acquisition to construction inspection, providing end-to-end project support for roadway, intersection, trail, and utility infrastructure improvements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Transportation Engineering Civil engineering services for transportation infrastructure including highway and interchange design, street and intersection design, roundabout design, multi-use path and trail design, storm sewer design, stormwater detention design, small structure and pipe hydraulic design, ADA transportation plans, asset management plans, project management, survey, roadway design, and street lighting design. The service is for INDOT, LPA programs, and municipal DPW clients on locally and federally funded projects.
• Traffic Engineering Traffic engineering services including traffic counting, traffic accident analysis, traffic signal warrant analysis, traffic demand modeling, signal modernization and timing, computerized traffic signal control, traffic impact studies, traffic signal design (with detection and interconnection options), and street lighting design. The service is for state, county, and municipal agencies managing roadway operations and safety.
• Construction Inspection Construction inspection services for locally and federally funded projects, including shop drawing review, scheduling, observation, documentation, and materials testing. The INDOT certified team implements field changes, prepares estimates, produces progress reports, processes change orders, prepares contractor payment estimates, performs material sampling, and delivers final construction records and as-built plans. The service is for INDOT, LPA, and municipal clients undertaking roadway and infrastructure construction.
• Land Surveying Professional land surveying services including route surveys, boundary surveys, ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys, topographic surveys, and wireless communications surveys, using robotic total stations, GPS, and LiDAR for field data collection. The service is for INDOT, municipalities, private developers, and telecommunications carriers requiring accurate boundary and topographic survey data.
• Right of Way Right of way engineering and acquisition management services including parcel plats, legal descriptions, right-of-way plans, title and encumbrance review, appraising, and buying services, with a focus on identifying and resolving right-of-way issues early in project design. The service is for INDOT, municipalities, and other agencies delivering linear infrastructure projects that require land acquisition.
• Telecommunications Wireless telecommunications site survey and construction drawing services including topographic surveys, as-built surveys, A/E drawings, site audits, construction staking, legal descriptions and easement preparation, utility coordination, structural analysis coordination, and geotechnical services coordination, covering rooftops, water tanks, church steeples, collocations, raw lands, and stealth technology installations. The service is for wireless carriers, tower companies, and telecom engineering firms.

Quantifiable outcome

• Completed 5,000+ telecommunications surveys and construction drawings since 1996
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• T-MobileminorOthersTelecommunications client for whom First Group Engineering has completed over 5,000 surveys and construction drawings for wireless sites since 1996. Projects include rooftops, water tanks, collocations, and raw lands.
• Crown CastleminorOthersMajor tower company client for wireless telecommunications site surveys and construction documentation services across the Midwest.
• American TowerminorOthersTower infrastructure company client for wireless telecommunications site surveys and construction services.
• SBA CommunicationsminorOthersSBA Communications client for wireless site surveys and construction drawings across the Midwest region.
• Black and VeatchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering and construction firm partner for telecommunications infrastructure projects in the Midwest region.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• RS&H: National engineering and architecture firm with strong transportation practice serving state DOTs across the US. Comparable services at higher scale and broader geographic coverage.
• Kimley-Horn: National engineering consulting firm with large transportation, traffic, and land development practices that compete for INDOT and municipal work. Broader incumbent with significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting firm with extensive transportation engineering, traffic, and program management capabilities. Competes for large INDOT and municipal mega-projects that First Group cannot pursue.
• WSP USA: Global engineering services firm with major US transportation infrastructure practice serving state DOTs and municipalities including INDOT. Overlaps with First Group in transportation and traffic engineering but at vastly larger scale.

Direct peers

• VS Engineering: Indianapolis-based civil engineering firm providing transportation, traffic, water resources, and construction inspection services. Directly comparable in service mix and Indiana municipal/INDOT client overlap.
• American Structurepoint: Indianapolis-headquartered civil engineering firm offering transportation, traffic, structural, and surveying services to INDOT and Indiana municipalities. Most directly comparable peer given identical geography, service overlap, and government client base.
• Beam, Longest and Neff (BLN): Indianapolis-based engineering firm focused on transportation, water/wastewater, and site development for Indiana public-sector clients. Directly comparable peer in transportation engineering services for INDOT and municipalities.
• Clark Dietz: Midwest civil engineering firm offering transportation, structural, and construction services to state DOTs and municipalities across Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Comparable given similar services and overlapping Midwest DOT client work.
• Shrewsberry & Associates (SJCA): Indianapolis-based civil engineering and surveying firm providing transportation, site development, and infrastructure services to public agencies. Closely comparable in scope and Indiana DOT/municipal focus.
• Butler, Fairman and Seufert (BFS): Indiana-based civil engineering firm specializing in transportation, water, wastewater, and structural engineering for INDOT and municipal clients. Directly comparable in scale and geographic focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/first-group-engineering-inc

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 First Group Engineering Inc