Cetco, Pllc

What Cetco, Pllc does

CETCO, PLLC is a privately held, founder-owned geotechnical engineering firm headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, founded by Joe Cooke, PE circa 1994. The firm delivers four integrated service lines: Geotechnical Services (drilling, subsurface sampling, foundation recommendations, seismic analysis, karst/sinkhole evaluation, geophysical surveys, and expert witness testimony), Site Selection Services (planning, earthwork, wetlands identification, and karst/mining-area site development), Construction Materials Testing and Inspections (earthwork observation, compaction and concrete testing, IBC Chapter 17 Special Inspections), and Laboratory Testing Services (soil classification, Atterberg Limits, Proctor, CBR, unconfined compression, sieve analysis, and concrete compressive strength per ASTM, AASHTO, and ACI standards). It also offers Training Services delivered online, live, or in-person for audiences up to 500.

The business operates as a project-based professional services firm with quote-based, scope-customized pricing. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, relying on the founder's 28+ years of experience, 1,500+ completed geotechnical explorations, multi-state licensure (30+ states), and a network of partnered civil, structural, and environmental engineers. Customers span residential, commercial, institutional, and energy infrastructure projects. The firm is privately held with no disclosed external funding, no parent company, and operates from a single Lexington headquarters with 1-10 employees.

Name

Cetco, Pllc

Legal name

CETCO, PLLC

Website

https://cetcopllc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CETCO, PLLC is a privately held, founder-led geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing, and laboratory testing firm in Lexington, Kentucky, serving construction, institutional, and energy infrastructure projects across 30+ U.S. states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Geotechnical Engineering Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (541330), Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Geotechnical Investigation & Site Characterization (Boreholes, In-situ Testing, Lab Testing) (IMAFAOAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring (Settlement, Inclinometers, Piezometers) (IMAFAOAH)

Keywords

• Geotechnical engineering services
• Construction materials testing
• Special inspections services
• Laboratory testing services
• Site selection services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lexington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Geotechnical Engineering Services: Project-based professional fees for geotechnical investigations, site evaluations, foundation recommendations, seismic analysis, and karst evaluation. Services range from small residential projects to large-scale multi-billion dollar developments.
2. Construction Materials Testing and Inspection: On-site testing and inspection services including earthwork observation, compaction testing, concrete testing, and special inspections billed per project or service engagement.
3. Laboratory Testing Services: Fee-based laboratory analysis of soil, concrete, and construction materials following ASTM, AASHTO, and ACI standards.
4. Training Services: Online and in-person training sessions on geotechnical and construction topics, offered to firms on a fee basis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

CETCO provides geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing, and laboratory testing services for construction and infrastructure projects. The firm offers drilling and subsurface exploration, soil and concrete laboratory analysis per ASTM/AASHTO/ACI standards, IBC Chapter 17 special inspections, karst/sinkhole evaluation and remediation, seismic site evaluation, and geotechnical expert witness testimony. Services span residential construction through multi-billion dollar development projects.

Product overview

CETCO provides geotechnical engineering, construction testing, and laboratory services as a unified offering. The core portfolio consists of four integrated service lines: Geotechnical Services (drilling, sampling, foundation recommendations, seismic and karst analysis), Site Selection Services (site planning and investigation for various terrain types), Construction Materials Testing and Inspections (field testing and special inspections), and Laboratory Testing Services (soil and concrete analysis per industry standards). The company also offers supplementary Training Services for professional development. These services are delivered together to provide complete project support from site investigation through construction completion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Geotechnical Services Comprehensive geotechnical engineering services including drilling and sampling, soil/bedrock analysis, foundation recommendations, earthwork design, seismic analysis, karst evaluation, geophysical surveys, and expert witness testimony. Targeted at construction and development clients.
• Site Selection Services Site planning and selection services including geotechnical investigations, earthwork planning, wetlands/stream identification, foundation options assessment, karst site planning, and mining area site development for developers and project owners.
• Construction Materials Testing and Inspections Construction phase testing services including earthwork observation, compaction testing, concrete testing, special inspections per IBC Chapter 17, masonry testing, and foundation bearing capacity testing for general contractors and developers.
• Laboratory Testing Services Materials laboratory testing including soil classification, Atterberg Limits, Proctor testing, CBR testing, unconfined compression strength, sieve analysis, and concrete compressive strength testing per ASTM, AASHTO, and ACI standards.
• Training Services Professional training on construction and geotechnical topics delivered online, live, or in-person for audiences as large as 500 people, offered to firms on a fee basis.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Various Engineers and Professionals (Civil, Structural, Environmental)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCETCO teams with qualified engineers and professionals including civil engineers, structural engineers, and environmental engineers to provide complete project approaches. These partnerships are used when projects require additional expertise beyond CETCO's core geotechnical and materials testing services. The firm has over 28 years of experience working with these professional networks to deliver projects according to specified budgets and required standards.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• S&ME, Inc. S&ME provides geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing, environmental services, and related engineering across the southeastern U.S. It is a direct competitor to CETCO in the Kentucky/adjacent-state corridor with comparable CMT and geotechnical service lines.
• TTL, Inc. TTL is a privately held engineering firm providing geotechnical, environmental, and construction materials testing services primarily in the southeastern U.S. Its offering, scale, and client base closely match CETCO's profile.
• GeoEngineers, Inc. GeoEngineers is an earth science and engineering consulting firm offering geotechnical, environmental, and geological services. It is comparable to CETCO in its core technical focus on subsurface evaluation and construction support.
• ECS Group of Companies: ECS is a mid-to-large U.S. geotechnical, construction materials, environmental, and facilities engineering firm. Its service mix — geotechnical engineering, CMT, special inspections, and lab testing — directly mirrors CETCO's offering, though ECS operates across more offices and states.
• CME Associates, Inc. CME Associates provides geotechnical engineering, construction inspection, materials testing, and environmental services, primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest U.S. It mirrors CETCO's integrated service model and regional firm scale.
• Froehling & Robertson, Inc. F&R is a southeastern U.S. engineering and testing firm offering geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing, and environmental services. It is comparable to CETCO in service mix and regional private-firm profile.

Broad incumbents

• Kleinfelder: Kleinfelder provides geotechnical, environmental, construction materials testing, and engineering services nationwide. Like CETCO, it serves construction and infrastructure clients but at much larger scale, with formalized lab accreditation and multi-state engineering coverage.
• Terracon Consultants, Inc. Terracon is one of the largest U.S. geotechnical, environmental, construction materials, and facilities engineering consulting firms. It directly competes with CETCO in geotechnical investigations, construction materials testing, and special inspections, but operates nationally with thousands of employees and far greater lab capacity.
• Professional Service Industries (Intertek PSI): Intertek PSI is a national engineering and consulting firm offering geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing, and special inspection services. It competes with CETCO on large commercial and infrastructure projects nationwide.

Regional players

• Geotechnical & Environmental Consultants, Inc. (GEC): GEC is a regional geotechnical and environmental engineering firm operating in Kentucky and surrounding states. Its geographic and service-line overlap with CETCO makes it a directly comparable regional peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cetco-pllc

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 Cetco, Pllc