ENGINEERING TECH
BDT Capital Partners | July 30, 2021
Universal Engineering Sciences® (UES), a national leading engineering and consulting firm specialising in geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing, building code compliance, threshold inspections, and environmental consulting, has recently revealed that BDT Capital Partners, LLC ("BDT") has agreed to create a meaningful strategic investment in the company through an affiliate agreement. BDT, which is linked with BDT & Co., LLC, a merchant bank that provides long-term specialised capital to family- and founder-led firms, will become the majority stakeholder of UES, combining existing shareholders Palm Beach Capital, company founders, and the management group. Michael Burke, former AECOM Chairman and CEO and current UES Chairman, will remain in his current position.
"UES is an industry leading geotechnical engineering, building materials testing, and environmental consulting services firm with an expanding national footprint," stated Ben Sher, Partner at BDT Capital Partners. "BDT's long-term commitment to the UES and Palm Beach Finance is consistent with our merchant banking approach of providing patient capital to founder and family-led firms, comparable to the enterprises that have formed the backbone of the UES platform."
Nate Ward, co-founder of Palm Beach Capital, and industry veteran Gary H. Elzweig, PE, F.ASCE founded the UES family of firms. Elzweig will continue to serve as Vice-Chairman of the firm. Nate Ward and Palm Beach Capital will continue to be significant investors and will have board involvement.
"We are delighted to work with BDT because of their experience investing in and coaching founder-led enterprises with transformative growth possibilities," Ward added.
"We would like to thank our partners, as well as every member of the UES team, for their contributions that contributed to this critical milestone. UES will realise its aim of being the nation's most sought after, respected, and successful geotechnical, building materials testing, inspections, and environmental consulting firm with BDT as the principal investor."
"The geotechnical engineering, construction materials, and environmental services industries are very fragmented," Burke said. "I see a tremendous deal of opportunity to identify and partner with strong, well-run businesses that will increase our portfolio and geographic reach." "As the country focuses on repairing and improving existing infrastructure, we play an important role in servicing engineering firms, developers, contractors, and architects in all of our locations. I am excited to work with this outstanding leadership team as they guide UES through our next chapter of tremendous growth and development."
Founded in 1964 by Sy Israel, UES has over six decades of expertise and recognition as the best engineering and consulting firm in the geotechnical engineering area, and is well-positioned to serve the demands of commercial, residential, and civic customers nationwide. UES has recently merged with GFA International, Inc., NOVA Geotechnical & Inspection Services, Contour Engineering, Wallace-Kuhl & Associates, Construction Testing & Engineering, SUMMIT Engineering, Laboratory & Testing, P.C., GEOServices, LLC, McGinley & Associates, and Geotechnology Inc., making it one of the largest and most resource-rich organisations of its kind in the country.
UES, a privately held corporation, has made a commitment to organic expansion as well as strategic acquisition. UES has locations in high-growth regions throughout the South, Midwest, and West, including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North and South Carolina, Washington, D.C., California, Utah, Nevada, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas.
The investment is scheduled to close in the third quarter of 2021, subject to customary restrictions.
About Universal Engineering Sciences
Universal Engineering Sciences, based in Orlando, is a fast-growing engineering and consulting firm with nearly six decades of experience in geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing, building code compliance, threshold inspections, and environmental consulting. UES is regarded as an industry pioneer, at the forefront of evolving technology, best practises, and relevant legislation. Public and private clientele are represented in projects ranging from transportation and healthcare to commercial and education. UES engineers, geologists, certified inspectors, and scientists are uncompromising in their commitment to excellence, treating each project as an opportunity to create long-term client relationships.
UES recently ranked first on the Zweig Group Hot Firm List, which recognises the fastest-growing firms in the architectural, engineering, planning, environmental, and construction (AEC) industry. UES consults on projects of all kinds, with 2,500 professionals spread over 60 branches in 17 states, to assist deliver critical infrastructure and develop safe and successful communities.
About BDT Capital Partners
BDT Capital Partners provides long-term, distinctive capital to family and founder-led enterprises. Over the course of its investment funds, the firm has raised more than $18 billion, and its worldwide investor base has invested an additional $10 billion in debt and stock in the funds' portfolio firms. BDT & Company, the firm's affiliate, is a merchant bank that works with family and founder-led businesses to achieve their strategic and financial goals. BDT & Company offers problem-solving expertise and access to a world-class network of business owners and leaders.
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ENGINEERING TECH
Ouellet | January 17, 2022
Ouellet Canada Inc., an international manufacturer and distributor of electric heating products, has announced a partnership with BIMsmith, the leading product research platform for building professionals, for the development of new Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools for architects, engineers, and other construction professionals.
The partnership involves the creation of data-rich digital models of Ouellet products that integrate seamlessly with BIM design workflows used by building professionals globally. Each product model contains key data to represent geometric, electrical, and performance capabilities of each product, streamlining design workflows and providing building professionals with key data early in the design process. Each product model is designed to integrate natively with Autodesk Revit, the leading architectural design software worldwide.
The partnership also involves the publishing of Ouellet products on BIMsmith Market, the leading cloud platform used by architects and engineers to conduct building product research, placing Ouellet in front of a global audience of building design professionals.
"For more than half a century, Ouellet has prioritized the continued success of its customers and stakeholders wherever possible,Our new BIM tools are yet another way that we can support not just architects and engineers, but every contributor throughout the entire building design process."
-Owen Suchar, US National Sales Manager at Ouellet
Ouellet provides architects and other building professionals with a tremendous depth of product and industry expertise," said Benjamin Glunz, CEO at BIMsmith. "We are excited to partner with Ouellet to help expand their support of architecture and engineering professionals everywhere.
About Ouellet
Ouellet Canada, headquartered in l'Islet on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, designs, manufactures, distributes, and markets standard, custom-made, and distinctive electric heating products. Learn more about Ouellet Canada at www.ouellet.com.
About BIMsmith
BIMsmith®, the leading cloud-based building product discovery and selection platform, cultivates global business-to-business relationships between building industry professionals and building product manufacturers. Through direct integration of real product data into the BIM workflow, BIMsmith continues to shape the future of building science technology, placing its clients at the forefront of BIM innovation while addressing the true needs of industry professionals.
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ENGINEERING TECH
DREAMTNS | April 19, 2022
DREAMTNS Co. Ltd. announced the release of PointShapeTM Design software, which enables the creation of parametric CAD models of real-world items using Scan/Mesh data. In addition, the software's intuitive design process and user interface would allow users to quickly complete reverse engineering jobs.
Convergence Geometric Modeler, the world's first powerful modeling kernel, is used by PointShape Design. In addition, DREAMTNS has been upgraded to include the best-in-class graphics engine 'HOOPS Visualize' to fulfill users' visualization needs.
Through scan data acquired with various measuring equipment such as a 3D scanner, a CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machine), and vision systems, PointShape Design can easily create parametric CAD models of practical, real-world products and provides users with a familiar design process and user interface.
It includes extensive and sophisticated CAD design tools that enable engineers and operators to communicate ideas from concept through manufacture and production, enabling more rapid, accurate, and reliable reverse engineering than is feasible with other approaches.
"Through this solution, we will solve various reverse engineering and design challenges across various industries, including automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, research & development, heritage preservation, and industrial machinery and engineering services."
DREAMTNS
The PointShape team is committed to consistently improving PointShape Design's features and capabilities to increase users' work productivity. In addition, the team can tailor the program to meet each customer's unique specifications and demands. Apart from PointShape Design, PointShape's portfolio includes a validated Inspection module and a Mesh Processing module.
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