Mapping firm Optimal GEO gets new owner

US engineering company Woolpert has expanded its geospatial portfolio by acquiring US small business Optimal GEO, which provides imagery-based mapping and other services to the defence and intelligence community, Woolpert announced on 9 September.

These expanded geospatial services, combined with our [architecture, engineering, and geospatial] capabilities, enable us to provide integrated solutions to address diverse client needs,” Woolpert senior vice-president Joseph Seppi said.

Optimal, which has more than 100 employees, will gain access to greater resources by joining Woolpert, which has more than 1,300 employees and its own fleet of aircraft and sensors, according to the announcement.

Woolpert, which is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, and Optimal, which is based in Athens, Alabama, have already worked together on projects for several government customers, including the US Army Corps of Engineers and the US Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command.

“We have always enjoyed working and teaming with Woolpert, and this [combination] is just a natural evolution of where we should be heading,” said Mark Brooks, Optimal's chief operating officer.

The announcement comes two years after Optimal acquired mapping and survey contracts from Precision Aerial Reconnaissance (PAR) of Bossier City, Louisiana.

Woolpert recently underwent an ownership change of its own. MSD Partners acquired it from fellow US private equity firm Long Point Capital in March.