Virginia engineering firm acquires Texas company with Fort Worth office

Reston, Virginia-based Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: BWMN) has acquired a Texas-based engineering and survey company that has offices in Fort Worth.

Waco-based 1519 Surveying LLC was established in 1974 and offers a variety of engineering and survey solutions to a diverse base of private and public clients. Services include land surveying, aerial imaging, GIS mapping, 3-D laser scanning and civil engineering. Under the leadership of Aaron McMillan and David Dossey, 1519’s staff of 35+ professionals work from Waco and Fort Worth offices for clients focused on renewable energy, public works, oil and gas and land development.

“With 1519, Bowman adds tremendous depth in the Texas surveying, engineering and geomatics markets,” said Gary Bowman, CEO of Bowman. “The 1519 team is an impressive group with a solid command of their markets and an appetite for growth that aligns well with Bowman’s strategy. 1519 is a recognized leader in serving the energy transition market with broad experience in large scale wind farms and utility scale photovoltaic facilities. The firm’s experience with the Texas DOT fits well with our commitment to growing our transportation and infrastructure business. When it comes to oil and gas clients, the professionals at 1519 are highly experienced in providing services to the upstream and midstream petrochemical industry. We’re excited to begin working together and integrating the 1519 team into Bowman’s national network.”

“Bowman is a perfect fit for us,” said Aaron McMillon, president of 1519. “We have always valued growth but have been constrained in our ability to truly accelerate our business expansion. That all changes now that we are a part of Bowman. We are all-in with the Bowman story and are pleased that their leadership recognizes the potential we contribute for growth both in our existing markets and throughout Bowman. Our common commitment to the core values of innovation, safety and customer first were a big part of our decision to join with Bowman.”

- FWBP Digital Partners -

The acquisition, which the company expects to be immediately accretive, was financed with a combination of cash, seller financing, and stock. The Company expects the 1519 acquisition to initially contribute more than $5.5 million of annualized net service billing.

“This is our sixth acquisition since going public in May, our seventh for the year,” said Bruce Labovitz, Bowman’s CFO. “This brings our annualized acquired revenue in 2021 to over $30 million. As with prior acquisitions, the 1519 transaction is within our target multiple range and it meets all of our objectives for operating performance metrics. As is our practice, we will provide more detailed information on M&A activities and pipeline in connection with scheduled quarterly communications.”

Bowman is an engineering services firm with 950 employees and more than 35 offices throughout the United Sates.

On May 11, 2021, Bowman completed its $51.7 million initial public offering and began trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol BWMN.