Industry News
COGO Selects Chair for 2012
Woolpert Celebrates 100 Years of Growth
DAYTON, Ohio (February 15, 2011) In 2011, Woolpert is celebrating a major milestone: its 100thyear in business. Established in 1911 as a surveying company, Woolpert has grown over the past 100 years to a fully integrated, multidisciplinary firm with more than 650 employees in 23 offices across the U.S.
“Not only have we been able to grow consistently throughout our 100-year history, we’ve been able to diversify our services and markets to remain a leader in the industry and sustain our business despite economic challenges,” said Mike Flannery, president and CEO. “We are proud of our past, and we are confident we will continue to be successful well into the future, in large part because our employees embrace a century-old culture that encourages innovation, entrepreneurialism and thought leadership.”
As part of the 100-year celebration, Woolpert has launched an anniversary website and video to commemorate the past and look to the future. The firm has also updated its website, logo and brand to reflect its integrated approach to holistic project solutions above, on and beneath the earth’s surface.
Most recently, Woolpert acquired the Dallas operations of Bohannan Huston, a spatial data, mapping, civil engineering and advanced engineering technology services firm headquartered in New Mexico. This is the firm’s fourth acquisition in three years.
About Woolpert
Woolpert, ranked by Engineering News-Record as a top national design firm, provides professional design, geospatial and infrastructure services to clients in the public and private sectors. Founded in 1911, Woolpert’s innovative design approach and commitment to the creative application of technology have grown the firm into a leader in the consulting industry. With nearly 650 professionals in 22 offices located throughout the U.S., Woolpert’s collaborative and multidisciplinary approach is driven by great people, great clients and great projects. For more information on Woolpert, visit Woolpert’s website. To see how Woolpert has contributed to the advancement of the industry as the firm celebrates 100 years in business, visit the 100-year site. For insight on industry trends and emerging topics, visit our Thought Leaders blog.
Census Bureau Seeking Comment on Proposed Urban Area Criteria
The Census Bureau announces publication of the “Proposed Urban Area Criteria for the 2010 Census” in the Federal Register of August 24, 2010, available on the Federal Register’s website at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/. The Census Bureau is seeking public comment on these proposed criteria. Comments, suggestions, or recommendations regarding the criteria should be submitted in writing, no later than November 22, 2010, to Timothy Trainor, Chief, Geography Division, U.S.
Census Bureau, Washington, DC 20233-7400.
The Census Bureau’s urban-rural classification is fundamentally a delineation of geographical areas, identifying individual urbanized areas of 50,000 or more people and urban clusters of at least 2,500 and less than 50,000 people; “rural” encompasses all population and territory not included in urban areas. The Census Bureau’s urban areas represent densely developed territory, and encompass residential, commercial, and other non-residential urban land uses. Additional information about the Census Bureau’s urban-rural classification is available on the Census Bureau’s website at <http://www.census.gov/geo/www/ua/urbanruralclass.html>.
The proposed urban area criteria for the 2010 Census as well as summaries of the proposed changes, are available on the Census Bureau’s website at http://www.census.gov/geo/www/ua/2010urbanruralclass.html.
Changes proposed for the 2010 Census include:
• Use of census tracts as analysis units in the initial phase of
delineation
• Potential return to a maximum jump distance of 1.5 miles (the
distance was increased to 2.5 miles in the Census 2000 criteria).
• Use of land use/land cover data to identify territory containing
non-residential urban land uses or land cover that restricts urban
development, such as marshland and wetlands.
• Lowering the minimum number of enplanements (departing passengers)
from 10,000 to 2,500 to qualify airports for inclusion in urban
areas.
• Elimination of the central place concept.
• Requirement that, in addition to at least 2,500 total population, an
area must contain at least 1,500 persons residing outside
institutional group quarters to qualify as urban.
• Splitting urban agglomerations of 1,000,000 or more population based
on metropolitan statistical area boundaries, or, in New England,
along metropolitan New England city and town area boundaries.
For further information about the Census Bureau urban-rural classification, or the proposed criteria for the 2010 Census, please contact Vincent Osier, Chief, Geographic Standards and Criteria Branch, Geography Division, U.S. Census Bureau, via e-mail at vincent.osier@census.gov or telephone at 301-763-9039.
Intergraph Agrees to be Acquired
HUNTSVILLE, Ala., July 7, 2010 -- Intergraph Corp., a leading global provider of engineering and geospatial software, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Hexagon AB, a leading global measurement technology company, in a transaction valued at approximately $2.125 billion.
Upon closing of the transaction, Intergraph will operate as a separate Hexagon division under the Intergraph name and branding. Intergraph will become Hexagon’s core software platform and will continue to provide differentiated and vertically-focused software solutions to its core industries. Intergraph software will also be integrated into Hexagon’s existing measurement and precision technology system markets to provide a visual presentation layer for the management, analysis and sharing of the vast amounts of critical data produced by these products.
“Intergraph remains deeply committed to our customers and markets in which we serve and are pleased to join the Hexagon Group. We believe the significant global resources and technologies of Hexagon will allow us to further invest in our customers, software solutions, people and future,” said R. Halsey Wise, Intergraph chairman, president and CEO. “This transaction is a tribute to the more than 4,000 Intergraph employees worldwide whose determination and dedication to our modern growth mission and to our customers have made our business and operational success possible. It also is an acknowledgement of the success of our multi-year “Now” – “Next” – “After-Next” transformation plan and represents an endorsement of the strength of our future growth opportunities.”
"The acquisition of Intergraph to become Hexagon’s core software platform provides excellent growth prospects and synergies within our portfolio of measurement technologies and is fundamental to our company’s growth strategy,” said Ola Rollén, CEO and president of Hexagon AB. “We believe Intergraph will significantly expand our addressable market opportunity, creating additional shareholder and customer value through the addition of a well-known and complementary software company.”
In 2006, Intergraph was acquired by an investor group led by Hellman & Friedman LLC, TPG Capital and JMI Equity. The investor group stated, "We are pleased to have worked with Intergraph's talented management team and dedicated employees as they have continued the company’s transformation mission, delivering strong operational performance and extending the company's market leadership.”
Pending regulatory approvals, as well as satisfaction of other customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to be completed in the third or fourth quarter of 2010.
Goldman Sachs & Co. is acting as financial advisor to Intergraph with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Bass, Berry & Sims PLC acting as legal advisors. Morgan Stanley is acting as financial advisor to Hexagon with K&L Gates LLP acting as legal advisor.
About Intergraph
Intergraph is the leading global provider of engineering, geospatial and security software that enables customers to visualize complex data. Businesses and governments in more than 60 countries rely on Intergraph’s industry-specific software to organize vast amounts of data into understandable visual representations and actionable intelligence. Intergraph’s software and services empower customers to build and operate more efficient plants and ships, create intelligent maps, and protect critical infrastructure and millions of people around the world.
Intergraph operates through two divisions: Process, Power & Marine (PP&M) and Security, Government & Infrastructure (SG&I). Intergraph PP&M provides enterprise engineering software for the design, construction and operation of plants, ships and offshore facilities. Intergraph SG&I provides geospatially-powered solutions to the defense and intelligence, public safety and security, government, transportation, photogrammetry, utilities, and communications industries. For more information, visit www.intergraph.com.
