Woolpert Acquires AAM, Global Geospatial Leader

DAYTON, Ohio (Sept. 15, 2021) — Woolpert has acquired AAM, a global geospatial services company that specialises in aerial mapping, surveying, GIS, and the development of innovative geospatial processes and technologies. AAM is headquartered in Australia and has offices across New Zealand, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Woolpert is a U.S.-based architecture, engineering, geospatial (AEG) and strategic consulting firm with 44 offices in three countries.

“With AAM, we gain offices across the South Pacific and the Middle East, and almost double our presence in Africa,” Woolpert President and CEO Scott Cattran said. “Combined with our industry leadership in the United States, this merger signifies a major milestone in attaining our vision of becoming the premier global AEG firm.”

With this merger, AAM, the leading Australasian geospatial firm, will gain access to additional aircraft and sensor technologies to increase its overall aerial acquisition capacity, and will support Woolpert’s growing mapping activities in the Asia-Pacific region. The companies will combine their cloud-based, artificial intelligence processing pipelines for increasingly automated rapid data processing and product delivery. In South Africa, where Woolpert acquired Southern Mapping in 2019 and where AAM has offices, the firms will collaborate on key technologies to improve operational reach and capacity to the African region. This move makes Woolpert one of the largest, if not the largest, geospatial company in Africa.

AAM Managing Director Scott Ramage said he is elated to be working with like-minded geospatial leaders.

“Like Woolpert, we pride ourselves on being able to serve our clients wherever they are around the globe. We are convinced that Woolpert is the right partner for us, and we can’t wait to work with a team who shares our passion and vision for the power of geospatial,” Ramage said. “In 1998, we were one of the first companies in the world to introduce airborne lidar to our portfolio of services. Now, over 20 years later, we’re developing world-leading, AI-based lidar and image processing solutions to support our geospatial leadership vision.”

Woolpert and AAM plan to create additional subscription service products to address spatial digital twins, 3D GIS content, and building information modeling (BIM) integration with GIS and engineering workflows. Both companies have developed tools to optimise data sharing and improve operational efficiencies. These include AAM’s LiDARnetics, which automates aerial mapping workflows, Geocirrus, which supports aggregation of spatial data to help clients make more informed decisions, and Woolpert’s STREAM:RASTER and SmartView, which help clients view and interact with their data.

Woolpert Senior Vice President Joseph Seppi said the ability to develop new products and implement best practices is crucial to advancing the geospatial industry. He said the collaboration between AAM and Woolpert will help the firms deliver unparalleled geospatial solutions around the world.

“Together, we will have more options than ever to host, analyse and integrate customer geospatial data, which translates into more sophisticated solutions to address more complex requirements,” Seppi said. “We’re excited about what this means for us, for AAM and for our clients.”

About Woolpert
Woolpert is the premier architecture, engineering, geospatial (AEG) and strategic consulting firm, with a vision to become one of the best companies in the world. We innovate within and across markets to effectively serve public, private and government clients worldwide. Woolpert is an ENR Top 150 Global Design Firm, recently earned its sixth-straight Great Place to Work certification and actively nurtures a culture of growth, inclusion, diversity and respect. Founded in 1911 in Dayton, Ohio, Woolpert has been America’s fastest-growing AEG firm since 2015. With this addition, the firm will have more than 1,600 employees and close to 60 offices on four continents. For more, visit woolpert.com.

About AAM
AAM is a geospatial technology company, specialising in collection, analysis and integration of geospatial information. AAM believes that digital maps and measurement make our world a better place. By capturing, measuring and presenting geospatial data, AAM helps clients make more informed decisions in an increasingly complex world. For more, visit aamgroup.com.