CMTA acquires ESI to expand into East Coast

Louisville, Ky. — CMTA Inc., a leader in Zero Energy engineering design, acquired Engineered Solutions, Inc. (ESI) of Natick, Mass. This acquisition increases CMTA’s number of offices to 10 and its employees to more than 300.

Zweig Group, an AEC management advisory firm with offices in Dallas; Fayetteville, Ark.; Houston; Salt Lake City; and Washington, D.C., represented CMTA, the buyer.

“ESI offers a great opportunity for CMTA to continue expanding their East Coast presence through their Zero Energy expertise, specifically in two markets seeing lots of growth – education and healthcare,” said Jordan Barrett, an advisor on Zweig Group’s M&A services team and the project manager in the acquisition.

CMTA President Ken Seibert commented, “ESI and CMTA have a strong focus in the health care and higher education markets. This acquisition expands our geographical reach and brings our Zero Energy expertise to the Boston market.”

As a result of the deal, ESI Principal Jack Nelson has been named a partner in CMTA and will continue to manage the Boston office. All ESI employees are being retained in the acquisition.

“When we had narrowed our search, I called several of ESI’s clients,” Seibert said. “Not only did every single person call me back right away, everyone had great things to say about the firm. We finalized the deal in January but waited to make an official announcement until we’d met with ESI’s clients. Client communication is key to having a smooth transition.”

In the past 10 years, CMTA has experienced explosive growth. Seibert says that the progress is tied to its decision to diversify into performance contracting and focus on Zero Energy. In 2017 and 2018, CMTA was ranked as the second fastest growing AEC firm in the country on Zweig Group’s Hot Firm list.

CMTA was founded in 1968 and has offices in D.C., Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The firm provides MEP Engineering, Performance Contracting, Zero Energy Engineering, Technology Design and Commissioning.