McKim & Creed Inc., one of the largest engineering, surveying and planning firms in the U.S., announced recently that it has acquired a Wilmington company. 

Headquartered in Raleigh, McKim & Creed now owns Wilmington-based Matchpoint Water Asset Management, described in a news release as the largest water loss/recovery/leak detection company in the U.S. The acquisition was finalized Oct. 16.

Going forward, Matchpoint will provide services to clients as an operating group within McKim & Creed Inc., according to the release. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Matchpoint was established in 2005 in Wilmington and has completed projects in 32 states and five countries, according to the release.

“Matchpoint uses smart technology to recover water that is lost through infrastructure defects or aging,” the release stated. “The company provides network monitoring, data analytics, leak detection, GIS planning and mapping, equipment service and calibration, training and UAV-based infrared assessment.” 

Matchpoint's projects have included: 

• an 80-mile pipeline survey that identified 300+ leaks and reduced power and chemical usage costs by $100,000 - $150,000 per year in Miramar, Florida.
• leak detection in the Audubon Estates community of McDonough, Georgia, that reduced water loss by 87 percent.
• assessing and leveraging existing technologies to help the City of Abilene, Texas, ensure an adequate water supply to meet current and future demands.

"Matchpoint has built a solid reputation for utilizing technology to manage, improve and sustain water infrastructure. Like McKim & Creed, Matchpoint is dedicated to the success of their clients and is committed to creating innovative, sustainable solutions to complex infrastructure challenges," said John T. Lucey, CEO of McKim & Creed, in the release.

"Combining Matchpoint's water asset management strengths with McKim & Creed's engineering, modeling, GIS and instrumentation and controls expertise enables us to offer turnkey infrastructure solutions to clients throughout our geographic footprint."

Matchpoint CEO Barry Hales will supervise McKim & Creed's water asset management services, the release stated. He said all of Matchpoint's 15 team members would be moving over.

"By joining forces with McKim & Creed, we can expand our service offerings by not only detecting leaks, but also engineering design solutions, overseeing construction and implementing controls,” Hales said in the release. “In addition, McKim & Creed is an employee-owned company, which means that our employees can own a part of our organization while enjoying enhanced career opportunities.”

Hales said Tuesday, "I love the culture of that company. They've got some size to them They've got enough disciplines that they're bringing either technically or financial resources  . . . all of the things that they're bringing to us really make a big difference and really give us the ability to grow this business."