A Raleigh-based engineering, environmental and construction services company with an office in Wilmington announced Thursday that it has acquired a similar firm headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.

S&ME Inc., with a local office at 3006 Hall Waters Drive, Suite 100, stated in a news release that it intends to purchase Littlejohn, a planning, engineering and environmental design firm.

“The two privately owned firms have complementary services, geographic markets and work cultures,” the release stated. “By joining forces, they will create a leading engineering firm with over 1,100 employees in more than 30 locations across the U.S. It will easily rank, by revenue, within Engineering News Record’s top 100 design firms.”

S&ME is organized into five business units, the release continued. Three focus on service lines: geotechnical, environmental and construction services. Two focus on market sectors: transportation and energy.

“Littlejohn will fill an important need within S&ME by becoming its sixth business unit that focuses on design and planning,” the release stated.

The Wilmington office has about 15 employees and is headed by senior geotechnical engineer Tom Schipporeit. S&ME officials say no change is anticipated in either the staffing level or type of activity locally. 

In the Wilmington area, SM&E helped with environmental permitting and dealing with lead and asbestos for the Battleship North Carolina's hull repair; it is currently working on geotechnical investigation, materials testing and special inspection related to the Wilmington Convention Center; it was involved in the environmental, geotechnical and special inspection aspects of Cape Fear Community College's Humanities and Fine Arts Center, officials said. The firm also did materials testing and erosion control for the new River Lights development.