Stantec has acquired VI Engineering, a Houston-based electrical engineering firm. The acquisition closed on July 10.

VI’s existing leadership will remain intact, and the 30-person firm will remain located at its current Houston office. However, VI will eventually transition its brand and name to Stantec, says Matt McBurnett, principal at VI.

VI Engineering was founded in 2004 and operates across Texas and the Gulf Coast region, as well as the Northeast. The company also has a national list of clients that includes Southern California Edison, MidAmerican Energy, Pacific Gas and Electric, Bayer and Valero Energy Corp.

“The utility transmission and distribution marketplace is in the midst of major growth,” Stantec president and CEO Bob Gomes said in a statement. “VI Engineering’s strong background in the design of high-voltage electrical substations, transmission and distribution lines, and electric power systems adds to our platform to better serve our clients in these areas across the country.”

Some of VI’s recent signature projects include four large 230 kV substations as part of a New Jersey system upgrade, four 345 kV substations in northern Iowa and six 345 kV substations related to the CREZ Initiative in western Texas.

“The utility T&D marketplace is projected at over $200 billion, with engineering fees ranging from $10 billion to $20 billion,” McBurnett adds. “A major initiative currently underway with several utilities is the hardening of their infrastructure. This initiative is being funded under their resiliency programs. We are currently involved with several major east coast utilities with their programs.”

Stantec identified VI Engineering for potential acquisition through an industry advisor in September 2014 and after numerous discussions, sent a Letter of Intent that VI accepted in March 2015, McBurnett explains. “Overall, we agreed that our core philosophies matched and this was a beneficial, strategic move for both organizations,” he says.

Terms of the transaction will not be disclosed.