Burns Cooley Dennis, Inc., has agreed to acquire the business of SoilTech Consultants, Inc., an affiliate firm of Neel-Schaffer, Inc.

Burns Cooley Dennis (BCD) is the largest geotechnical and materials consulting firm headquartered in Mississippi, with corporate and CMET campuses in the Jackson area and branch locations in Hattiesburg and Hernando. BCD will acquire a new office location in Starkville as part of the acquisition of SoilTech.

SoilTech offers a variety of geotechnical engineering services and equipment that will be merged into the BCD portfolio, and this acquisition will increase the number of BCD full-time employees from approximately 60 to more than 70.

Neel-Schaffer and Burns Cooley Dennis have a long history of collaboration and have teamed on nearly 30 projects over the last five years. In forming a strategic plan for 2021 and beyond, Neel-Schaffer leaders decided to focus on core services such as transportation, civil, environmental and water resources engineering, and it was a natural fit to sell the firm’s geotechnical affiliate to BCD.

“Burns Cooley Dennis has been a great teaming partner with Neel-Schaffer for years,” said Robert Walker, PE, the Executive Vice President for Neel-Schaffer’s Central Region. “They are the leader in geotechnical engineering in Mississippi. We feel confident that this transaction is in the best interest of both firms and it will allow both firms to strengthen the services we offer to our clients. It also helps provide a seamless transition for our employees, which was very important to us throughout this process.”

“The acquisition of SoilTech will improve Burns Cooley Dennis’s ability to deliver the best engineered solutions to both routine and complex geotechnical projects for our current and new client base,” said Eddie Templeton, PE, BCD’s President.  “By expanding our reach in the market, BCD will have even more opportunities for growth by employing the talents of current SoilTech professionals who will join our company. In turn, BCD will be introduced to new clients who are currently being served by SoilTech.”

“Combining our resources, experiences and abilities will allow for even more opportunities for our company to provide state-of-the-art geotechnical, pavement and construction testing services,” said Randy Ahlrich, PE, BCD’s Vice President.  “BCD is excited to announce this acquisition, which will further solidify our company throughout Mississippi and beyond.”

“With the acquisition of SoilTech, BCD is expanding to better provide geotechnical services across the midsouth – in the Memphis Region, Golden Triangle Region and the Pine Belt-Gulf Coast Region,” said Tommy Dunlap, BCD Principal.  “We are also pleased to continue offering very specialized geotechnical services all across the United States.”

Founded on June 7, 1985, Burns Cooley Dennis, Inc., is celebrating a fundamental milestone of 35 years in business this year.

The geotechnical engineering firm was founded by Cecil Burns, Larry Cooley, and David Dennis – all with the goal of specialized monitoring, testing, analyzing, and designing the soil that supports the foundations of building, bridges, dams, pavements and other civil works.

About Burns Cooley Dennis, Inc.

For more information on the services of Burns Cooley Dennis, call 601-856-9911 or visit www.bcdgeo.com.
Main office location: 551 Sunnybrook Road, Ridgeland, MS 39157