Engineering and consulting firm DLZ has acquired the operating assets and goodwill of Terra Testing, a Pennsylvania geotechnical and drilling company, in a deal that expands DLZ’s regional field-services capacity. DLZ said the transaction includes Terra’s 25 employees, drilling equipment, client relationships and project backlog. The company plans to continue the operation as DLZ Terra Testing, Inc., a Pennsylvania subsidiary. DLZ said the acquisition brings its Pittsburgh-area headcount to nearly 60.
The October 6 announcement describes an asset purchase rather than an acquisition of Terra Testing’s stock. DLZ has not disclosed a purchase price. It says the added team and equipment will join its drilling services division and support work across Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic. The firm’s announcement lists geotechnical and sonic drilling, environmental investigations, subsurface exploration, rock coring and soil sampling among Terra’s capabilities.
A new business line inside an established regional office
The purchase builds on DLZ’s existing western Pennsylvania presence. The firm opened an 8,000-square-foot Bridgeville office and materials-testing laboratory in 2018, after establishing its Pennsylvania footprint in 2012. The office is at 300 Bursca Drive, Suite 301. DLZ describes its Bridgeville lab as one of several locations that provide materials testing for infrastructure and other projects.
DLZ’s published service information covers engineering and construction support including soil, aggregate, rock, concrete and asphalt testing. Terra’s drilling work adds another part of the project process: gathering subsurface information that can inform design, environmental review and construction planning. The companies’ work areas overlap around geotechnical services, but the acquisition announcement specifically highlights Terra’s rigs, staff and existing project work as additions to DLZ’s operation.
What the companies say will continue
DLZ says the Terra operation will retain its own subsidiary identity while joining DLZ’s drilling division. The announcement does not identify individual projects transferring with the backlog, provide a transition timetable or state whether Terra’s existing Washington County location will remain open. Those details were not included in the public release, so clients seeking a particular service or contact should confirm current arrangements with DLZ.
The acquired services include sonic drilling, a method used to collect samples and investigate subsurface conditions, alongside conventional geotechnical work. DLZ also says the combined organization will have access to Terra’s environmental investigations, rock coring and soil sampling experience. The announcement frames these additions as a way to serve Pennsylvania and neighboring markets; it does not give a forecast for new contracts or revenue from the deal.
For regional developers, utilities and public agencies, the transaction is a change in the availability of a local engineering and field-services team, not a newly announced construction project. DLZ’s Bridgeville office provides a local point of reference, while the new subsidiary broadens its stated drilling capabilities. The firm’s 2018 office announcement and current materials-testing overview describe its existing Pittsburgh-area facilities and service lines.
DLZ is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, and provides architecture, engineering, surveying and construction-related services. Terra Testing was founded in Pennsylvania in 1972, according to DLZ. The companies have not announced a purchase price. DLZ says the integrated team will operate under the DLZ Terra Testing name.