Acquisition Creates one of the Largest Women- and Minority-owned Engineering Firms in the Midwest
TranSmart Technologies Inc. has announced its acquisition of Chicago-based EJM Engineering, a company specializing in planning, design, construction engineering and program management of infrastructure projects. TranSmart is a regional transportation engineering firm with offices in Chicago, Downers Grove, Illinois, Madison, Wisconsin and Minneapolis. TranSmart/EJM will be located in Chicago at 411 S. Wells St. The acquisition will make TranSmart’s Chicago office its largest.
TranSmart’s acquisition of EJM represents a synergistic integration of two highly successful women-owned companies – one founded on traditional transportation and civil engineering and one that focuses on the applications of innovative technology for improved and advanced transportation systems and infrastructure.
“This is an exciting milestone for TranSmart, and I am thrilled to be partnering with a company that is so respected in the industry,” said Dr. Connie Li, P.E., President and CEO of TranSmart Technologies. “Acquiring EJM allows us to rapidly expand and provide additional engineering and construction services that will help us better serve clients and successfully meet their broader goals. With this acquisition, we will also provide new opportunities for our highly talented, passionate and dedicated professional staff.”
“We are pleased to be able to continue the tradition of a woman-owned engineering firm,” said Joan Berry, former president of EJM Engineering. “EJM’s founder, Elizabeth McLean, was a pioneer in this industry when she started the business in 1986, so it makes sense for us to join forces with one of Chicago’s leading woman-owned engineering firms; we share the same vision and values, and we are eager to move forward bringing our combined experience to the marketplace.”
“With this acquisition, Transmart, a woman-owned business in Chicago, will double its size and be positioned for fast growth,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “This is exactly what our diversity program is set up to do – help women- and minority-owned firms grow and prosper.”
TranSmart, using the latest technologies in Intelligent Transportation Systems and Active Traffic Management, is supporting the Illinois Tollway to change the I-90 corridor between Rockford, Ill. and O’Hare International Airport into a more efficient, state-of-the-art SMART Corridor through planning, design and implementation. EJM’s full range of services contributed to the success of the Chicago Department of Transportation’s signature Wacker Drive project throughout design and construction. EJM provided structural, civil, electrical and traffic engineering services, and played a critical role in maintaining traffic operations in downtown Chicago during construction.
EJM is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of TranSmart, and both companies will retain their respective names at this time. Together TranSmart and EJM will have nearly 100 employees, which will allow the companies to offer their clients a broader range of services. Both TranSmart and EJM are Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) companies and with this acquisition EJM will become a third generation women-owned company.
The TranSmart and EJM combined services include:
- Transportation Engineering and Design
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Structural Engineering
- Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
- ITS Software Development
- Construction Management & Inspection
- Transportation Planning & Environmental Documentation
- Multi-Modal Transportation Planning and Design
- Security/Technology Systems
- Connected Vehicle Implementation
- Program Management
