CH2M Hill spawns new tech firm

The San Francisco Solar Map pinpoints installations.

Construction and engineering firm CH2M Hill has spun off its information management division to form a new company focused on IT and geospatial services.

The new firm, called Critigen, was purchased by Bay Area-based private equity firm Golden Gate Capital. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Greenwood Village-based Critigen launched in October and plans to provide technology consulting for infrastructure modernization projects, with an emphasis on renewable energy and carbon management. When it was still a part of CH2M Hill, the division designed the San Francisco Solar Map project, a Web site that maps existing solar installations in the city and allows users to assess the solar potential of individual buildings.

CH2M Hill decided to sell the division because, with its focus on engineering and construction, the $6.4 billion privately-owned company has a different growth plan and business model than a technology consultancy such as Critigen, says Remy Allis, the new company’s vice president of global marketing and communications.

CH2MHill is the new company’s largest client, according to Critigen, which has about 700 employees worldwide. About 30 percent of the company’s customers are commercial firms. The rest are federal, state and local government entities, according to the company.