Recent announcements from the industry.

Optech Inc., Toron-to, Ontario, Canada, announced Mike Smallwood joined the company in the position of U.S. regional sales manager for the Terrestrial Survey Division. Smallwood operates out of Optech International Inc. in Kiln, Miss. His addition is the latest step in Optech's continued expansion and reorganization of its Airborne Laser Terrain Mapper (ALTM) sales team.

Bentley Systems Inc., Exton, Pa., acquired Haestad Methods Inc., Waterbury, Conn. Haestad solutions provide for design, analysis, and management of water distribution supply, municipal sanitary sewers, urban stormwater collection, roadway and civil site drainage, and flood control. For Bentley, the acquisition of Haestad Methods is a continuation of its consolidation of AEC solutions to streamline the AEC lifecycle of asset owners and their providers. Haestad's founder, John Haestad, was appointed as senior vice president of Bentley Software. An informational webpage concerning the acquisition has been established at www.haestad.com/bentley.

NavCom Technology, Torrance, Calif., signed Topo Center to its global network of dealers. Topo Center is an authorized representative for NavCom products and services in Switzerland. Topo Center is a full-service survey organization specializing in affordable receivers that utilize the Swiss GSM-RTK Network, as well as NavCom Technology proprietary RTK, StarFire Network and EGNOS capabilities.

Keith and Schnars P.A., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., named Frank Nunez, PSM, as surveying manager for the firm's Miami office. In this role he oversees surveying and mapping services in Dade and Monroe Counties. Nunez has more than 24 years of experience in all phases of land surveying and mapping.

Leica Geosystems HDS Inc., San Ra-mon, Calif., an-nounced that Derrel Shaffer has joined the company to guide the growth of High-Definition Surveying (HDS) technology in plant, facilities and related markets. Shaffer is a registered professional engineer with extensive experience in both 2D and 3D plant design tools, including MicroStation, PlantSpace, PDS, SmartPlant Review, PDMS and AutoCAD.

DigitalGlobe, Longmont, Colo., an-nounced Dr. Walter Scott, founder and CTO, received the 2004 Colorado Ernst & Young Entrepre-neur of the Year Award in the emerging technology category.

Timmons Group, Richmond, Va., an engineering, surveying and landscape architecture firm, and TRANSMAP Corporation, Columbus, Ohio, a provider of asset inventory and infrastructure management solutions, formalized their multi-year partnership. The Timmons Group-TRANSMAP partnership enables the two firms to collaborate on various enterprise asset management program consulting and implementation efforts for city, county and state agencies tasked with the operation and maintenance of public infrastructure facilities. The formalized relationship between the companies allows for a tighter sharing of data and resources as well as improving strategic benefits and solution delivery to customers.