Livermore, CA -- Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS) and SGE, one of the largest New England-based multidisciplinary design and GIS service firms, have formed a strategic partnership in the areas of land use, asset management, utility operations and environmental engineering.

Charles Rihner, Topcon vice president, mobile control planning division, said, “We are very pleased to welcome SGE as a GIS Solution Partner.” This new program enables major GIS service providers to partner directly with Topcon. The benefits include direct access to hardware, software, and application development resources. With these additional tools, professional firms can build complete end-to-end solutions. The results are better service for the GIS client and increased profit for the provider.

Topcon’s GIS products include TopSURV-GIS and Field Tools for ArcPad software for field data collection tasks. Topcon Tools, designed for the PC desktop, provides an in-office interface for data management, analysis, and post-processing.

A large portion of SGE’s GIS services is based on utility and municipality geospatial maintenance. SGE includes Topcon hardware and software, mobile GIS applications to perform reliable and accurate field data collection. The integration with the GPS/GIS data collection improves productivity along with the accuracy of the GIS database.

Richard Gosselin, manager of GIS and survey services for SGE commented on the significance of the partnership. “We have created a corporate environment of engineers, GIS professionals, and technicians who are dedicated to enhancing opportunities and minimizing problems in the areas of environmental engineering, land use and public works. With the inclusion of Topcon’s leading-edge hardware and software, SGE can now provide its clients with the tools to manage and maintain our GIS solutions,” he said.

Topcon, with headquarters in Livermore, California, manufactures the world-leading GMS-2 GIS / GPS hand-held data collector with integrated digital camera. Images, sub-meter accurate GPS locations, and attribute data of assets can now be seamlessly collected with one rugged handheld device. Pictures of GIS assets are invaluable for utility operations and management, environmental reporting, public works repair deployment, and legal documentation of permit violations and encroachments.

Topcon's rugged, compact GMS-2 was the industry's first GIS-GPS product to offer:

• An integrated digital camera linking photos to feature GPS positions and attributes;
• GNSS GPS + GLONASS (dual-constellation) tracking; and
• Multi-function capabilities as a standalone sub-meter GIS device and a controller for Topcon high-accuracy RTK     systems and total stations.

Headquartered in Middletown RI, SGE has provided multi-disciplinary engineering, land surveying and GIS services in the United States and the Middle East for more than 20 years. With branch offices in Massachusetts, California and Dubai, SGE specializes in private and public infrastructure development and offers a broad range of professional engineering services. SGE is also known as Northeast Engineers & Consultants in New England.

SGE continues to expand and gain recognition as a leader in solving difficult problems for its clients by the intelligent application of leading-edge technology.

For more information, visit www.topconpositioning.com and www.secureglobaleng.com.