History

On November 28, 1934 in Buffalo, New York, five local businessmen - Lewis Surdam, Raymond Morrison, Michael Cohn, Daniel Kamphausen, and Ben Cravens - started a company with a single wood preservative patent. The Osmose Wood Preserving Company of America provided OsmoSalts, a formulation of sodium fluoride, potassium bicarbonate, and dinitrophenol in a waterborne mixture, to companies in the mining and railroad industries. This unique preservative was used to treat timbers that supported mine shafts and railroad bridges. The timbers were dipped in the mixture, then covered while it infused through the wood - a process called osmosis, which is the basis for both the product name and the company name.

In 1945, Osmose purchased its first truck and expanded its services to the utility industry; inspecting and treating wood utility poles to extend their service life.

In 1965, the first iteration of the truss was developed to restore strength to poles weakened by decay. It was little more than an oil pipe cut in half length-wise. However, despite the rudimentary design, some of those half-pipe trusses are still in service today!

The Osmose Employee Ownership Plan was established. The ESOP enabled employees to own about 35 percent of the stock of the company.

Associated Utility Supplies Ltd is founded, supplying engineering products to the rail, electrical supply and aboricultural industries.

Responding to customer demand for a comprehensive pole loading analysis tool, Osmose released O-Calc®

Osmose acquired Coherent Networks, a utility data solutions provider, to expand its service offerings to include field surveys and audits.

Osmose Holdings, Inc. was formed, and the three operating divisions were reorganised as three separate subsidiary companies - Osmose Railroad Services, Inc., Osmose Utilities Services, Inc., and Osmose, Inc. (Wood Preserving).

Osmose Utilities Services, Inc. relocated its management team from Buffalo, New York to suburban Atlanta, Georgia to accommodate national travel for a growing client base.

Significant investments in manufacturing bring production in house for Associated Utility Supplies. This milestone further enhanced AUS' ability to create truly bespoke and engineered offerings for their customers.

AUS purchases Atlas Rail so widen their portfolio in the expanding rail industry.

AUS secures a multi-million pound deal to supply link-box protection blankets. This innovative piece of kit prevents potentially catastrophic explosions below ground from endangering human life.

Osmose acquired an Australia-based overhead and underground electrical installation and maintenance company, Logsys Power Services.

Osmose acquired Power Survey Company, the industry leader in providing mobile contact voltage detection services to major utilities in North America and Europe.

AUS secures funding from the Department for Transport to further develop the offering to rail customers in the United Kingdom.

Osmose acquired a Canada-based overhead and underground inspection and contractual maintenance company, Provincial Pole Specialists, Inc. (PPSI) and sister company, Central Pole Inspection and Maintenance, Inc. (CPIM). 

Osmose acquired the Geospatial & Asset Management business of Effigis Geo-Solutions, a leader in geospatial information serving major Canadian utilities and telecommunication providers.

Osmose Utility Services agrees a strategic partnership with AUS Ltd to begin the introduction of trussing solutions to the UK.

Osmose acquired McLean Engineering Company, an engineering firm providing transmission line and substation design, engineering, inspection, and joint use attachment contract management solutions.

AUS is officially acquired by Osmose, paving the way for a growing partnership and enhancing the existing product portfolio and offering.

Osmose announced that it acquired Centillion Solutions, Inc., a leading engineering services company for the telecommunications industry. The acquisition further expands Osmose's technical services capabilities.

AUS opens a new site in Leeds, UK specifically for Osmose operations. This strategic move enables swifter and more efficient deployment of Osmose Services to UK distribution network operators and European customers.  

One year after the acquisition, Associated Utility Supplies rebrands as Osmose Europe Ltd. With this move, Osmose Europe  becomes even more a part of the family and prepares for European expansion.

Osmose Utilities Services is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with subsidiaries on almost every continent. Osmose continues to innovate; celebrating and leveraging 90 years of knowledge, experience, and hard work to help customers keep their systems as strong as the communities they serve.