August/September Business View Magazine

52 53 Woolpert has done a good job of staying on the leading edge to deploy and integrate new sys- tems. So, we have the reputation that we always have the information and technology to set us apart from our competitors.” The firm’s dedication to technology has resulted in dedicated clients.“We’ve maintained clients for twenty, thirty, and forty years,”Lovin notes.He adds that 87 to 88 percent of all the company’s revenue comes from repeat business. Furthermore, a sub- stantial portion of the firm’s business consists of federal contracts.“About forty percent of our revenue is federal dollars.One of our biggest clients is the U.S. Geological Survey, and we do a great deal of lidar (light detection and ranging) data collection for them and their 3D Elevation Program.The Federal Aviation Administration is another huge client.We do a lot of airport and GIS survey work, helping develop the 3D data as part of the FAA’s next-gener- ation air traffic control system.Another big client is National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, on the de- fense side.And all those geospatial services clients are some of the top grossing clients for the firm.” Woolpert also has proved to be an industry WOOLPERT, INC. PREFERRED VENDORS n DAT/EM Systems International www.datem.com leader in Lidar, which continues to advance expo- nentially in precision and application. Lovin ex- plains, “There is a huge revolution going on with a new Lidar technology that provides data at a much higher density, increasing accuracy, efficiency, and value. It’s revolutionizing the industry, and we’re one of the first to bring this technology forward. We just completed the largest commercial single photon lidar acquisition in North America for the USGS. It’s been certified, approved, and moved forward.” To further facilitate growth, in 2017,Woolpert completed a minority recapitalization for the first time in its history. “It was a long process that our CEO and our leadership worked through, and we’re pleased to have a new partner who will help us grow the company,” Lovin states. As an employee-owned company, it was import- ant to keep the company’s values, systems, and employee expectations in place, and Lovin believes that the minority partnership provides the ideal situation. “We wanted a minority partner because we didn’t want to sell the company or lose control of its operations. So we found the perfect minority partner to help with key strategic acquisitions.We are now on an aggressive growth strategy to rapid- ly grow the firm over the next five years.” Just as the company’s reputation has been built on its relationships and successes, Lovin believes its future will follow the same path. “We’ve been here over 100 years and we’re still the same com- pany.We have a great reputation and strong track record, and we’ll continue to give our clients the highest value product for any need they have.”