As our nation’s new president looks to increase investment in publicinfrastructure, GeoDecisions will also have a new president–and anoutlook for continued growth.
Althoughsomewhat new to consumers, geographic information systems–or GIS asthe technology is commonly known–has played a key role in Pennsylvaniahighway design for many years. And much of it has been provided byGeoDecisions, a company founded by Penn State faculty and staff in 1986.
Apioneer in the collection and presentation of spatial information fordecision-makers, GeoDecisions serves clients in industrial andcommercial businesses, as well as municipal, state and federalgovernment agencies. It relationship with PennDOT dates from 1994, andit works on highway transportation systems in 24 other states.
“Wehave more of a back log than we have ever had,” says Senior VicePresident Tony Pietropola, who becomes the president of Geo Decisionson Jan. 1, when his current boss Bob Scaer takes the helm of GannettFleming, an international planning, design and construction managementfirm that acquired GeoDecisions in 1992.
“We anticipate that alot more work will come our way,” Pietropola, a Penn Hills native andgraduate of Edinboro University, predicts.
Much of it could berepeat business. GeoDecisions created the online system that allows NewYork City to identify locations where rats congregate in the Big Apple.Its systems also show Mississippi decision-makers where vehicleaccidents cluster. As modern descendants of Mercator, the company’s 160employees recognize success in well-organized, relevant, and preciseinformation fitted onto visual representations of geographic space. Itsuse of real-time data, such as weather and traffic, providesPennsylvania with a statewide system for immediately alerting travelersto closings of sections of highway.
Pietropola expects to behiring more employees trained in computer science and software anddatabase development. And as business grows with clients across thecountry, the work will come back to Pennsylvania, as most of it will beperformed at Camp Hill headquarters and offices in Pittsburgh, StateCollege, and Philadelphia. As a start, the software solution GeoPlan,used by more than 70 Pennsylvania municipalities and which the companyacquired last month, will be marketed from Pittsburgh, with plans toexpand nationwide.
Source: GeoDecisions Senior Vice President Tony Pietropola
Writer: Joseph Plummer
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