INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

LISA STONE:
Why don’t you give our readers a quick background on 3001.

ANDY DOUGHERTY:
3001, Inc. was established in 1965 as a Louisiana-based company operating as the survey arm of an engineering company focused on transportation and survey mapping. In the late 70’s the company started to show real growth with the addition of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a client which prompted the opening of the New Orleans office in the 1980’s. In 1986, 3001 was the first company to operate GPS surveys and it has become the corporate culture to be the company of firsts. With our focus on providing solutions rather than products, 3001 has become a leading-edge technology provider in the geospatial field. If you look at our customers, you will see that this has been an extremely successful strategy for 3001 our customer base is 90 percent repeat customers.

STONE:
What brought 3001, Inc. to Mississippi?

DOUGHERTY:
The first thing was the realization that some of my best employees were graduates of Mississippi universities. We wanted to get closer to the great workforce supply. The second reason is our primary focus out here at Stennis Space Center which is supporting the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). We started the Intel Defense Solutions office at Stennis with just me and now have 38 full time employees. And we plan on doubling the size of our staff at Stennis and the new technology park at the Stennis airport.

STONE:
What are some of the organizations in Mississippi that you work with?

DOUGHERTY:
The best way I can do that is give you a brief glimpse of some of my meetings and phone calls over the last two days: University of Southern Mississippi, MS Development Authority, MS Enterprise for Technology, Pearl River Community College, IAEGS at Ole Miss, Department of Homeland Security, Center for Higher Learning. Our relationships with Mississippi’s universities and community colleges have facilitated our growth and ability to hire quality people.

STONE:
As you know, Mississippi has traditionally been an agriculture and manufacturing state. From the perspective of a leading technology company, what would you say to other high-tech ventures about doing business in Mississippi?

DOUGHERTY:
We are so encouraged by the continued focus that the Governor and the MS Development Authority are placing on geospatial technology in the state. For example, 3001 is really excited about providing the highest resolution digital mapping products available in the U.S. from a Mississippi operation. The Momentum Mississippi legislation is further evidence that the state is committed to not only attracting new high tech businesses, but helping current Mississippi businesses thrive in the state.

STONE:
I know EIGS has worked with 3001, Inc. on geospatial training. Can you tell our readers about that?

DOUGHERTY:
In cooperation with the State of Mississippi and the university system, 3001 is establishing a Geospatial Training Institute to support training requirements for several federal agencies here in the Gulf Coast region. Due to Hurricane Katrina, our first class originally scheduled for September 12-23, 2005, at Stennis, covering geospatial analysis tools and techniques is being rescheduled.

STONE:
What is on the horizon for 3001?

DOUGHERTY:
Well, we are certainly focused on expanding our Mississippi operations we have found that one of the great advantages of being in Hancock County at Stennis is the close working relationships we have built with other industry partners co-located here. Without fail, every time we host a meeting here, the predominant comment is I didn’t realize there was so much going on here. 3001 intends to be right in the middle of it all and is well positioned to be the leader in geospatial solutions in the U.S.

3001, Inc. opened their Stennis Space Center office in 2002 when they joined Mississippi’s Geospatial Technology Industry Cluster. Their areas of expertise include airborne data acquisition, land and hydrographic surveying, digital mapping, and GIS. 3001 targets the following markets: environmental planning and management, oil and gas, water and wastewater utilities, electric utilities, telecommunications, transportation, public safety, land management, real estate, and property appraisal. Their ability to respond to the demanding and ever changing needs of their customers has put 3001 at the forefront of providing innovative spatial data services and as Mississippi continues to grow as a leader in geospatial technology, 3001 has become an anchor company for Mississippi’s Industry Cluster.