THE MAGAZINE FOR LEADING CONSTRUCTION EXECUTIVES
The new way to X-ray - pinpointing risks
before major problems arise
Ground Penetrating Radar Systems Inc.
www.usbuildersreview.com
The new way to X-ray - pinpointing risks
before major problems arise
Produced by James Logan & Written by Molly Shaw
Every business is designed to solve a problem; Ground
Penetrating Radar Systems Inc. (GPRS) just so happens
to work with ones unseen. “When a company needs
to break the surface, whether it’s cutting or drilling
through a concrete slab or ground excavation, there
are certain elements below the surface that cause great
concern and can be extremely costly if broken,” explains
Matt Aston, founder and president of the Ohio-based
company.
GPRS detects these elements before they result in bigtime problems utilizing the latest in technology from
GSSI with multiple systems and antennas designed
to handle any commercial or residential project. The
company’s manufacturer-certified, highly trained
professionals relay results to clients in multiple formats,
including on surface field markings, CAD and GPS
overlays.
GPRS is a nationwide company with technicians
permanently based in 48 cities; nearly every major market
in the U.S. and has recently been named one of the Inc.
5,000 fastest growing private firms. “We started out in
Toledo, Ohio,” says Aston. “Now we’re operating across
the country, from the Trump Tower in Chicago to Yankee
Stadium, One World Trade Center and the Cleveland
Clinic; we’ve worked on some major landmarks; 2002 was
our first full year and our sales were $120,000, in 2013
our numbers were up to $15.1 million.”
The desire for change and a niche idea
While GPRS’ success has skyrocketed in recent years, the
company started through a simple conversation between
father and son. “In 2001, when I was just 24 years old, I
was working an entry level finance job for a Fortune 300
company in Toledo,” shares Aston. “I started right out of
college, but the thing about college is they expect people
between 18 and 22 years old to know what they want to
do for the rest of their life and I thought I wanted to work
in finance for a big company and I could not have been
more wrong.”
After about two years in finance, Aston soon realized the
corporate environment wasn’t for him. “I went to my
father, who owns his own concrete cutting company, for
advice,” he recalls. “I originally wanted to go into business
with him but he thought I should try something on my
own.”
“He handed me a few magazines with new technologies
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he’d been reading up on,” continues Aston. “I looked
into a few different avenues but ground penetrating radar
seemed like a good fit, because I’ve always been strong in
math and science. It just made sense and there was some
overlap with the services needed to support my father’s
concrete business.”
Hitting the ground running
At the ripe age of 24 with a child on the way and not a lot
of money saved up, Aston took the leap into GPRS. “My
wife thought I was crazy at first,” he shares. “We started
out in Ohio and got our first big break within about
three months at the Detroit Airport. This project helped
springboard the company into the spotlight and helped
legitimize our services.”
After GPRS’ first sizable project, Aston hired a friend to
build a website for the startup company. “Before we knew
it, we started getting calls from all over the U.S.; from
Colorado to Florida, and the need for our services on a
national level became apparent,” recalls Aston. “For the
next several years we were traveling and seeing most of
the country. We started setting up shop all over the U.S.”
Today, GPRS’ headquarters remain located in Toledo;
however, the company serves the continental U.S. “In
2008, we had seven employees – we now have 90,”
discloses Aston. “We have skilled managers from Boston
to Los Angeles to handle all project needs on a local level.”
are within the southwestern U.S., where post-tension
concrete is most frequently utilized. “In the Northeast
there’s much more steel construction, but we really shine
in post-tension jobs, because you cannot drill or cut
through a post-tension cable,” says Aston. “We pinpoint
Aston goes on to note that the company’s best markets
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the cables and paint a clear picture for contractors, as to
where they can drill without drilling into a PT tendon.”
A better guideline
GPRS utilizes state-of-the-art ground penetrating radar
surveying to deliver nondestructive ground testing
in support of large-scale developers, contractors and
architects. “We operate in two main areas: concrete
services and underground services,” explains Aston. “In
the concrete world, GPR is the best way to look into a slab
to determine the exact placement of structural elements
like rebar and post-tension cables. We use the radar to
draw the grid of the reinforcing steel directly onto the
surface of the concrete.”
According to Aston, determining the presence and
path of embedded electrical conduits is also a common
application prior to core drilling or cutting in a concrete
slab. “As far as underground services, oftentimes there
isn’t a good idea of what utilities cross trench lines,”
he continues. “Using radar to scan the surface we can
nearly pinpoint potential hazards so companies know
where not to dig.”
GPRS has painted a clear
picture for construction to
move forward for numerous
clients, from the University
of Michigan to Disney
resorts, the Trump Tower
in Chicago to One World
Trade Center in the middle
of Manhattan. “We’re doing
more and more work for
pipeline companies and
wind farms,” adds Aston.
“We completed scanning
for a project that spanned
294 miles in Texas for one
of the largest wind power
installations in the country.”
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business, Aston says GPRS continues to generate
repeat clients. “I’m very blessed to work with these
people; we have an incredible team and it wouldn’t
matter if we were doing radar or something else,
because they would be good at it no matter what,”
he ensures. “Although we’re all across the country,
we’re a unified team. What’s good for our guy in
New York also benefits the person in Philly and on
and on. We’ve been saying for a long time, ‘Our
best sales call is a job well done,’ and we’ve lived by
that motto for years.”
Since 2002, Ground Penetrating Radar Systems
Inc. has uncovered the unseen, navigating a way to
the top of the ground services industry.
COMPANY AT A GLANCE
Now that GPRS has established itself in all corners
of the U.S., Aston says the company’s focus is
now on vertical growth. “We have done a good
job educating our customer base on what our
capabilities are,” Aston says proudly. “The demand
has been created and now as it builds we are going
to place additional staff in markets in response to
the increase in demand.”
Established : 2001
President : Matt Aston
Employees : 90
www.gp-radar.com
Thanks to one of the best teams in the niche
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GROUND PENETRATING RADAR
SYSTEMS INC.
6900 W. Central Ave
Toledo, OH 43617
United States
WWW.GP-RADAR.COM