Fast times continue for Qbase

Technology company to expand in Beavercreek and Springfield

Dayton Business Journal (August 3, 2007)

by Jacob Dirr
DBJ Staff Reporter

Bill Pardue likes to say "Go big or go home." For his Beavercreek data management and analysis firm, Qbase, Pardue is definitely opting for big.

Qbase is set to quadruple its office space in the next four months by moving into at least 15,000 square feet in Beavercreek, with an option for an additional 8,000. It also is opening more than 15,000 square feet in the Nextedge Applied Research and Technology Park in Springfield.

"Right now we are doubling up and tripling up in offices," said Pardue, the chief executive officer.

Currently occupying 7,500 square feet in The Acropolis across from Fairfield Commons and 3,000 square feet in Springfield, Qbase also is installing full-time regional sales representative in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Pittsburgh, Pardue said.

The sales offices represent strong overlays among the various sectors Qbase serves, he said.

Qbase reported $1.4 million in sales in 2006 and is projecting $8 million in 2007. It has 86 employees.

Founded with six others in 2005, Qbase has grown exponentially, largely because of a collaboration with the University of Dayton Research Institute, Dayton-based Woolpert Inc. and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, Pardue said. The groups have struck a lucrative partnership based around sensor technology, such as geospatial mapping and analyses, essentially taking high-tech pictures from the sky for the U.S. Department of Defense among others.

In July 2006, UDRI introduced the two companies to each other.

Woolpert is the largest privately owned geospatial firm in the country. If needed, it can capture a 3-D image of an entire city for wartime or disaster relief.

Woolpert captures data, such as infrared, thermal and laser images, with as many as 13 sensors on a plane. Every hour a plane flies creates 15 hours of data analysis per sensor, said Shane Imwalle, Woolpert's senior vice president of client services.

"We are talking mind boggling amounts of data," Imwalle said.

To date, $4.1 million has been invested in the partnership, including $2 million from Qbase, $1 million from Woolpert and $1.1 million from UDRI.

"What we are doing now... is going to whet the appetite with the AFRL, Department of Defense and Homeland Security," Imwalle said.

UDRI Director John Leland said Qbase's growth mirrors the potential and excitement around emerging sensor technology and the role the Miami Valley can play in its future.

"This is big for the area, big for the country and big for commerce," Leland said.

Leland said that UDRI is also providing scientists to work with Qbase, which will in turn improve the expertise at UDRI, making them and the region more attractive to project sponsors.

As Qbase grows, so will the opportunities for Woolpert and UDRI, Imwalle said.

Already Qbase and Woolpert are scrambling to fill more than 60 collective job openings.

Having interviewed five former U.S. presidents as an Associated Press reporter, Pardue is used to a challenge.

Still, his excitement about his work is palpable.

"We are working with images that are captured in a finer fashion than ever before," he said.

Pardue anticipates Qbase continuing to grow, eventually occupying more office space and gathering hundreds of employees. The headquarters will stay in Ohio, he said.

"The community has been great to us," Pardue said.

The two companies are looking to leverage their emerging technology to other markets beyond geospatial imagery.

"There will be exponential growth when we pull this off," Imwalle said. "We are going to make Pixar look light (in processing abilities)."

Woolpert reported $125 million in revenue in 2006 and has accrued about $80 million so far this year. It has 850 total employees, including 250 locally.

E-mail jdirr@bizjournals.com. Call 528-4424.

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