Transfinder Corp., a global software firm with a focus on transportation, reported 2016 revenue increased 9 percent year-over-year to $12.7 million. These numbers included a 20-percent increase in sales from 173 new clients.
Specializing in school bus logistics and fleet maintenance, the New York-based Transfinder attributed its growth to new products and product upgrades, such as Viewfinder, which allows users to monitor day-to-day transportation operations from any device. Transfinder said Viewfinder “gained market acceptance, experiencing exponential growth in both users and revenue.”
This came on the heels of the 2015 launch of Selfiefinder, a social media product for school districts. Last year, Transfinder expanded Selfiefinder to sporting venues, such as the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium in Troy, New York, the home of the Tri-City ValleyCats minor league baseball team. Transfinder said most of the functionality created in the development of Selfiefinder has moved into other Transfinder products.
According to President and CEO Antonio Civitella, 2016 was also the year that Transfinder fully transitioned to an international company. Transfinder signed its first client in the Middle East, Dubai Taxi Corp., and partnered with its first Middle Eastern company, Dubai Technologies.
Transfinder expanded its business in part by growing research and development from its headquarters in Schenectady, New York, as well as its satellite offices in Austin, Texas, and Shanghai, China, both of which opened in 2015.
“It’s one thing to open an office or launch a product and quite another to make those endeavors successful and meet the high standards your clients come to expect,” Civitella said. “In 2016, we worked to make the Austin and Shanghai operations extremely productive and we focused on ensuring that each location had at its core the Transfinder culture. It is working.”
He added that the company’s Austin office received a customer service award from the Austin Chamber of Commerce. Companywide, Transfinder reported that it closed 92 percent of all client issues within 24 hours.
Further, Civitella reported that the team at the Transfinder’s Shanghai operation “works extremely well with our Schenectady team.”
On top of launching a non-K-12 division focused on fleet maintenance in 2016, Transfinder launched “Marketplace,” which allows existing clients to choose from vetted business partners on such complementary offerings as GPS and camera technology that integrate well with Transfinder technology.
For its combined efforts, Inc. magazine included Transfinder on its list of the fastest-growing companies for the 10th consecutive year.
