Pondera looks to build on gains
The founders of Pondera Engineers LLC went from engineers to businessmen nearly overnight three years ago.
A spinoff of Itron Inc., the company started with a software product used by the power utility industry and dozens of customers. But it entered a niche market already dominated by a competing firm.
Founders Fred Behrmann, Mike Dolan and Yair Berenstein initially hoped to grow enough in three years to move from the basement of a Spokane technology-business incubator into their own office.
They made the move from the Sirti Technology Center this month, relocating the now eight-person company to the Riverbend Commerce Park in Post Falls. Although Dolan estimates its Madison, Wis.-based competitor, Power Line Systems Inc., controls about 70 percent of the market, Pondera Engineers is looking to expand abroad and emphasize what it sees as unique features of its software – all using in-house funding.
“We’re in a good market position, we just need to continue to strengthen ourselves, to continue to build the brand,” Dolan said.
Pondera Engineers’ mainstay product, TL-Pro Design Studio, is a computer application used by engineers to design and optimize power transmission lines.
TL-Pro sells for about $21,500, whereas PoleSTAR, a scaled-back program released last spring, lists at about $2,200. Dolan declined to disclose company revenue. More than 70 clients, primarily investor-owned utilities and public power companies, use the company’s products, Dolan said.
The software allows users to input digital terrain information and insert trees, houses and other features, creating a three-dimensional, virtual landscape users can explore like in a video game. Avista Utilities employees earlier this year used that capability at a public meeting about a project in Medical Lake.
“I thought the demonstration that we did with TL-Pro helped answer questions about what is this going to look like, where is it going to be,” said David James, transmission design manager for Avista.
“They’ve been able to pull together a client base and supplement their software business with consulting,” including some design work for Avista, James said.
Pondera Engineers also boasts that TL-Pro offers an algorithm that determines efficient placement of transmission lines, saving utilities money.
“Pondera has a bright future with growing global demand for electric transmission line replacement and build-out,” Kim Zentz, executive director of business incubator Sirti, said in a prepared statement. “With their innovative software solutions backed by their solid design engineering expertise, they are well positioned for solid growth.”
The company is working to close a deal with a private investment and consulting company in India, and it finalized a contract Wednesday with a utility in Homer, Alaska, Dolan said. He expects to roll out add-on software within weeks.