News & Events

From Albany Business Review
By Justin Dawes
January 25, 2022

Thanks to a new product released just in time for changes during the pandemic, Transfinder Corp. said it achieved record revenue and growth in 2021. 

The Schenectady-based software company closed $23.3 million in revenue last year, up 23% from 2020 and about $1 million more than what was predicted at this time last year. That makes 24 consecutive years of financial growth. 

Transfinder’s product helps school districts determine the best school bus routes while tracking fuel consumption, maintenance costs and vehicle replacement. 

There are thousands of school districts that aren’t using the software, so the growth potential is big, said Antonio Civitella, Transfinder president and CEO. Of all the new clients, 35% came from big competitors and 60% had no software at all, he said.

"We really are chipping away at the market. It's not saturated yet,” Civitella said.

The company added a record 201 clients in 2021, driven by the company’s Routefinder PLUS software released in April 2020. The next generation of the Transfinder software is a cloud-based platform that allows users access anywhere they have an internet connection. 

Seventy percent of the clients using the software said its main benefit has been helping with optimization of route management, especially with a driver shortage and many other issues they've been facing during the pandemic, Civitella said. The software has allowed them to find the best ways to consolidate routes or change routes based on changing needs. 

Schools can also use the software to plan routes that keep kids from having to cross the street and keep buses from driving through certain areas, among other uses. 

There’s so much growth potential that the first priority is hiring, and the new clients are expected to follow, Civitella said.

"Transfinder's growth is based on how fast we are able to bring on employees and train them,” Civitella said. “It's a lot of work to bring on new clients and upgrade clients, but it's all based on how fast we're able to hire people and train them and make them effective employees."

Transfinder added 23 employees last year, totaling about 150 in three locations and remotely. Civitella thinks the company might reach 200 employees in 2022. The company received 1,536 resumes last year, an increase of about 8% from the previous year.

"This could be the year that we hit 200 employees or close to it because we are going to continue investing in our technology,” he said. "If you asked me this a few years a go, I wouldn't think that would ever happen."

He projects the company will reach at least $27 million in revenue this year, as long as it continues working to scale. 

"Just because we did $23.3 million doesn't mean we're going to reach $27 million. It's a significant amount of effort, a lot of plans have to come in place. We've got to continue delivering outstanding service,” Civitella said.

Click here to the Albany Business Review article.