Competitor Breakdown

1️⃣ Internal Drone Programs (Biggest Competitor)

Most common threat:

• “We do this ourselves.”

Typical setup:

• Propeller

• DroneDeploy

• Dedicated employee

• Software subscriptions ($10k–$50k+)

• Vehicles, labor burden, equipment

Sales Positioning:

• They’re not drone experts.

• Inconsistency is common.

• Total labor + software + overhead is significant.

• We deliver consistent, repeatable results.

Simple framing:

If you don’t want to change the toner in your copier, you probably don’t want to manage your own drone program.

2️⃣ Firmatek

• Long-standing industry player

• Historically truck-mounted LiDAR

• Now using drones

• Heavy in utilities now

• Strong presence with Vulcan, Martin Marietta, etc.

They:

• Offer stockpile volumes, cut/fill, ortho, methane, etc.

• Are experienced but not dominant everywhere

• Still hiring frequently (possible churn or growth)

Sales angle:

• We offer the same services.

• We can be more responsive and consistent.

3️⃣ Wingfield (Scale Companies)

Primary business:

• Truck scales

• Belt scale calibration

Secondary:

• Truck-mounted LiDAR

• Volumetric scanning

Often regional.

Sales angle:

• They are scale experts, not drone experts.

• Their volumetric methods rely on assumptions.

4️⃣ StockpileReports.com

Approach:

• Contract pilots (FlyGuys, etc.)

• App-based phone scanning

• Fixed camera systems

• DOT contracts

Issues:

• Phone scanning incomplete (can’t see backs of piles)

• Fixed infrastructure expensive and unreliable

• Reports may look polished but have blind spots

Customer feedback:

• Systems unreliable

• Trust issues

Sales angle:

• We capture full geometry.

• No infrastructure required.

• Higher data integrity.