ARE-Solidifying ITS Place Within the LiDAR Industry

After receiving his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota, Dave Anderson entered the professional world of engineering and bridges. This became his passion. Angel Lucero received her B.S. in Business and Finance from California State University-Long Beach. After graduating she started her career in marketing and finance. Soon their professional paths would cross.

by Katelyn Wood, Marketing Coordinator, ARE

Background

ARE Lidar Scan

After over 27 years of experience working for HNTB as a Design Engineer and as Vice President, Anderson decided it was time to make his own way in the industry with the help of Lucero. With over 17 years of marketing and financial management experience, Lucero was the perfect partner. In July of 2005 Anderson and Lucero founded American Rail Consultants (ARC) to service program management, inspections and reports for short-line railroads.

Once the company was created the duo connected with Steven Youschak. Youschak was experienced in engineering and business development and was soon recruited to join the team. Youschak assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer based in Southern California at the time.

In January of 2014 AirShark, a UAV/drone company, had opened their doors for business in Vermont. AirShark was considered a pioneer in their industry and began to grow rapidly. With their custom-built UAV’s, AirShark performed infrastructure inspections and mapping for local utility companies and engineering firms.

In 2016, AirShark was acquired by MediaWing, a full-service UAV data collection company founded by Fred Depuy. This expanded MediaWing’s back-office capability and understanding of sensors. AirShark became the brand name for MediaWing’s UAV flight services and data post processing.

                          ARE Team at Eversource Project in November, 2018

The Epiphany

In March of 2015 ARC was renamed American Rail Engineers (ARE). They signed several bridge management agreements to work with short-line railroads across the country. MediaWing was growing on the east coast and ARE was growing on the west.

Always looking for ways to bring more value to the rail industry, Youschak began researching the best way to provide UAS services to ARE’s clients. When AirShark showed up on his radar he immediately recognized their broad-based expertise, innovative approach, understanding of drone and sensor technology, especially as it applied to inspections, and capability with geographic information system (GIS) applications. ARE saw the undeniable connection with the use of UAS and GIS for engineering and environmental purposes in the railroad industry and beyond.

In January of 2018 ARE acquired MediaWing/AirShark. Anderson, CEO of ARE, expressed his enthusiasm for the benefits the acquisition offers its customers, “We are very pleased to have Media Wing/AirShark as part of the ARE team. Bringing the companies together adds extraordinary value to the deliverables we provide and the ability for us to help our clients make informed decisions.”

ARE Setting Up Lidar Drone

The Next Generation

The combined companies expand and strengthen ARE’s industry-leading engineering, software development, and bridge inspection services to railroads. In addition, ARE now offers UAS inspection and documentation services to energy, engineering, transportation, environmental agencies and utilities. ARE is now thought of as a leader in the UAS space especially for more advanced applications, such as LiDAR, photogrammetry, advanced proximity, thermal, and multispectral imagery.

ARE also offers full-service UAS consulting services and training to assist companies with improving the proficiency levels of their in-house UAS programs. As stated in the company’s value proposition: “ARE simplifies the process of collecting, managing and utilizing information through on-site engineering, UAS technology and software solutions for the infrastructure and environmental markets. Through customized deliverables, ARE provides clients with the insight and data to help manage their assets.”

The company’s professionalism and focus on safety is positively received within the industry. ARE has grown to include field offices across the country, from Irvine, California to its headquarters in Hampton, New Hampshire.

Through ARE’s strong relationships within the short-line rail industry, they have gained a substantial amount of expertise, along with a deep understanding of the value that targeted asset management software development can provide. ARE uses geographic databases, mobile and web applications in order to provide their clients with access to their assets, related analysis and capital planning. ARE is focused on creating superior tools for their customers along with better ways to assess, manage, and track their assets. With eyes-open to the needs of their client base, ARE Corporation is continually learning and growing within the engineering, UAS, and software sectors.

Quick Facts:

ARE currently has PE’s licensed in 23 states, operates nationwide in 44 States, manages over 4,000 bridges (20,000+ bridge spans), has flown over 2,200 UAV missions on 370 different types of applications in the energy, transportation and environmental markets. From LiDAR to infrastructure inspections ARE maintains its own in-house GIS & LiDAR post processing and UAS consulting services.

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