More than 10 years ago, not many people knew about ground penetrating radar, and those who did know didn’t fully understand where it could be applied. But Matthew Aston was determined to figure out what industries could make use of this radar technology.
In 2001, Aston started a business with ground penetrating radar, technology developed by geophysicists that had been used in the oil and gas industry, by the military and in the construction industry. Aston knew he was on to a technology and potential markets that could really take off.
The idea proved to be a good one. Ground Penetrating Radar Systems Inc. has consistently experienced year-over-year growth of more than 50 percent and has worked in 48 states and several foreign countries.
Aston, who serves as the company’s president, had to overcome the initial obstacle of the public’s lack of knowledge about the technology. To do that, he took the technology into engineering and construction firms to let them see for themselves the capabilities of the technology.
And he continues to discover new applications for the technology, which is quickly replacing X-ray technology as the primary method to examine the inside of concrete prior to drilling and cutting slabs. The ground-penetrating radar doesn’t emit radiation like X-rays do and is therefore less of a hazard and doesn’t require clearance in order to be used.
In construction, ground -penetrating radar is used to locate electrical conduits, reinforcing steel, void cavities, environmental hazards such as buried drums and underground storage tanks, and underground utilities.
Aston has also grown the company through online marketing and search engine optimization to promote the technology. GPRS has been an amazing success in a new market that did not exist a short time ago, and more industries are discovering it every day.
HOW TO REACH: Ground Penetrating Radar Systems Inc., (419) 843-9804 or www.gp-radar.com
