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Transfinder Celebrates 30 Years
BY CLAUDIA NEWTON |
CLAUDIA@STNONLINE.COM Transportation management software provider Transfinder is celebrating its 30th
anniversary and looking forward to many more years of the rapid growth that has characterized the company. Over 1,700 school districts in 47 U.S. states use Transfinder’s software for school bus
routing, scheduling, planning and communications. However, education was one of the company’s main jobs in the early days. President and CEO Antonio Civitella joined the company based in Schenectady,
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New York in its first year of existence. He was as hired as an intern and at that point was the company’s third employee. He purchased the business in 2000, and within five years opened satellite offices in Austin, Texas and Shanghai, China. Transfinder recently recorded its 20th straight year of revenue growth and made Inc. magazine’s list of America’s fastest growing private companies for the last 11 years. “We had to literally educate the potential client on how the technology could help
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the district,” shared Public Relations Director Rick D’Errico. “Part of that fear may have been unfamiliarity with technology but it could also include people being worried that technology would take their job away.” Now, he added, Transfinder prides itself on creating solutions to problems customers share with them. In an industry where transportation operators often don’t obtain technology until
years after everyone else has it, D’Errico said Transfinder continuously looks to engage itself and its customers with the latest offerings. From Apple watches to drones, Civi- tella repeatedly asks his staff, “What if?” He said he also understands that looking ahead can never replace faithfully taking
care of the basics. During prep time last summer for the new school year, D’Errico said Transfinder’s support team answered every incoming customer call, refusing to let any go to voicemail, and closed 90 percent of support tickets within 24 hours of receiving them. “Tony’s mantra is, ‘Figure it out,’” he noted. “You can’t rest on yesterday’s laurels.” With customer feedback and engagement being as important as it is, Civitella said the company’s Annual Client Summit and its “Glimpse of the Future” event is the biggest effort of the year. It’s a time to receive feedback from clients on Trans- finder’s solutions and to “wow” them with glimpses of emerging technology. “That’s how you know you have your finger on the pulse of the client,” D’Errico said of the excitement shown by the audience. “We’re creating solutions to very real problems.” Likewise, the company’s audience-focused efforts include awarding its Ambassa- dor of the Year to a student transporter who has worked a wonder with the compa- ny’s software. “It’s pretty inspiring,” said D’Errico. CIvitella described both the company’s past journey and its future path with
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26 School Transportation News • APRIL 2018
the phrase “never stop.” He said he subscribes to a healthy balance of celebrating successes, fixing problems and moving on to bigger and better things. “Always on, always connected, no breaks,” he concluded.
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