Introduction
Compton Geotechnical Associates Inc. (CGA) will provide innovative approaches to geological engineering services throughout the state of Maine.
CGA will enter into this limited geographical area where it can leverage its staffs' existing collective reputation into long-term contracts centered on excellent service and cost effectiveness. We believe that we can service this limited market better than larger firms and we have better service packages at a more reasonable cost than existing competitors of equal size.
The Company
CGA will be a limited liability partnership registered in the state of Delaware for tax purposes. Its founder is Mr. Martin Compton, a former engineering geology department head with Wilson and Brown, Inc. Mr. Compton has brought together a highly respected group of geologists, hydrologists, engineers and graphic art specialists who, combined, have a total of 35 years of experience in this industry.
The company has a limited number of private investors and does not plan to go public. The company has its main offices in Augusta, Maine. The facilities include a soil/rock and water testing lab, conference rooms and office spaces. The company expects to begin offering its services in January of Year 1.
The company's main clients will be major construction companies, local and state governments, real estate companies and utility and water companies. By focusing on institutions such as these that have special needs, we believe we will be able to better serve our clients and produce a superior service that is more effective that other geo-engineering firms.
The Services
CGA offers comprehensive geo-engineering services to our diverse clients. Our services fall into two main categories of geotechnical engineering services and construction monitoring/laboratory testing.
Some of these services include surface and groundwater evaluation, slope stability analysis, bluff studies, laboratory analysis of soils, rocks and groundwater, load testing, and settlement analysis. Each project is customized to our client and its scope, length, depth, reach, and cost are unique.
The Market
There are plenty of opportunities within this market especially since recent local and federal regulations have required many of our potential customers to carryout geotechnical studies and monitoring before construction.
The geoengineering industry has been growing at a very fast rate for the past twenty years. According to the Journal of Hydrology & Geoengineering, the industry has averaged approximately 22% per year over the past five years. The geotechnical consulting business consists of thousands of smaller consulting organizations and individual consultants for every one of the few dozen well-known companies. These companies range from major international name-brand firms to tens of thousands of individuals.
Financial Considerations
Start-up assets required are [see Start-up table]. This includes [see Start-up table] in expenses and the rest in cash needed to support operations until revenues reach an acceptable level. Most of the company's liabilities will come from outside private investors and management investment, however, we have obtained [see Start-up Funding table] in current borrowing from Bank of America Commercial Investments, the principal to be paid off in two years. A long-term loan of [see Start-up Funding table] through Charter Bank of Augusta will be paid off in ten years.
The company expects to reach profitability in year one and does not anticipate any serious cash flow problems. We conservatively believe that during the first three years, average profitability per month per segment will be about $8,000. We expect that about three projects per month will guarantee a break-even point.
1.1 Objectives
The three year goals for Compton Geotechnical Associates (CGA) are the following:
- Achieve break-even by year two.
- Establish long-term contracts with at least four clients.
- Establish a minimum of a 95% customer satisfaction rate to establish long-term relationships with our clients and create word-of-mouth marketing.
1.2 Mission
It is the mission of CGA to provide innovative approaches to geological engineering services and to build effective long-term relations with our clients with excellent services delivered in a timely and cost-effective manner.
1.3 Keys to Success
CGA's keys to long-term survival and profitability are as follows:
- Create long-term contracts that demand constant monitoring or on-call services.
- Keeping close contact with clients and establishing a well functioning long-term relationship with them to generate repeat business and obtain a top-notch reputation.
- Establish a comprehensive service experience for our clients that includes consultation, field and laboratory work, in-house design, analysis, and follow up monitoring of geo-hazards.
