Firmatek

What Firmatek does

Firmatek is a US-based drone and LiDAR services and software company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, with an additional administrative office in Bloomington, Indiana. Founded in 1993 and operating for over 30 years, the company serves mining and aggregates, electric utilities, oil and gas, solar, landfill and waste management, stormwater, emissions monitoring, and construction end markets. Its core technology stack combines UAV-based LiDAR, photogrammetry, and thermal/IR sensors with cloud-based processing to produce 3D models, orthomosaics, volumetric calculations, vegetation encroachment analyses, hot-spot detection, and methane emission maps. The proprietary Kespry Cloud platform, acquired in October 2021, is the central software layer and is paired with a sub-brand called Kilowatt by Kespry that targets electric utilities.

Firmatek generates revenue through a hybrid model that mixes professional services (drone flight services, custom Statements of Work delivering stockpile volumes, topographic CAD, orthophotos, and LAS point clouds) with recurring SaaS subscriptions to Kespry Cloud, equipment leasing via its Data Capture Equipment Services (DCES) program, and self-service DIY mapping for customers that prefer to operate their own drone fleets. Pricing is quote-based across Total Solution, Custom Solution, Data Solution, and Partner Solution tiers; subscription terms are non-cancelable with annual billing, while SOWs are typically multi-year. Distribution is primarily direct enterprise field sales targeting Fortune 500 operators, supplemented by trade show presence (CONEXPO-CON/AGG, DistribuTECH), content marketing, and a self-service cloud channel.

The company is privately held under Elmore Companies, an Indiana-based private equity firm, with Lauren Elmore serving as CEO. The leadership team includes veterans from prior industry roll-ups, notably Dustin Dudley (President and CCO, formerly co-owner of Petram Measurements) and Roger Sterry (President of Client Services, formerly CEO of PLMS, Inc.), reflecting a long-running consolidation strategy in the stockpile measurement space. Firmatek claims penetration of 14 of the top 15 US aggregate producers and approximately 30% of US landfills, executes 2,500+ field service jobs annually through a 200+ person field technician workforce, and maintains SOC 2 Type II certification (2025) as an enterprise security baseline.

Name

Firmatek

Legal name

Firmatek, LLC

Website

https://firmatek.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Firmatek is a US drone and LiDAR services and software company that delivers stockpile measurement, site mapping, and aerial inspections for mining, aggregates, utilities, and landfill customers via its Kespry Cloud platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aerial Geospatial Intelligence

NAICS

Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360), Photographic Services (54192)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Computer & Office Equipment (3570)

akta.pro primary industry

Aerial Surveying & Crop Scouting (Imaging, Mapping, Stand Counts) (AFACAIAJ)

Keywords

• Drone mapping services
• Stockpile measurement
• Aerial intelligence platform
• LiDAR data collection
• 3D site analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

San Antonio

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Subscription Services (Kespry Cloud): SaaS platform subscription for aerial inventory management and geospatial analysis. Provides access to 3D models, point clouds, orthophotos, and elevation maps. Subscription terms with automatic renewal.
2. Pilot Service: Drone flight service where aerial data capture is performed by Firmatek or Firmatek subcontractors on behalf of clients.
3. Data Capture Equipment Services (DCES): Equipment leasing service providing leases of unmanned aerial vehicles and related system accessories for customers who want to operate their own drone programs.
4. Professional Services: Fee-based consulting services including field data collection, custom deliverables (stockpile volumes, cut/fill calculations, topographic CAD, ortho imagery, LAS point clouds), and engineering analysis performed as Statements of Work.
5. DIY Mapping Platform: Enables companies to capture their own aerial data using Kespry platform with processing and analysis support from Firmatek.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Firmatek provides drone-based aerial data capture and geospatial analytics services through its proprietary Kespry Cloud platform. The company delivers end-to-end stockpile volumetric measurement, LiDAR scanning, photogrammetric mapping, and thermal/IR inspections for mining, aggregates, utilities, oil & gas, and environmental/waste management customers, with field crews performing 2,500+ service jobs per year nationwide.

Product overview

Firmatek is a drone-based geospatial solutions provider offering an integrated platform combining proprietary software with field services. The core offering centers on Kespry Cloud for aerial intelligence and site analytics, complemented by specialized solutions including Kilowatt for electric utilities, methane detection services, and LiDAR/photogrammetry scanning. The company acquired Kespry in 2021 to build a vertical SaaS platform with Field-to-Finish capabilities, integrating PIX4Dengine SDK for enhanced processing scalability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kespry Cloud: Leading site software solution for aggregates and mining industries that transforms raw aerial data into dynamic 3D models and accurate measurements.
• Kilowatt

Products and services

• Kespry Cloud Cloud-based aerial intelligence platform that transforms raw drone data into dynamic 3D models, accurate volumetric measurements, and actionable site analytics for mining, aggregates, utilities, and environmental operations; offered via subscription with self-service access.
• Kilowatt by Kespry Drone-based mapping and inspection platform specifically designed for electric utility operations, including vegetation management, transmission and distribution line inspections, and infrastructure auditing; formerly known as Kespry for Electric Utilities.
• Professional Drone Data Capture Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,500+ field service jobs per year across the nation
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability8 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Pix4DcoreTechnology or Integration · 17 June 2026Firmatek integrated Pix4Dengine SDK into their drone data processing workflows. This integration enables faster processing, enhanced security, and more scalable drone data workflows for customers using the Kespry platform.
• KesprycoreTechnology or Integration · 22 October 2021Firmatek acquired Kespry's drone-based aerial intelligence platform in October 2021. The acquisition created new market opportunities by combining Kespry's mapping intelligence platform with Firmatek's services, delivering a vertical SaaS platform with Field-To-Finish capabilities. Kespry Cloud remains the primary software platform for customer data visualization and analysis.
• Petram MeasurementscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Petram Measurements, a multinational stockpile measurement firm that measured over $2.5 billion in aggregate products, merged with Firmatek in 2015. Key executives including Dustin Dudley and Joshua Wilson joined Firmatek from Petram, bringing extensive industry expertise.
• PLMS, Inc.majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015PLMS, Inc. merged with Firmatek in 2015, with CEO/Principal Roger Sterry joining the Executive Leadership team. PLMS brought 30+ years of mining industry experience and expertise in bulk raw inventory measurement.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PrecisionHawk: Aerial intelligence and drone data analytics platform serving utilities, energy, and infrastructure — overlapping with Firmatek's utility inspection, vegetation management, and infrastructure assessment use cases.
• Pix4D: Photogrammetry software stack for drone-captured imagery; Firmatek has integrated the Pix4Dengine SDK into its processing pipeline, making it both a comparable processing platform and a critical upstream dependency in the same geospatial workflow.
• DroneDeploy: Drone-based aerial mapping and analytics SaaS platform serving construction, mining, and aggregates with photogrammetry, 3D models, and stockpile volumetrics — directly comparable to Kespry Cloud across Firmatek's core verticals.
• FlyGuys: On-demand drone-services marketplace and managed-services provider for mapping, inspections, and volumetric analysis across real estate, construction, and industrial sectors — competes for the same services-led buyer relationships Firmatek pursues.
• Propeller Aero: Drone surveying and mapping platform purpose-built for earthworks, mining, and aggregates — direct competition to Firmatek's stockpile-measurement and site-progress offerings in the same buyer workflows.

Broad incumbents

• Skydio: US-based autonomous drone manufacturer with strong enterprise utility and public-safety presence — adjacent incumbent pushing into the inspection and mapping workflows Firmatek services for electric co-ops and infrastructure operators.
• Trimble Inc. Established geospatial, construction, and mining software and hardware provider — offers overlapping mapping, volumetrics, and survey-grade solutions across mining and aggregates through products like Trimble Business Center and APPLANIX.
• DJI Enterprise: Largest global commercial drone hardware platform, with payload and software ecosystem used across surveying, mining, and inspections — the upstream hardware commoditizer to Firmatek's value-added services and SaaS layer.

Emerging players

• senseFly (AgEagle): Fixed-wing drone manufacturer and mapping software provider for surveying and mining applications — competes at the hardware-plus-software layer Firmatek sells into via its DCES leasing program.

Others

• Esri: Dominant GIS platform serving utilities, mining, and environmental operators — adjacent enabling technology whose ArcGIS environment many of Firmatek's enterprise customers use for the geospatial outputs Kespry Cloud produces.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/firmatek3dmap
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCEymEnRRpgTaoKDM_oCNoZw/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/firmatek3dmapping
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/firmatek
• Instagraminstagram.com/_firmatek_

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Firmatek