Sacramento’s Electro Scan Lands Large Contract In Tampa Area

Source: Sacramento Business Journal, Mark Anderson
Photo: Chuck Hansen, CEO of Electro Scan Inc., sits on the back of one of his work trucks. (DENNIS MCCOY | SACRAMENTO BUSINESS JOURNAL)

Electro Scan Inc., a Sacramento-based provider of systems to diagnose problems with sewer systems, won the largest contract in its history, to scan 30 miles of sewer in Hillsborough County, Florida.

The $600,000 engagement will have a team of up to seven Electro Scan employees working for up to 90 days to assess Hillsborough County’s leaking sewer, Electro Scan CEO and founder Chuck Hansen said in an interview. “This is a huge project.”

In addition to the long scan, the contract could lead to eight other scan engagements in the county, he said. “They are looking at a countywide study.”

Last week, the company announced its technology will be used to help assess 22 miles of sewer in Kansas City, Missouri, which is under a consent agreement with the federal government to fix its failing sewer system.

That was a high-profile civic engagement for Electro Scan, a 2011 startup that is trying to get into more municipal sewer systems across the world.

Hansen said that after a long and slow build, the company has been getting engagements nationally and internationally.

Electro Scan uses a probe it sends through sewer systems, paired with software that can detect leaks inside of dark pipes and measure their flow. That ability is meant to allow users of Electro Scan’s system to prioritize major problems.

Hansen said Electro Scan had revenue around $2 million in 2018, and that he anticipated it would double this year, and then double again the following year.

He’s invested $10 million in the development of the company.

In the Florida engagement, many of Hillsborough County’s sewer pipes are underwater, so leakage can be an expensive problem, he said. Hillsborough County includes Tampa, and is the fourth most populous county in Florida.

https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2019/08/06/sacramentoselectro-scan-lands-large-contract