Survey Services, Inc. - ABOUT USSurvey Services, Inc. was founded in March of 1978 by Warren P. Smith (President) and Bradley C. Evans (retired). A lot of things have changed since 1978. There is no longer such a thing as, "It's in the mail." Today, "Fax it" or "Email it NOW" is the creed we must live by. And, "live by it" we do. One thing has not changed, we are still committed to: providing a professional service ~ working on your schedule doing a great job ~ offering a fair price L to R: Warren P. Smith (president/owner) Nate Myhra (CAD specialist), and Bob Smith (CAD-Office Manager)  Q: What geographical areas do you serve?
A: Survey Services, Inc. serves generally south central Minnesota, roughly a 50 mile radius of the cities of Mankato-North Mankato. Q: Does your firm specialize in certain types of surveying?
A: As opposed to consulting engineering type firms, which provide Land Surveying in support of their engineering services, we specialize in all areas of Land Surveying. These areas include Land Development and Planning, Subdivision Design and Platting, Architectural and Location Surveys, ALTA/ACSM and Title Surveys, Boundary and Easement Surveys, Residential Lot Surveys, Rural Acreage Surveys, Topographic and Hydrologic Surveys. We also provide Construction Surveys for many consulting engineering firms. Q: How many people are employed in your firm?
A: 1 - Professional Land Surveyor (Office Administration)
1 - Professional Land Surveyor (Field Supervisor)
1 - Land Surveyor-in-Training (Crew Chief)
2 - Technicians (Crew Chiefs)
2 - Computer-Aided-Draftspeople (Technicians) Q: Does your firm have many competitors and, if so, how do you compete with them?
A: Yes, we have many competitors in this area ranging from large Metro area firms working for specific national clients to local engineering companies doing land surveys. We also compete against smaller 2 or 3 person companies, usually located in small southern Minnesota communities. We have survived ups and downs in the economy since 1978 and been able to compete very affectively by adhering to one philosophy. If you provide a useful service, you do it well, do it quickly, and at a reasonable cost, you have a good chance at being successful. We are mindful that the client will determine our success and that a referral from satisfied clients is the best advertising we can have. Q: How has your firm remained relatively small as compared to your nearest competitors?
A: As we mentioned before we are a full service Land Surveying company. Our nearest competitors are consulting engineering companies, providing services related to many different fields of engineering. The bread and butter of land surveying are land development, subdivision design, and platting. The ups and downs of housing do not dictate a rapid growth in personnel. We would rather provide a few meaningful jobs with good benefits, than to layoff a good employee because we were overstaffed when times were lean. As a result, we have leaned on technology to keep us trim and competitive. Q: How has technology affected your company?
A: Technology is very important to our company. Since the day we opened our door, new technology enabled us to lead the way in new methods for Land Surveying. We were the first in our area to go to 2-man crews, the first to use radial stake-out and the first to use robotic total stations, which enable us to respond quickly to a location with a 1-man crew. Today RTK GPS is huge. Our field crews are all equipped with the most up-to-date equipment available. Our office is staffed by highly qualified CAD specialists. We have always used the latest versions of Auto-Cad and today use it with Land Development Desktop. It is important for us to provide our drawings in the format that our clients want. Our records are now stored digitally, enabling us to retrieve information immediately. We make a very significant investment in technology every year. Today's fast paced work environment dictates we be the best we can be. | "A Solid Company
with a
Strong Foundation" |
