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Compass shows way to the top in region
Explosive growth key to honor by partnership
Friday, June 5, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by JAY FRIESS
Compass Systems' Chief Operating Officer Frank Deaton, left, and Chief Executive Officer Mark Pinekenstein will be honored later this month at the 2009 Leading Edge Awards as they are named Patuxent Partnership Member Firm of the Year.
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If it feels as though Lexington Park engineering firm Compass Systems exploded onto the Patuxent River Naval Air Station contracting scene in the last few years, it's because it has.
Compass has been around since 1997, but it wasn't until 2005 that the outfit caught fire and saw growth expand 327 percent over the last four years.
On June 17, the company's breakout performance will be honored at the 2009 Leading Edge Awards as it is named Patuxent Partnership Member Firm of the Year.
"We are really tickled about that," said Compass Chief Executive Officer Mark Pinekenstein.
Both Pinekenstein and Chief Operating Officer Frank Deaton said that the achievement they are most proud of in Compass' portfolio of work has been the company's ability to grow from a small bit player to a fully functioning program management contractor in the span of a few years.
"It's a group effort," Deaton said. "We all work together."
"I attribute our growth to our persistence and our personal ethics," Pinekenstein said, noting that customer service is the primary concern. The company mantra, he said, is "find a need and fill it."
"We have been accused of being too responsive," said Deaton with a grin.
Since Pinekenstein and Deaton joined the company in 2005, Compass has used this philosophy to grow from 27 employees to approximately 85 with $20.5 million in revenue.
"We're now a small company on the verge of going to a large business," Deaton said. "Now we're feeling settled in [the infrastructure] we've got and we can take on more."
Pinekenstein said he and Deaton spend most of their time juggling employee benefits to retain and reward their best engineers.
Compass works mainly in avionics, unmanned vehicles and surveillance. The company has employees assisting on three airplane projects and three helicopter projects as well as unmanned drone and surveillance initiatives.
"We've mainly been able to leverage what we do well," Pinekenstein said, explaining that the company sticks to what it knows and creates incremental advances to solve incremental problems.
For example, the company's projects in surveillance optics and robotics were merged to create an articulated camera for military humvees.
"That's kind of where we come from," Deaton said. "Our work is engineering. … One of the things we hear is, ‘Man, you do a lot for a small company.'"
Pinekenstein said the company's involvement in the Patuxent Partnership has been good for business, and he said it was nice to be recognized by his peers.
"I believe everybody who we work with knows what we're about," Pinekenstein said. "[The award] may give us more positive visibility in the community."
As for the future of Compass, Deaton said he doesn't intend for the company to continue growing at the same rip-roaring rate, but he wouldn't be surprised if it did.
"What we want to do is to continue to support our customers," Pinekenstein said. "As long as we're doing good work, we'll have something to do."
The Leading Edge Awards
Patuxent Partnership Member Firm of the Year Compass Systems of Lexington Park Presented by The Patuxent Partnership. Calvert County Technology Company of the Year Keep It Simple Computer Training of Prince Frederick Presented by the Calvert County Department of Economic Development. Charles County Technology Company of the Year Port Tobacco Consulting of La Plata Presented by the Charles County Technology Council. Partnership in Education Award Wyle Laboratories Presented by the College of Southern Maryland. Small Business of the Year The Carol M. Porto Treatment Center of Prince Frederick Presented by the Small Business Development Center. CEO of the Year Christine Wray, president and CEO of St. Mary's Hospital in Leonardtown Presented by the College of Southern Maryland Corporate Center. The Leading Edge Awards ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. June 17 at the Jaycees center, 3090 Crain Highway, Waldorf. For tickets Call the College of Southern Maryland Corporate Center at 301-870-2309, ext. 7585 for Charles County; 240-725-5499, ext. 7585 for St. Mary's County or 443-550-6199, ext. 7585 for Calvert County or go to www.corporatecenter.csmd.edu.
