When the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 wreaked havoc on the world economy, Sensatek Propulsion Technology Inc. did not scale back.
Instead, the Daytona Beach-based technology company ramped up its operations, CEO Reamonn Soto told Orlando Inno. “I told the team when the pandemic first happened, we’re not going to do less. We’re going to do more.”
The company of four employees expanded to 11, including hiring multiple workers with doctorate degrees. Sensatek invested in a high-performance computer server to cut its simulation design time from two weeks to 20 minutes. This paid off for Sensatek, which continued to land federal contracts and work with powerhouse clients like Mitsubishi and General Electric Power. The company’s sales pipeline is up to $10 million, with Soto confident it will grow to $60 million-$70 million next year.
Sensatek, part of the University of Central Florida’s Volusia County small business incubator, used technology licensed from UCF to develop and commercialize wireless sensors that monitor the temperatures of gas turbines in the energy, aviation and aerospace industries. The company also is expanding into wind turbines, Soto said. “Anything that rotates, we can put it online to provide online monitoring.”
After six years as a research-and-development firm, Sensatek is transitioning into a manufacturer supplying companies around the world with its sensor technology. Still, the company is nimble enough to be the “Seal Team Six” of innovation, Soto said.
The growth of Sensatek through the pandemic is one reason the Volusia County Business Incubator named Soto its "Entrepreneur of the Year" in July. Soto "embodies everything an entrepreneur should represent," said Connie Garzon, site manager of the Volusia County incubator. “What was certainly a year filled with obstacles did not stop Soto from pushing his company forward. In fact, he truly excelled.”
Meanwhile, the company plans to continue growing, especially on the sales side. Sensatek’s future focus is on hiring people in business development, engineering and sales/marketing, Soto said. Plus, the company expects to pick up more visibility by being featured in an episode of the CNBC show “Advancements” that will air in November.
Sensatek is truly a product of the Central Florida business and technology ecosystem. In addition to being a UCF incubator client, the firm is an alumnus of Orlando business accelerator Starter Studio, Soto is an alumnus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Unviersity, and the company utilized the help of CareerSource Flagler/Volusia to find employees. If Sensatek launches a second location in the future, it would be in Orlando, Soto said.
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