April 22, 2010 -- Aerodata International Surveys (Antwerp, Belgium) is pleased to announce FM-International Oy (Finnmap, Helsinki, Finland) has become a majority shareholder in the company.
Through Finnmap, a fully owned subsidiary of the PASCO Corporation, Aerodata joins the PASCO group of companies.
PASCO, a GEO-ICT company based in Japan and quoted on the Tokyo stock exchange, already has many overseas group companies in the USA, Brazil, The Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, China and Finland (2,250 employees). With the acquisition of Aerodata it strengthens and increases the European and worldwide operation in which Finnmap and Aerodata will join forces.
PASCO’s businessmodel is closely related to that of Aerodata and is devoted to the capturing of geospatial information by remote sensing and turning this information into value added products for its international clients. This means of course a perfect fit in joint activities.
At present Aerodata already is a leading supplier of aerial survey services and derived products. The market for geospatial information is ever expanding and Aerodata’s activities can be considered to be in its focal point. The company is proud of its highly educated, experienced and international staff that makes this all possible.
This agreement is a major milestone in the history of Aerodata. It allows the company to continue growth and invest in innovative aerial survey solutions. It also enables Aerodata to extend its level of services by sharing resources with the other group companies. This includes spaceborne, airborne, ground and seabottom technologies. There is a considerable amount of synergies to be expected in the fields of digital imaging, laser altimetry, 3D modeling and GIS.
Momentarily Aerodata operates 6 survey aircraft with digital sensors on many European, African and Middle East projects. The Aerodata Pixel Pipeline, with its extremely high throughput and heavy storage capacity, allows the ever increasing data volumes to be handled in a very efficient way. It adds up to the fit-for-purpose customer-oriented approach.
Aerodata will continue to operate as a distinct company with its current offices in Antwerp (Belgium), Breda (The Netherlands), Lille and Paris (France) and Padova (Italy). It will also continue to be led by the current management team, including both founders of the company.