“We have grown over the years,” said Drake, who is based in Colorado. “Trimble is a company of many acquisitions.”
The Huber Heights site has operated since the 1960s, before Trimble Inc. was born in the late 1970s, and some of what is now Trimble’s legacy technology was created here.
Drake visited the company’s Kellenberger Road plant to welcome a tour bus from an industry group, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.
The association said its bus has made some 80 stops in 22 states this year to recognize members companies like Trimble for contributions to U.S. manufacturing. Trimble has been an AEM member since 1966.
Trimble’s local growth has been hard to miss. In the spring of 2018, the company cut the ribbon on a 65,000-square-foot indoor development, testing and training dome in Huber Heights. Motorists passing by on busy Ohio 202 north of Interstate 70 have may have seen the plant’s expansions over the years.
Trimble President and Chief Executive Rob Painter said the company’s annualized recurring revenue — a metric that measures predictable revenue — reached a record $2.11 billion in second quarter results last month.
“We’re doing well,” said Drake, who is director of emerging market solutions in the civil construction field systems business. “We’ve had a number of new product releases ... it’s a great time to be in the industry.”
Drake said the products Trimble makes help customers to be more efficient, in good or bad times.
“Ultimately, when our customers are using this technology, it helps their businesses work more efficiently as well,” Drake said. “We bring the digital element to the physical job site, whether that’s a farm, or a construction site. We’re enabling digital information to be used up and down the work stream.”
And that contribution depends in part on longtime employees. Trimble and the association recognized some of the more experienced employees present Monday, including some who have been on the job for 40 or more years.
“There’s something to be said for that, in terms of the enthusiasm and the products that we do, and the industries that we serve,” Drake said.
About the Author
