Forestry software company Treemetrics intends to double, if not treble, its workforce over the coming 12 to 18 months as it embarks on a plan to drive revenues from €1 million to €40 million by the end of 2022.
The Cork-based company, whose clients include Coillte, the World Bank Group and the European Space Agency, is lining up a multimillion euro funding round over the next 12 months to fund the growth plan, which will see it entering into new markets.
The move comes as the United Nations predicts that demand for forestry products will double by 2040.
Founded in 2005 by Enda Keane and Garrett Mullooly, Treemetrics has developed a cloud-based forestry management platform called ForestHQ, which contains a series of tools that effectively replace traditional methods of managing forests, many of which have been in place for hundreds of years.
Profitability
Treemetrics captures and analyses forestry data using satellite communications technology to enable forest owners and managers to maximise sustainable production and profitability. The software is so effective it can provide tracking details of individual forestry products “from the stump to the shop”.
The Enterprise Ireland-backed company has in recent years built a successful business largely on the back of word-of-mouth recommendations. It is now looking to expand beyond its core markets in Ireland, Britain and continental Europe to take advantage of sales opportunities in newer markets such as South America and Australia.
It is also looking to make its product available to a wider cohort of users beyond forestry managers.
“Our value proposition is significantly stronger than we first envisaged because there are also significant process improvements and operational cost reduction benefits to it that we hadn’t really concentrated on when we first developing the platform,” said Treemetrics commercial director Joe O’Carroll. “Back then, it was also helping users to maximise benefits but they are getting a whole more from ForestHQ than just being able to do that.”
Mr O'Carroll, who previously held the same role at green energy developer Gaelectric, said Treemetrics believes it can significantly scale-up over the next few years and hit its €40 million revenue target.
Sales pipeline
“It is definitely feasible given the sales pipeline we have, if we’re smart and get out there and convert the leads,” he said.
“We envisage taking in additional investment to do this. The next funding round will be significant and we’ll look to take in either institutional or trade investment. We’re having a lot of conversations right now but we’re not in a rush. Our existing shareholders are very supportive and we’ve got a lot of cash-generative contracts so we’re not under pressure,” added Mr O’Carroll.
In addition to eyeing opportunities in new markets, Treemetrics is also seeking to cash in on a boom in demand for forestry tech.
“In terms of technology, forestry has been a slower adopter of it than agriculture but this is changing.
“Around 30 per cent of the earth’s land mass comprises of forests, the same amount as for agricultural land and annually the global forestry products industry is worth over $450 billion, so there are huge market opportunities out there for us,” added Mr O’Carroll.
