YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – In 2002, Joe Varacalli and Kevin Stefko embarked on an adventure and opened a technology company in a modest office in Youngstown amid the dot-com bust.
Despite these market challenges, the pair developed a successful business as an online supplier of sensors for industrial applications such as motion-detectors and parts counters.
It wasn’t long before they found their niche with people-counting sensor technology, as the company’s customers became more data-focused and sought ways to quantify the success of their businesses, says Jessica Lipply, marketing coordinator.
Twenty years later, SenSource is providing people-counting technologies across the country to customers such as Disney World, Sephora, Harbor Freight Tools, The National 9/11 Memorial Museum, and the Columbus Metropolitan Library System.
A 20th anniversary open-house celebration is planned for this summer at SenSource’s offices at 3890 Oakwood Ave. in Austintown.
Last year proved highly successful for the company, according to Lipply. The company witnessed a 51% growth in revenue compared to 2020, which surpassed SenSource’s pre-pandemic revenue of 2019 by 31%, she reports.
“Our outlook for 2022 is strong, as the demand continues for people-counting and occupancy monitoring solutions,” Lipply says.
In the wake of the pandemic, the operators of public spaces and establishments have become more sensitive to overcrowding and the layout of their facilities, she says.
SenSource’s technology provides data on total number of people entering a building, identifying the most used areas and relaying current occupancy status.
The company also participated in several charitable and community causes in 2021. Last year, employees volunteered, collected donations, and performed pro bono services for Project MKC, Leetonia Sportsman Club Kids Day, The Rich Center for Autism, and Love This Place.