As our team closes 2024, we’re filled with immense gratitude and appreciation for what we achieved together. Thank you to our incredible community of national security and government partners who are working every day to protect our country from global threats; our industry partners who are delivering innovative technologies; our university partners, whose research and mentorship are shaping the next generation of scientists and engineers; and our employees, whose creativity and commitment drive our success every day. You have played a vital role in making this year one of growth and progress. Let’s take a moment to reflect on the highlights from 2024.
Integer Recognized as South Carolina’s No. 1 Fastest Growing Company
Since our beginning in 2021, we have experienced hockey-stick growth year-over-year and are now trusted by top U.S. national security customers such as the U.S. Navy through the Office of Naval Research. We couldn’t be prouder to be named the No. 1 fastest growing company in South Carolina by Columbia Business Monthly. The SC 50 Fastest Growing Companies Award is an annual ranking of the state’s 50 most dynamic and successful companies. Read more.
Continued Valued Partnership with the University of South Carolina (USC)
We continue to collaborate with USC Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing, our first and biggest university partner, in applied research areas related to:
Power and Energy Systems
Autonomous Systems and Sensors for Unmanned Ships
Advanced Manufacturing
Our joint defense research at USC helped the Molinaroli College of Engineering receive $69.3 million in research expenditures, a 67 percent increase from the previous year. We’ve also been very fortunate to hire 20 USC graduates as incredible engineers, scientists, business leaders, apprentices, and interns to help us transition research into technology that will keep our country safe. We look forward to the great work we can accomplish together in 2025!
LSU and Integer Announce $9.8M Research Contract, Partnership
This year, we launched major projects in Louisiana that support the U.S. Navy’s goal of transitioning to uncrewed and autonomous vessels to achieve Distributed Maritime Operations. In July, we announced that The Office of Naval Research awarded Louisiana State University (LSU) and us a $9.8 million contract. The funds are going towards research and development of new solutions for improving the intelligence, autonomy, and decision-making ability of distributed networks of maritime vessels.
As a result, we opened a permanent research and development office on LSU's flagship campus in Baton Rouge, La., supported by a pipeline of qualified LSU graduates and our Louisiana-based scientists, engineers, and staff. Read more and listen to our CEO Duke Hartman discuss this partnership on the Tech Gumbo podcast here.
Strengthening the STEM Pipeline at Benedict College
In July, The Office of Naval Research awarded Benedict College in Columbia, S.C., and us a $7.9 million contract. The program is two-fold. First, it involves funding defense research into automated cyber-physical security. These autonomous vehicles can be found on the road, in the air, and in the sea, but are increasingly targets of hackers. Our research is working to enhance their resiliency against cyber threats.
Secondly, the program supports the development of a master’s degree program in computer science and engineering at Benedict College. This is the first graduate engineering degree of its kind at a historically black college and university in South Carolina.
We’re proud to be part of this project that is improving South Carolina’s competitiveness in this emerging industry. Read more.
Chance Maritime Technologies and Integer Announce Strategic Collaboration
In November, we announced a strategic partnership with Chance Maritime Technologies, a Lafayette, La.-based company that designs, builds, and operates long-endurance, high-power autonomous boats.
Together, we are developing and deploying maritime perception systems on autonomous vehicles, essentially robotic eyes to guide robotic ships. The partnership includes placement of our passive perception prototype on Chance Maritime’s autonomous vessels for use and testing in real-world operations. This collaboration was enabled by our new LSU office. As we expand our Gulf Coast presence, we’re thrilled to partner with Chance Maritime Technologies. Read more.
Integer Included in U.S. Navy’s $982 Million Multiple-Award Contract
We were proud to be named one of the recipients of a multi-award contract to support the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Surface Vehicle Family of Systems. Thank you to the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) for the opportunity to support the project in conjunction with our university partners. Many exciting things are in the works for 2025. Stay tuned!
A Bigger Integer Footprint: New Locations
We experienced significant growth at our Columbia, S.C., headquarters this year, nearly doubling our downtown headquarters to 10,000 square feet!
We also expanded significantly in the Gulf Coast region this year. In addition to opening our first office in Baton Rouge, La., on the LSU campus, we are also setting up a new office on the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) campus in the beautiful Roger Wicker Center for Ocean Enterprise in Gulfport, Miss. This is in support of our national security research partnership with USM.
New Faces, New Ideas: How Our Team is Growing
We welcomed many talented people to our team this year, growing our employee count by 73 percent across all locations. A few of our key leadership hires and promotions include the following:
We established a marketing department with the hiring of Alex Henley as VP of Marketing.
Aaron Wagner, Ph.D., joined our team as Chief Strategy Officer to work with our executive, science and engineering teams; industry partners; and customers to deliver next-gen products.
Dillon Helfers joined the team as Director of Mission Autonomy to lead our office on the LSU campus.
T.J. McKelvey joined the team as Director of Digital Engineering, working with university partners to help us expand the scope and impact of digital engineering tools and processes.
Chad Carpenter, Ph.D., is joining our team in January to lead our new USM office.
Dylan Temple, Ph.D., was promoted to VP of Research.
Ted Finn was promoted to VP of Finance & Admin.
Philip Stone, Ph.D., was promoted to VP of Engineering.
That’s a wrap for 2024. We can’t wait to see what we accomplish together in the new year!
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