Smart50 rank: 40
Revenue: $53,500,000
Growth: 46.78%
Founders: David Lundberg, 41
Head Office: Victoria
Employees: 1100
Industry: Transport
Website: www.altustraffic.com.au
Altus Traffic is a provider of traffic management, control and planning services to road authorities, councils and private entities who require such services.
The business posted average annual revenue growth of 46.8% during the past three years, with revenue hitting $53.5 million in 2010-11.
As well as Australia, it does a lot of its business in the United States, which left it heavily exposed to the GFC.
Founder David Lundberg says he quickly realised they didn’t have enough money in reserve to sustain a long decline so Altus embarked on an aggressive marketing and sales campaign to boost long-term revenue.
It worked after closing a large deal in Texas and consolidating less-profitable branches, ultimately saving the US business.
Traffic management is a very price-sensitive industry but Lundberg has seen a change in thinking in recent years by corporate clients who “are now recognising that ‘sticker price’ or hourly rate is not the whole story to traffic management.”
“Our premium positioning is being recognised more and more because we don’t just deliver the traffic management function, but we make the administration and operation of the relationship very simple and cost effective for clients because they don’t have to invest significant resources on their side of the contract to ‘manage’ us,” he says.
