Schneider Corporation: Integrating Survey, GIS and Engineering Needs

The sister-and-brother team of Victoria Schneider Temple and J. Barry Schneider were raised with a passion for service to employees, clients and community. The duo’s Schneider Corporation (Schneider) is a third-generation, family-owned engineering, surveying and geographic information systems (GIS) company that has been enhancing the landscape in Indiana and beyond for the last 50 years.

Their grandfather, Vincent, discovered his love for mathematical computations and surveying while serving as a First Sergeant in an artillery battalion during World Word II. He later attended Purdue University on the GI Bill, where he received his degree in civil engineering. Vincent was both a professional engineer and land surveyor, and with these licenses he founded Schneider in 1962.

Vincent’s son, John, followed in his footsteps and joined Schneider in 1967 after having graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in civil engineering and having served a year in Vietnam. John, also a professional engineer and land surveyor, eventually owned Schneider for 30 years with his wife, Marilyn. John is credited with instilling the company’s strong servant leadership culture and setting the path for the company’s growth over the past five decades.

Victoria, CEO of Schneider, and Barry, chairman of the board of Schneider, became co-owners of the company with their mother Marilyn in 2002. Schneider was later certified as an Indian Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) in 2007. Schneider employs a staff of 120 and is headquartered at historic Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Ind. The company also has offices in West Lafayette, Ind.; Ankey, Iowa; and Charlotte, N.C.

Multiple, Widespread Services

The company is unique in the number and variety of services it provides to clients. Schneider specializes in digital data workflows, which maximize each client’s investments in existing survey and engineering documentation and leverages its use with strategically compiled, as-built surveys and digital field data collection. This includes mobile mapping (terrestrial LiDAR) and 3-D laser scanning, as well as a number of specialty in-house techniques for several specific industries. These services provide Schneider the ability to maintain the high level of surveying and engineering accuracy for which the firm is known.

Schneider’s well-established residential and commercial site design services have developed an industry leading process for moving rapidly from conception to proven design from raw ground to builder-ready to meet the demands of the industry. Schneider’s process utilize industry-standard object classifications to efficiently model infrastructure and environmental features to pass them from the field, to Building Information Modeling (BIM), Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Geographic Information System (GIS) applications.

A technology leader, Schneider provides innovative industry leading solutions, including Beacon, a local government information for the Internet, permitting, cloud-based permitting and workflow management and GeoGear, desktop GIS suite for local governments. Schneider also develops and maintains a wide range of internal products designed to create efficiencies utilized by its project teams and greatly valued by its clients in addition to publishing a large portfolio of client-focused applications and solutions.

Saving the County and City Money and Resources

Schneider is a national provider of GIS and e-government solutions; therefore the company has been recognized by organizations like ACEC and ESRI for innovative projects such as the city of Terre Haute and Vigo County’s GIS. This project helped these communities identify over $34 million in missing (untaxed) parcels that has generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in new revenue. These communities have also implemented several of Schneider’s e-government technologies to automate workflows and improve customer service, such as online property management (Beacon), agricultural land assessment (AgLand) and digital parcel maintenance (GeoGear).

Schneider is extremely active within the local community. Victoria sits as a Trustee on the Indianapolis Parks Foundation Board as well as other boards, and actively invests her time and services to the community. The company is involved with a host of programs, including the Meals on Wheels program that delivers hot meals to shut-ins, the collection and shipment of care packages to troops overseas and Adopt-A-Family where Schneider employees adopt several local families and provide them with food and presents every Christmas.

According to data released by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the chances of a family-owned company surviving the transition to the third generation are pretty slim. Victoria is aware of the data and is extremely proud that her grandfather’s company is not just surviving, but is thriving.

“I think it is a testament to the resiliency of many Schneider employees throughout the years that Schneider still continues to adapt and thrive in this tough economic environment,” says Victoria proudly. “As we celebrate our 50-year anniversary, it is imperative that we continue to listen to the needs of our clients so we can develop new and innovative solutions to their changing environment and needs.” Both Victoria and Barry are very proud to be a part of Schneider’s heritage and future as Schneider Corporation continues to serve clients for the next 50 years.