Employer Spotlight

For the Employer Spotlight, there is logo of the company named Direct Dimensions.

 

 

 

 

Name of the Organization: Direct Dimensions

Industry: Engineering Technology Services & Products

CEO/Founder: Michael Raphael

1) How has MTIP impacted your company or your ability to hire interns?

Our company hired two interns for this summer with one qualifying for the MTIP program funding. The MTIP program helped in two ways – first, of course, with the funding, but also with the structure of the program helping us stay on track and connected to our intern before, during, and now after the actual internship.

2) What inspired the founder to start the company?

I helped develop a unique 3D measurement technology as an engineer at a large aerospace manufacturing firm in Baltimore. I subsequently left this company to start Direct Dimensions to provide 3D measurement services and products to other companies. The company just turned 30 years old a few months ago!

3) What problem is the company solving, or what service or feature is the company providing?

Digitization of physical things. We almost everything today based on electronic information, we use and sell technology that enables things in the physical world to be digitized accurately and brought into the computer for lots of reasons across almost every industry.

4) Can you share a major milestone or success that has had a significant impact on your company’s growth?

We are largely services based meaning we perform 3D scanning projects. Some of the most impactful to our business include: scanning the Liberty Bell, major pieces at the Smithsonian, scanning airplanes and other vehicles for NASA, the US Navy & Army, getting to work on over 75 major movie productions including several Marvel movies, and more recently developing customized 3D scanning solutions for customers that have evolved into several product lines for us as we’ve become a 3D scanning system integrator.

5) What is your company aiming to achieve in the next 5 to 10 years?

We will continue to productize our 3D scanning solutions to bring them more broadly into the market. We will develop our services offering further to grow into new markets with new capabilities.

6) What advice would you give to someone wanting to start a company in your industry?

Our technology, like many others, expands and advances very quickly. My advice is to pick a sector with a specific need and focus on that market. We’ve taken the opposite approach and work hard to address as many markets and sectors as we can. This is hard!