Technologists, Inc. Celebrates Fifteen Years of Building Strong Foundations
December 4, 2014
Arlington, Va.
Technologists, Inc. (Ti), an international engineering and management consulting company that works primarily in challenging and remote environments, has just celebrated its fifteenth anniversary of business operations. The company was incorporated in Virginia in October 1999 and opened its first office in November 1999.
“Many small businesses never make it to five years, let alone ten years,” noted Sayed Aziz Azimi, Ti’s founder and CEO. “Our growth and success over the past fifteen years is due to the trust our clients placed in us to undertake so many critical projects, and to the dedication and hard work of thousands of Ti employees who brought these projects to completion.”
In the early years Ti worked domestically in such fields as energy efficiency, environmental protection, and information technology. In 2003 the company helped the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launch three industrial parks in Afghanistan – something Mr. Azimi called “the turning point in our company’s history.”
Since 2003 Ti has completed more than 60 major projects in Afghanistan for such clients as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), USAID, German Development Bank (KfW), and others. Ti’s signature projects include the Afghan National Police National Training Center (the largest project completed for USACE by any contractor outside the wire in Afghanistan) and the International Center for Afghan Women’s Economic Development at the American University of Afghanistan, a state-of-the-art facility that has been described as the best new building in Afghanistan.
Developing Human Capital
“As proud as I am of Ti’s contributions to the built environment of Afghanistan, I take even more pride in how we developed the human capital of the country,” Mr. Azimi said. Over the past eleven years Ti has employed more than 2,600 people. “We trained our employees not only to work with new tools and techniques but to collaborate effectively with others, to be accountable, and to achieve better results,” he added. Ti introduced power tools, computers, state-of-the-art management and engineering software, and modern safety practices to job sites all over Afghanistan. The company offered employees English-language and computer classes, in addition to specialized on-the-job training in the construction and engineering disciplines.
Ti was one of the first companies in Afghanistan to hire, nurture, and promote women in professional and managerial jobs. It helped launch the Society of Afghan Women in Engineering and Construction (SAWEC). Today, hundreds of Ti alumni work in the private, public, and nongovernmental sectors, where they constitute a “who’s who” of Afghanistan’s design, engineering, construction, and managerial elite.
Ready for the Future
Like all successful companies Ti has responded to changed business conditions by expanding its client base, adding new capabilities, and right-sizing staff and equipment. Ti today is completing a series of projects that connect remote locations, improve the delivery of government services, and promote stability and economic development. The company is ready to take the expertise earned in Afghanistan to new markets in Central Asia and beyond. “Ti was never risk-averse,” Mr. Azimi said. “Whether as a prime contractor on most projects or as a subcontractor with selected partners, Ti proved it can work safely and efficiently even in the most challenging environments. We are ready to be a driver of development wherever we go next.”
IMPORTANT NOTE: As of November 24, 2014, Ti’s U.S. headquarters has a new street address: 1820 North Fort Myer Drive, Suite 530, Rosslyn, Virginia 22209.