An impact in every corner of the globe
Incorporation Year
1970
Continents Served
7
HQ Space Sq.Ft.
72,000
Number of Employees
91

Our Vision, Our Industry

  • GSSI - About Us - HQ
    Company Vision

    We are passionate about helping our customers solve their subsurface visualization challenges with ground penetrating radar (GPR) equipment that is powerful, reliable, and intuitive. A technological pioneer for over fifty years, GSSI designs and builds state-of-the-art GPR tools that are used daily around the world. From checking the structural health of roads, bridges, and skyscrapers to studying the thickness of glaciers, our equipment is trusted by professionals on all seven continents.

  • GSSI - About Us - Our Markets
    Our Markets

    GSSI products are distributed through a series of application specialists and representatives worldwide to five primary markets: concrete inspection, utility mapping and locating, road and bridge deck evaluation, geophysics, and archaeology.

    Whatever your application, GSSI will partner with you to understand your unique use requirements and recommend a solution that fits your needs. We believe your success is fundamental to our own, so we offer world-class post-sale service, training, and support to help you achieve your goals.

GSSI Executive Team
Christopher Hawekotte

Chris has more than 35 years of experience as an accomplished sales executive and business leader. He joined GSSI in 2003 as VP of Sales & Marketing, helping to double revenue in just three years. Since being named President in 2006, Chris has continued to drive the company’s growth by supporting innovation, improving organizational capabilities and creating a work environment that enables employees to stay focused on the needs of customers. Prior to GSSI, Chris held significant leadership positions at international companies in the test and measurement industry, including Tektronix (acquired by Danaher) and NetTest (acquired by Anritsu). He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and an MBA (with honors) from Boston University.

Title
President
Tenure
2003
Areas of Interest
Chris is a native of New Jersey, having moved to New Hampshire in the early 1980’s. He and his wife now live in Hollis, NH. When he isn’t working or traveling, he enjoys skiing during the winter months and golf whenever the New England weather allows.
David B. Cist, PhD Geophysics

David’s background in medical imaging has served him well in geophysics. The patient is larger, but the image processing is basically the same. After receiving a Bachelor’s (BSEE) degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Princeton University, David worked in medical imaging x-ray research for Siemens Medical both in the US and in Germany. Following his Master’s degree at MIT in medical image reconstruction, he fell in love with Geophysics and completed a PhD doing GPR research while working for GSSI. Starting with GSSI in 1996, David was hired to develop GPR equipment that was progressively more intuitive and easier to use. He played key roles in the teams that created the first arrayed utility mapping system with real-time wearable position tracking, the first high-speed deep scanning arrayed GPR for roads; and the first deep penetration Search and Rescue device using UWB technology to detect faint breathing through several meters of rubble. After 19 years doing algorithm development for GSSI, David was asked to become “Chief Geek” — to help the company explore ways to apply GPR to different industries. In 2017 David was asked to continue this process as VP of R&D and has been actively exploring new markets ever since.

Title
CTO & VP of Technology
Tenure
1996
Areas of Interest
In addition to enjoying conversations about art history, religion and politics, David enjoys organizing the GSSI soccer team. He and his wife, Alex, also enjoy chasing their two daughters around the Boston area and beyond.
Edward J. Ponto

EJ brings to GSSI over 20 years of progressive financial leadership experience working for global manufacturers. A native of Syracuse, NY and a graduate of both LeMoyne College and Binghamton University (MBA), EJ started his career as an auditor working in public accounting for manufacturing, healthcare, and higher education clients. Since leaving public accounting, EJ has spent the bulk of his career working to support and grow global manufacturing businesses serving the electronics, capital equipment and apparel industries.

Title
CFO & VP of Finance
Areas of Interest
Financial Reporting & Compliance, Business Consulting and Process Improvement, Negotiations, Financial Analysis and Modeling, Financial Turnarounds, Leadership and Organizational Development, Team Building, Change Management

EJ is an avid saltwater angler, who also enjoys baseball, hockey, and lacrosse. He relocated his family from upstate New York to New Hampshire in 2007. He resides in Londonderry, NH with his wife Joann and their three children.
Christopher Green

Chris brings over 20 years of leadership experience in all aspects of product development including product management, project management and engineering management across industries such as Public Safety, X-Ray Security and now GPR.  After graduating with an Electrical Engineering degree from Northeastern University, Chris started his career as a software developer in the communications industry and quickly began taking on roles of increasing responsibility.  Over the past 10 years, Chris has been a driving force on senior leadership teams responsible for shaping product portfolios and delivering innovative software and hardware products, while also fostering an environment that rewards engineering innovation and team success.

Title
VP of Products
Tenure
2017
Areas of Interest
Product Innovation, Design Thinking, Strategic Planning
Marc Lussier

Marc has 35 years of experience with a diverse background encompassing many areas of business. He holds BS in Electronic Engineering and has a Master’s in Business Administration. Marc is a customer-focused executive that strives for action, improvement, and efficiency in the organization. Throughout his career, he has held engineering positions in Test, Quality, Reliability and Applications after which he served as Vice President of Operations for 12 years and transitioned to Vice President in North America, focusing on Service and Support for another 12 years. Working at an international capital equipment corporation, he was promoted to the Global Head of Technical Services. In recent years Marc developed a program for virtual demonstrations and trainings that led to the creation of an online wire processing university whose courses were adopted and offered by IPC. He has managed and been part of customer service and marketing teams at many points in his career and is focused on the importance providing a high level of customer service and support.

 

Title
VP of Operations
Tenure
2020
Areas of Interest
On a business level, Marc enjoys Strategic Planning, Process Efficiency, Quality, Continuous Improvement, Customer Service, Effective Change Management and building Organizational Culture and Teamwork.

On a personal level Marc has a love of family, travel, playing soccer, skiing (water & snow), kayaking, hiking, table tennis, home remodeling and has a 25-year history of community service. He is a NH native, has 2 grown children and he lives in Candia, NH with his wife Melissa.
Chris Hawekotte
Christopher Hawekotte
David Cist
David B. Cist, PhD Geophysics
Edward J. (EJ) Ponto
Edward J. Ponto
Christopher Green
Marc Lussier
Our Strengths as an Organization
A History of Innovation
GSSI - History of Innovation - 1970 1st GRP System
Our Commitment to the Advancements in Ground Penetrating Radar and EM Technology
1970
Founded by two EG&G engineers, and later that year, became incorporated.
1971
First commercial GPR system, designed for use in conjunction with a van. GSSI originally was a service provider of GPR surveys, thus our name Geophysical Survey Systems, Inc. Later, the company decided to venture into the manufacture and distribution of GPR products rather than the service itself.
1974
First portable GPR instrument sold.
1976
SIR 7: GPR with graphic and tape recorder peripherals, which allowed for real-time data processing.
GSSI - History of Innovation - 1982 SIR4R
1982
SIR 4R: Created for the nuclear power plant industry to find rebar in plants under construction.
1990
OYO Corporation became the parent company of GSSI.

SIR 10: First digital-controlled GPR with four multiplexed channels.
1994
SIR 2: First commercially available man-portable GPR system.
1998
SIR 2M: World’s only intrinsically safe mining system.
GSSI - History of Innovation - 1999 StructureScan
1999
Pathfinder: Complete system with six-element 400 MHz antennas for 3D pipe finding.
2000
StructureScan: First GPR system dedicated to concrete scanning.
2001
SIR 20: Dual channel high-speed GPR control unit.
2002
SIR 3000: Man-portable GPR control unit, most successful control unit for GSSI to date.
UtilityScan: First man-portable GPR system specifically designed for utility locating and mapping.
TerraVision: First 14-channel array system with real-time 3D imaging.
GSSI - History of Innovation - 2005 LifeLocator
2005
LifeLocator: UWB system created to detect motion and breathing of live victims trapped in rubble piles.
2006
Profiler: Electromagnetic profiler, multi-frequency EM tool designed for heat stability and low noise.
2009
StructureScan Mini: All-in-one handheld GPR system.
2011
SIR 30: High-performance multi-channel radar control unit.
2012
StructureScan Mini HR: All-in-one handheld high-resolution GPR system.
UtilityScan DF: Dual-frequency system designed for utility locating and mapping.
2014
LifeLocator TRx: UWB system created with two receivers to increase disaster site survey effectiveness.
GSSI - History of Innovation - 2016 StructureScan Mini XT
2016
StructureScan Mini XT: All-in-one handheld GPR system with accessory ports.
HyperStacking Technology: Patented real-time sampling (RTS) method to increase penetration depths in digital antennas.
PaveScan RDM: Pavement dielectric measurement system to determine new asphalt uniformity.
2017
UtilityScan: Modernized utility locating system that features wireless GPR system, sensor fusion, and GPS.
Affiliate Companies
OYO affiliate companies all specialize in various aspects of geophysical engineering and subsurface exploration. It's likely that you could use complimentary products or services from each of our companies on one project!

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