Tommy Kenville, President of ISight RPV Services and co-founder of Midwest Drone Group and UAI International, has been a pioneer of the drone industry and a major force in making North Dakota one of the most drone-friendly states in the nation.
Kenville will present at 1 Million Cups Fargo on Wednesday, May 8.
Midwest Drone Group is the umbrella company over ISight RPV Services and UAI International, two closely related drone-oriented companies that decided to merge. UAI International is the first private drone business in North Dakota.
Kenville worked with former North Dakota governor (and current North Dakota senator) John Hoeven in making the state hospitable to drone service companies.
“I could see that it was going to be a major industry,” Kenville said.
Kenville possesses a lot of background knowledge on the rules of aviation from time spent working for the UND Aerospace Foundation, which has been helpful in navigating the relatively new territory of drones.
“We wanted the respect of the FAA,” Kenville said.
North Dakota was selected as the first unmanned aircraft systems test site by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2013.
Midwest Drone Group brings together two once-separate drone companies, ISight RPV Services and UAI International.
ISight RPV Services provides drone services including infrastructure inspection, construction site mapping, and precision agriculture.
UAI International provides chase plane operations, which are necessary for larger unmanned drones, as well as training and research.
Kenville noted the company has grown more than 200% last year, and he sees that growth continuing in the future.
“I would see our company growing into the 30-40 employee range,” he said, adding that they hope to expand the types of drone services they are able to offer customers as well.
Kenville noted the drone-friendly environment North Dakota has fostered allows him to hire smart, young talent and keep it in North Dakota.
“I’m very thankful that the state has invested in this industry,” Kenville said. “We’ve done a lot of first-ofs.”
1 Million Cups Fargo takes place each Wednesday from 9:15-10:15 a.m. at The Stage at Island Park. For more information on ISight RPV Services, visit isightrpv.com. For more information on UAI International, visit uaiinternational.com.
