Mary Darling - CEO, principal owner of Darling Environmental & Surveying, Ltd.

Pilot. Attorney.  SCUBA diver. Award-winning business owner. Mary Darling can truly be described as “multi-dimensional.” And her company’s innovative use of 3-D scanning technology adds even further meaning to this description.

Mary Darling is CEO and principal owner of Darling Environmental & Surveying, Ltd; a full-service land survey and environmental permitting firm providing services to builders, architects, archaeologists and government aviation agencies. She started the company ten years ago, but her exposure to the latest technology and adventure began early in life.

“My father was an adventurer and was always on the cutting edge. He worked in the early computer industry in the days of main frames and key punch and binary coding,” she remembers. “In the 70s, he started his own aviation business, including a Beechcraft airplane dealership and flight school, and I had my first job. There was no money involved, but I got free flight lessons and that was better than money.”

After receiving her Bachelor’s and Master of Science Degrees in Sacramento, Mary moved from California to Nevada to Arizona. Her career experience includes the California Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Forest Service. After 12 years with the federal government, she went on to earn a law degree, and went into private enterprise, working as an expert witness and an environmental consultant to the construction and mining industries. “This experience really gave me an understanding of the inside workings of federal and state agencies. That allows me to provide my clients with a comprehensive approach to the complex issues that came up when working on government projects.”

Perhaps an inherited love of technology has played a part in her company’s commitment to the advanced technology that is “revolutionizing the land surveying business.” Mary Darling's company has helped introduce rapid three-dimensional mapping and modeling for its clients. “The 3-D scanning technology is 10 times faster and hundreds of times more detailed than conventional surveying. It allows us to give our clients the quality they need, faster than our competitors.”  She says the new technology offers the capability to scan buildings, tunnels, bridges, airports, industrial complexes and more, “in just hours and provide clients with real-world, 3-D models with +/- 6 mm of accuracy.”

The technology also allows the company to scan topography and existing structures and insert computer-generated, accurately proportioned 3-D models such as buildings, pipes and boilers. The client can then view and measure objects from various angles and obtain all measurements before construction, Darling explains. “The technology is perfect for as-built models of historical buildings prior to restoration, Brownsfield projects, fly-thru visualizations and other applications.”

Mary Darling’s dedication to client service and technology is born out in the impressive scope of awards her company has collected. In 2005, Darling received the Cox Media/National Association of Women Business Owners “Search for Success” Award. In 2006, the company received awards from Southern Arizona Home Builders Association for “best service” and “most innovative product.” That same year, her company was also a finalist in the Wells Fargo Copper Cactus “Best Place to Work” ; and in 2007, was named by the Arizona Small Business Association as one of the “Top 50 Companies to Watch.”

“Our goal is to continue to offer the high level of service ,” Darling says, “and we will continue to attract the best people by being a great place to work.” She says her company will also stay committed to the most advanced technology for its clients. “ It’s exciting because we can scan data, do measurements, and then show clients visualizations of their projects right from their desktop computers.”