Ultima Software

Small Town Home a Key to Success, CEO Says

Officials at Ultima Software Corp. in Hardy have heard it before.

If you’d just move from Hardy (pop. 686), some prospective clients would say, we would do business with you.

On the contrary, argues CEO and co-founder Kent Weland, it’s the northeast Arkansas town that gives the company its uniqueness and its edge in the industry.

“Our small-town mentality allows us to make big business results,” Weland says.

Founded in 1991, Ultima develops software for the land and title industry and county governments. Weland estimated that 50 percent of the title companies and county governments in Arkansas and Missouri use the company’s software for title and credit history research.

With a staff of 58, Ultima markets its products in about 20 states and is expanding at a rapid pace. Direct software sales by the company have grown about 100 percent annually since 1996, according to Weland, while the company overall has grown about 25 percent to 50 percent a year.

Not bad for a company with humble beginnings. After finding a need for quick and efficient searching of title records, Weland and two others practically hatched Ultima sitting around a kitchen table.

Weland credits Ultima’s staff for the company’s success.

Plus, there’s the Hardy location. Initially an obstacle to some business, Weland — a Hardy native — sees it as necessary to preserve the company’s culture and community connection. He thinks one challenge Ultima will have is to continue growing while keeping “what made us unique at the beginning,” namely that small-town, can-do attitude.

Ultima is looking in the future to expand its business to include software applications for banks and medical offices. It is presently in the process of introducing an Internet-based service — eTitleSearch.com — to customers.

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