Even as the global economic slowdown forces Pitney Bowes MapInfo to shed over 100 workers, the company’s demographic mapping technology continues to drive growth at a student transportation management firm in Schenectady.

From its Erie Boulevard headquarters, Transfinder is pushing forward with an aggressive growth plan that calls for the 21-year-old company to double its customer roster within two years. To achieve that goal — which would entail convincing over 1,000 more school districts to use its bus-routing technology — the company recently established a three-person marketing team. It is also beefing up its software development and customer service arms.

Despite crossing the 1,000-customer mark only last year, Transfinder President and Chief Executive Officer Antonio Civitella is not backing away from his target of having 2,010 customers in 2010.

The company ended 2008 with 45 employees, up from 32 a year earlier. By the end of 2009, Civitella expects his payroll to exceed 50 workers.

“We can [expect] the economy to catapult us to the next level,” Civitella.

Civitella this year is aiming to gain 350 new customers, which is the same number of school districts that use its technology in New York. But while Transfinder is pursuing that goal, its longtime business partner in North Greenbush is struggling in the nation’s recession.

In December, mailing and shipping equipment manufacturer Pitney Bowes announced the elimination of 128 jobs worldwide at its MapInfo division. About a dozen of those cuts occurred at MapInfo’s headquarters in North Greenbush, where the division employs approximately 300. The Stamford, Conn.-based Pitney Bowes attributed the layoffs to “challenging economic market conditions,” exacerbated by a growing number of customers deferring license renewals or expansions.

Despite encountering one of its worst quarters during the first three months of last year, Transfinder ended 2008 with $4.6 million in revenues. That 20 percent year-over gain was driven by the addition of approximately 170 client school districts and the company’s growing service arm, which includes software upgrades, maintenance and training programs.

Civitella said business picked up last March as school administrators scrambled to address the rise of diesel fuel costs to over $5 per gallon. Although diesel prices are down significantly from their summer highs, Civitella expects the budget crises school administrators are now facing to similarly drive business to Transfinder.

“It’s not about the fuel anymore. It’s about [school officials saying], ‘Holy cow! We’re not going to have the budget anymore.’”

In its bid to attract more customers and retain new ones, Transfinder is stressing its commitment to customer service in its latest rebranding initiative — its first in six years. The company in November gained a foothold in its 47th state when Hawaii moved to centralize school transportation throughout the state’s five islands. The Hawaii deal means Trasfinder’s software will manage the routing for buses that transport 41,000 of the state’s 170,000 students.

“Because of the economy, our software really helps school districts save money,” said Barbara Kane Pilliod, Transfinder’s new marketing team leader.

Kane Pilliod previously led an advanced communications team of the fundraising arm for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. As a consultant six years ago, she also directed Transfinder’s last rebranding initiative, which focused on the schools its software has assisted.