CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — National Systems Contractors Association (NSCA) announces the winners of its 2012 Excellence in Business Awards, which honor systems integration firms that innovate new approaches to adapt and compete successfully in challenging economic conditions.
"This year's winners truly represent the exciting strategies being used to succeed in this continued turbulent economy," says Chuck Wilson, NSCA executive director. "Two of our applicants had such outstanding strategies to grow their business that we honored both of them with the Growth Strategies award. It is amazing to talk to so many companies that are being creative and resourceful in order to beat the odds and prosper throughout a more competitive industry."
Listed by award category, following are this year's winning companies along with a brief description of their accomplishments, as provided by NSCA:
Growth Strategies — St. Louis-based Conference Technologies Inc. grew from two to 10 locations, serving both domestic and international clients. Using technology such as video conferencing and collaboration technology allows for the small culture environment while increasing its depth of service and offerings.
Growth Strategies — RP│AV of Bowerville, Ga., followed the mantra, "If you are not going forward, you are going backward. There is no standing still." The company embraced that change is constant and combined conventional principles and out-of-the-box techniques that added intrinsic value and limited risk. Rather than adding new products, they added new and efficient applications to their existing artillery; saving time and improving customer satisfaction. Additionally, they created partnerships with the right organizations to combine complementary strengths and resources to achieve objectives not achieved individually.
Strategic Advancement — Indianapolis-based Sensory Technologies, LLC, resulted from the merger between the sales and integration division of Markey's Audio Visual and Video Images, LLC, in 2006. Unique in the great synergy from the top-down, due to an un-matched understanding of commercial A/V technology, allowed the company to become a trusted firm by many well-known universities, retailers, and Fortune 500 companies. It has earned a reputation for its ability to offer A/V and telepresence solutions for complex requests.
Professional Development — SIGNET Electronic Systems Inc. of Norwell, Mass., excels in professional development by offering an incentive program to staff to attain certification in each of its four disciplines: life safety, communications, security and A/V. An integrator offering the widest range of certifications, SIGNET's bonus program motivates and rewards employees to earn and maintain certifications by reimbursing employees for the cost of learning material, exams, studying on company time, and the costs associated with maintaining the certifications.
Philanthropic Contributions — AVI Systems, based in Eden Prairie, Minn., partnered with the Stoebner Family Foundation to connect thousands of high school students in Minneapolis with NASA engineers and students in China by utilizing telepresence technology. Additional funding in a separate project provides a high-tech streaming system to interconnect an educational telescope so students can watch real-time images from outer space.
Systems integrators that showed exemplary and successful business strategies were selected to receive an Excellence in Business Award from self- or peer-nominated applications. Award winners receive one complimentary admission to the NSCA Business & Leadership Conference, which will be held March 1-3 in Dallas. Awardees will be recognized during the opening night dinner. To attend the conference or learn more information on the awards program, visit www.nsca.org/blc.