NSCA Honors Exemplary Business Strategies

NSCA has announced the winners of its 2012 Excellence in Business Awards in the following categories:

• AVI Systems -- Philanthropic Contributions
• Conference Technologies, Inc. -- Growth Strategies
• RPAV -- Growth Strategies
• Sensory Technologies, LLC -- Strategic Advancement
• SIGNET Electronic Systems, Inc. -- Professional Development

"This year's winners truly represent the exciting strategies being used to succeed in this continued turbulent economy," said 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."

A recipient of an Excellence In Business Award in previous years, Brad Caron, president, SIGNET Electronic Systems, Inc. stated the impact of the Business and Leadership conference to raise the bar of systems integrators. "Over the past several years, our industry has become more professional in part as a direct result of the NSCA's efforts and the BLC."

Systems integration firms are discovering innovative, new approaches to thrive in this economy. The NSCA Excellence in Business Awards honor these companies and their efforts to adapt, evolve, and compete to achieve excellence.

• AVI Systems, excelling in Philanthropic Contributions, partnered with the Stoebner Family Foundation to utilize technology in educational settings through the use of tele-presence technology to interconnect a 3,000 student high school in Minneapolis, Minnesota with students in China and NASA engineers. 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.

• Conference Technologies, Inc., receives the Growth Strategies award for growing from two to 10 locations, serving both domestic and international clients. Driven by customer demand, the use of the same technology to sustain and increase revenue has been applied in their own business model. Using technology such as video conferencing and collaboration technology allows for the small culture environment while growing in depth of service and offerings. Noting that the staff is the key to their success -- the teamwork sets them apart from their competition.

• RPAV, a recipient for Growth Strategies, followed the mantra, "if you are not going forward, you are going backward. There is no standing still." RPAV 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.

• Sensory Technologies, LLC, winner for Strategic Advancement, created out of a merger of two of the industry's most respected A/V companies. This merger, 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, earning a reputation for its ability to offer A/V and telepresence solutions for complex requests.

• SIGNET Electronic Systems, Inc., 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.

Winners from the past have stated the impact this award has on their business, just as current recipient Sensory Technologies, LLC feels. "Whenever a company is called out by an industry leader, there's a humbling moment of gratitude; however, when an organization like the NSCA recognizes you as being among the best in class for strategic advancement, it's truly an honor," said Derek Paquin, principal.

Systems integrators who 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 and Leadership Conference, and will be recognized during the opening night dinner. To attend the conference or learn more information on the NSCA Excellence in Business Awards, visit www.nsca.org/blc.