Convergint builds base with industry veterans

BUFFALO GROVE, Ill.-A year after opening up shop, systems integrator Convergint Technologies added an eighth office in Orange County, Calif. in June. The new location is part of the company's strategy to open branches where it has hired people experienced in the security industry. The California location will be managed by Mike Mathes, who came to Convergint Technologies from Johnson Controls where he was an area sales manger. "That's really what determines the locations we go to - the right people," said Dan Moceri, chief executive officer of Convergint Technologies. It's with that philosophy that the company was founded. Moceri and his business partner, Greg Lernihan, had recently left Siemens Building Technologies when they founded Convergint Technologies. They brought with them a wealth of knowledge in the systems integration, fire and building automation field and a desire to provide top-notch service, now the backbone for their new company. Already the company has locations in Portland, Ore., Seattle, Houston, Dallas, Chicago and Atlanta. All of these branches were added internally. A branch in Calgary, Alberta was added in May when Convergint Technologies bought Inet, an existing systems integration company. "That acquisition gave us critical mass in Western Canada and access to an extremely sizeable customer base," said Tony Varco, vice president of Convergint Technologies. Though the company was formed about a year ago, the systems integrator did not begin selling systems until the fall. In that short time it has grown to a company with 115 employees and nearly 350 customers. That number is expected to double within a few short years, with a strategy to hit 16 branches in the next two years. Those locations will help the company serve customers with a national footprint or locations across North America, said Varco. "We're building this company around service," said Moceri. "If we're not providing the service that satisfies the customer's need, they have an option, they have a choice to go to another service provider."