Editor's Note: The following Q&A has been edited for length and Inno/AP Style.
AVTECH, a computer hardware and software developer that manufactures products to monitor environmental and temperature conditions, is a global company with customers in more than 185 countries and on every continent — even Antarctica. But despite its massive presence and three decades in business, the company has for most of its existence stuck to its roots and operated out of Warren, Rhode Island. AVTECH’s primary market is with IT and data center facilities and customers include the majority of the Fortune 1000, every branch of the U.S. military, the United Nations, most state and local governments and many others. Rhode Island-based clients include Brown University, AAA Northeast, Toray Plastics, IGT, the Rhode Island Department of Education and the Rhode Island Airport Corporation.
The company’s president and COO Richard Grundy started at the company as a technical services manager and climbed the ranks over the years. Always a builder, Grundy grew up in a family-owned hardware store and lumber yard and can remember stocking shelves, helping customers, riding along for deliveries and seeing first hand the challenges and rewards that come from entrepreneurship. He ended up majoring in computer science at the Wentworth Institute of Technology, and eventually got a degree in electrical engineering.
" ... There is no place we would rather be than here in Rhode Island, and especially Warren and the East Bay."
This mixed background ended up being a perfect fit for developing some of AVTECH’s core products such as Room Alert, which monitors computer rooms, data centers and other facilities for conditions such as temperature, humidity, power, flood and water leakage, smoke and fire, air flow, room entry, motion, cameras and more. “I love developing and building products,” said Grundy. “The only thing better is building a business. I love what I do and am fortunate to have such a great team to work with.” Rhode Island Inno caught up with Grundy to discuss AVTECH and the company’s longstanding ties to the Ocean State.
Rhode Island Inno: How did this big company AVTECH end up in Rhode Island? What do you like about working in the state? Grundy: Founder Michael Sigourney started AVTECH in 1988 in Newport Beach, California. With the internet still several years away from changing how we do business, it was important to move to the East Coast in the early 1990's to be closer to customers in Europe and to trade publications in New York and Boston. Newport, Rhode Island soon became our new home. In 2008, following years of continued growth and expansion, we purchased Cutler Mill in Warren and moved our headquarters to the East Bay.
Rhode Island's size is its biggest advantage. You can reach any corner of the state in under an hour. With a smaller population of businesses, local, state and federal representatives are available and willing to engage at levels I doubt would be possible for businesses in New York or California. Organizations like Polaris MEP, RIMA and even Commerce RI are developing programs to educate, train and connect businesses in the state and are seeing high levels of participation. Most businesses in the state share a sense of camaraderie and are willing to connect and collaborate. Best of all, we're never far from a beach, but can easily and affordably travel to hubs in Boston and New York when needed. We're looking forward to being in Warren for the foreseeable future.
RII: You obviously have a lot of knowledge about disaster preparation. From your experience, are Rhode Island businesses prepared for the environmental changes coming in future years? How could they be doing better? Grundy: For years, businesses were told they needed to have disaster recovery plans. Only recently has there been a greater move towards business continuity planning. Unfortunately, many businesses still do not have proactive monitoring in place that can minimize or prevent unplanned downtime or equipment damage. We're encouraged to see so many businesses focusing on improving their overall network security and resilience. With security breaches in the news all too regularly, it's important for businesses to review their IT infrastructure and be sure it's protecting them against cyber threats.
Unfortunately, almost 30 percent of unplanned downtime and damage for small to medium business is caused by environmental issues. We've all fallen victim to extended power outages, unexpected water from burst pipes or blocked drains, high temperatures from failed HVAC systems, and many of nature's other unfortunate surprises. The recent heat waves both here and in Europe, as well as the increasing frequency of severe storms, mean that businesses are more at risk than ever. With increasing computing loads in server rooms and data centers, if the HVAC fails and the outside temperature is high, the time to respond before damage occurs is extremely short and proactive monitoring becomes critical. Room Alert can monitor and log these environmental conditions and provide proactive alerts and even automatic response. Environmental monitoring is a critical part of any comprehensive business continuity plan. We're hopeful that more businesses in Rhode Island will look at this and consider Room Alert.
RII: AVTECH has done a lot of past work with Kathy Therieau at Commerce RI and Keith Yatsuhashi at the U.S. Department of Commerce, such as trade shows to promote business in Rhode Island. How would you categorize the business environment in RI currently? What could be done to improve it? Grundy: Kathy Therieau and Keith Yatsuhashi have both been instrumental in supporting our international growth. This extends to Linda Woulfe and the late Ray Fogerty at the Chafee Center at Bryant University. We have participated in every state-sponsored trade mission over the last several years, visiting locations in the U.K., Ireland, Dubai, Canada, Israel and others. We've also participated in trade shows in the U.K., Germany, France and Mexico, with additional business travel to Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. We are incredibly fortunate to have access to quality resources in the state to help companies like ours expand internationally.
In 2019, following significant due diligence and market research with assistance from Kathy and Keith, and the team at the Chafee Center, we incorporated an Irish subsidiary and opened a new distribution facility in Shannon, Ireland. This has enabled us to reduce trade barriers for customers in the EU and gulf region, significantly reduce freight costs and import fees, and more rapidly grow our international business. This would not have been possible without the availability of and our participation in the state sponsored trade missions and international trade resources made available to us.
Now in Rhode Island for over 25 years, we recognize the substantial recent improvements made within Commerce RI under Stephan Pryor's leadership. There are more resources than ever before available for Rhode Island businesses. Workforce training programs are gaining ground and grants are helping make training more affordable for businesses and employees alike.
In parallel, Polaris MEP has been growing and expanding their programs, and the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association has grown in reach and influence. Both have created an environment that makes it easier for manufacturers to collaborate and grow.
The challenge for the state is making these programs more widely known to businesses around the state. We're fortunate to have good relationships with people like Kathy Therieau who can help point us to people and programs that can assist us. It's still incumbent on individual businesses to engage with the state, and many still avoid doing this because they think it's still the old Rhode Island and old EDC. Regardless of the "business climate" rankings that have been recently published, there is no place we would rather be than here in Rhode Island, and especially Warren and the East Bay. It's the right location for our business, and our employees and their families.
