Connectivity Point acquisition expands footprint into South Carolina
Courtesy / Connectivity Point
Connectivity Point Design & Installation LLC of Auburn, which designs and installs structured cabling systems, has acquired Creative Computer Solutions in Columbia, S.C.
Connectivity Point Design & Installation LLC, headquartered in Auburn, announced this week it has acquired Creative Computer Solutions in Columbia, S.C.
According to a company news release issued Jan. 22, the acquisition and other growth plans are expected to add up to 50 new jobs in 2019. Current Creative Computer Solutions employees will be retained.
The acquisition was a strategic part of Connectivity Point’s growth plan along the East Coast, the release said.
“Connectivity Point is focused on growing the business geographically and adding quality solutions, products and team members,” the firm’s president, Doug Watt, said in the release. “The acquisition of CCS allows us to expand our project footprint and respond quickly to service requests using our own team of licensed and experienced estimators, project managers and highly skilled technicians.”
He added that the Columbia, S.C., location will enable the firm to service Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
Connectivity Point, established in 2002, now has 155 employees and nearly 4,000 customers along the East Coast. That’s up from 120 employees and 1,000 customers last March.
Reached by phone in South Carolina, Watt told Mainebiz his company’s growth is driven in part by a decrease in the number of similar service providers.
“Because manpower is shrinking — people who can work with their hands — blue-collar technology companies like us are in demand,” he said. “There’s just fewer plumbers, fewer electricians, fewer carpenters, fewer cabling guys. But there’ still cabling that needs to be done. For companies like us that are looking to grow, it’s a nice opportunity.”
Changes in technology are also helping to expand the market, he said.
“The new electronics require better cabling in order to satisfy the increased bandwidth needs,” he said.
Watt also attributed customer growth to his sales team.
“We have a great group of sales people out pounding the bricks,” he said. “Between Connectivity Point and our sister company Connectivity Group, we’re able to work anywhere in the world.” The company has worked, to date, in 22 countries and 44 states, by hiring subcontractors but providing management oversight.
Watt said he doesn’t necessarily plan to send any Maine staff to South Carolina.
“It depends on the volume,” he said. “Right now the technicians in the South Carolina office are very busy.This market is so big here that there’s a much larger pool of technicians to pull from.”
On the flip side, are there plans to send South Carolina staff to Maine?
“That’s a possibility,” he said, explaining that the Northeast workforce shortage is impacting Connectivity. “Our No. 1 challenge is finding quality cable installers and technicians,” he said.
Watt declined to reveal terms of the acquisition, but did say the company’s growth has resulted in further investment.
“We’re making a pretty big investment across all of our locations, using increasing audio visual and cameras so we can all communicate in real time on video conference calls,” he said. “In fact, our IT guy is down here right now setting up all new computers. All the conference rooms will be updated in all our locations, so we can all communicate when we have team meetings. We do it now remotely between New Hampshire and Maine, but we’ll expand that out so we can do that everywhere.”
Creative Computer Solutions is Connectivity Point’s second acquisition outside of Maine.
Last March, Connectivity Point acquired the assets of Computer Telephone Inc. based in Warwick, R.I.
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