Vision Technologies Maintains Clear View of the Future

By George Berkheimer, STAFF WRITER



Establishing a professional information technology services company above his garage was not the sort of retirement John Shetrone envisioned when he sold off his successful APEX Group in 1998.

But that's just what he found himself doing two years later when former customers complained about their lack of satisfaction with their remaining options.

So, together with the APEX Group's former CFO and another colleague, Shetrone founded Vision Technologies in June 2000 - with a limited vision for the future.

"We started as an automation company" and gradually added other service categories as need and opportunity arose, said Shetrone, the company president and CEO.

During the past nine years, the company has grown from a trio of entrepreneurs into a $35 million company that employs 220 workers, with a suite of services overseen by its Network Infrastructure Group, Technical Services Group and Global Services Division.

"Along the way, we gathered a client list that reads like a 'Who's Who' of federal and commercial customers," said Vice President of Sales Al Saxon.



Right Place, Right Time

One of the pluckiest breaks came in 2003 when Discovery Communications signed a contract with Vision for voice data cabling and wireless networking for Discovery's new global corporate headquarters in Silver Spring.

"The job was bigger than our company was," Saxon said, but Vision ramped up its capabilities and delivered.

Having registered $2.3 million in business during its first full year and $4.7 million the following year, "the company was already in the process of growing," Saxon said. In hindsight, the Discovery project compressed the company's growth strategy and helped establish Vision Technologies in the mid-Atlantic region.

"We're a services company, and we recognize that our product is our people," Shetrone said. But aside from the company's emphasis on customer service, location also plays a large role in its success.

"Being located in the BWI Business District absolutely makes a difference. Our location gives us access to both the District of Columbia and Baltimore, and both areas see us as local," said Saxon.



Sustained Growth Strategy

Strategies for continued growth include an emphasis on training that allows company employees to grow technically and professionally, Saxon said, noting that Vision Technologies maintains two certified trainers on staff to meet training needs.

"We've also targeted some great [opportunities] that are not [in the] competitive mainstream," he said. One example is the company's ability to offer site surveys and wireless design to integrate wireless systems into traditional wired networks.

"For the uninitiated, it's not easy in a commercial environment," Saxon said. "Security is one of the factors that need to be addressed."

Two years ago, the company took the visionary step of forming a Converged Technologies Group that focuses on audio/video, video teleconferencing, closed-circuit television, surveillance and physical access systems.

"Five years ago, they were all separate systems that required their own networks and weren't integrated in any form," Saxon said, "but now they're all Internet-Protocol based."



Grasping Opportunity

As the economy continues to struggle, Vision Technologies finds itself insulated from the recession to a degree, due to an earlier decision to diversify its customer base.

"Our goal has been to build a balanced portfolio of professional services and create some recession-proofing," Shetrone said.

In recent years, the company transitioned from a solely commercial footing to a commercial and federal suite of services that leverage each other, enabling Vision Technologies to provide support for the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration's infrastructure upgrades.

At the same time, the company is moving to solidify its national presence and has already opened a satellite office in Chantilly, Va.

"About one-third of our revenue comes from work outside of the immediate area," Saxon said, and that market continues to grow. Vision Technologies registered $35 million in business last year and expects to see $55 million this year, with the general growth trend indicating a 25% annual increase for the next five years based on existing contracts, contract renewals and identified opportunities.

"Our task at the moment is to try to defy gravity in this economy," said Shetrone, "and expand upon our existing strategies."