1980s Decade Award Finalist: Protel Systems & Supplies Inc.

Telephone deregulation during the 1980s paved the way for new companies such as Protel Systems & Supplies Inc., which opened in 1982.

The company sells and services telephone system and technology equipment, security and sound systems, network cabling and Internet and integrated voice and data services to businesses.

The company is owned by Bruce Jones, Randy Harris and Shane Taylor, who bought the business from founder Steve Thompson in 2008 after a three-year transition that closed when Thompson retired.

“We’ve grown from two employees in 1983 to 100 employees and growing today,” says Jones, the company’s president. “The fact that we’ve added all of those jobs to the area is significant over our 28 years.”

Cabling and networking jobs Protel has completed through the years have been at JQH Arena, the Missouri Crime Lab, Associated Wholesale Grocers and CoxHealth, as well as communication cables for 52 Bass Pro stores.

Protel added jobs with the 1999 opening of a call center, which markets communication products and services for major clients such as AT&T.

Though company officials declined to disclose specifics, they report that the company experienced 175 percent growth in 2006, 50 percent in 2007 and 20 percent in 2008.

The company held steady in 2009 with revenues of more than $4.6 million, an amount they expect to maintain this year.

While there’s no doubt that the recession hit the company hard, its call center has provided some insulation from economic effects.

Protel has continued to expand its call center client base, adding 25 employees just in the past six months.

“Approximately 65 percent of our revenues are driven by the call center, and four years ago, 70 percent was driven by installation and services,” Jones says.

Taylor, who is the company’s vice president, manages Protel’s call center.

He says he’s glad that the company is able to grow its employment and provide local jobs amid the challenging economic climate.

“We have a lot of incentives that give our employees a chance to have more money to spend in the community and their families more of a chance to thrive,” Taylor adds.

He notes that at least 10 percent of Protel call center employees have been with the company five years or more and 35 percent have been there longer than three years. “That number was much higher until we recently added employees,” he says.

Beyond providing jobs, however, Taylor says Protel’s services help the company’s client businesses thrive by taking care of their technological needs.

“Business owners don’t have time to keep up on technology and Protel stays on top of it for them, consulting with those businesses and helping them stay competitive,” Taylor says.

Earlier this year Protel’s ownership trio purchased the company’s 17,000-square-foot headquarters, 2929 N. Eastgate Ave., from Thompson, who had leased it to them since the sale of the business, according to previous Springfield Business Journal coverage. The company also has branch offices in Branson and Anchorage, Alaska.

These days, the company is moving toward anticipated call center growth in 2011, and Jones says he expects the economy to continue rebounding, paving the way for growth in installation and services.

“We’re already starting to see a rebound in jobs that we’re bidding,” Jones says. “Our goal is to have
20 percent growth in revenue in 2011.”[[In-content Ad]]