2020 Economic Impact Awards 1-7 Years in Business Honoree: Pitt Technology Group LLC

Pitt Technology Group LLC has packed in a lot of activity over a short time span.

Several acquisitions and a move underground have contributed to the 3-year-old company solidifying its presence in the technology industry.

“We’ve had a lot of expansion, and it was a good year to put that together,” co-owner Doug Pitt says of 2019, during which revenue hit $5.8 million – an increase of 21% year over year.

Pitt Technology officials point to a pair of acquisitions in late 2018 paying dividends in 2019. Audiovisual company AVman & Associates Ltd. and software developer ConceptiCode LLC were acquired to expand services. Pitt Technology first launched as an umbrella for low-voltage cabling unit Lovo Integrations, information technology firm NexioTechnologies LLC and internet infrastructure contractor SyndeoSolutions LLC.

“Without the acquisitions, what would have happened is they would have been acquired by an outside company and those jobs may have been outsourced to another city or state,” says Pitt Technology co-owner and General Manager Kevin Waterland, noting the deals helped grow the company staff to 35. “We kept it local and we’re proud of that.”

The current version of the business started in 2017, after Pitt repurchased the Springfield assets of St. Charles-based partner TSI Global Cos. LLC. In 2013, he sold his remaining stake in ServiceWorld Computer Center, which he founded in 1991, to TSI Global.

Not long after its formation, Pitt Technology needed to expand its physical footprint. That resulted in an early 2018 move to Springfield Underground from 1409 W. Sunshine St., boosting its square footage to 10,000 from 7,000.

“We’re comfortable where we are now,” Waterland says. “We have a lot of room there that we continue to expand into.”

While the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a temporary suspension of an employee bonus program started in January, Waterland says it should be reinstated in the next month. The program had paid out over $45,000 in bonuses through March.

Waterland says the pandemic delivered a financial hit as the company’s low voltage and audio/video construction and installation services teams had a dramatic decrease in workload. Revenue in those areas dropped by roughly 50% in April and May, he says. However, that was countered by a significant uptick in business for the information technologies and internet services divisions as customers sought help to work from home.

“At this point, we’ve recovered completely,” he says of the revenue impact.

Community outreach has been a priority for the company, which has donated technology assistance to a number of organizations, including Pitt’s nonprofit Care to Learn. During the pandemic, the company has partnered with Community Foundation of the Ozarks on a grant initiative for which it’s providing $150,000 in services and equipment to nonprofits.

Pitt says he feels fortunate his company was deemed an essential business that allowed work to continue amid COVID-19.

“We’ve been able to thrive in a time when so many can’t, and I don’t take that for granted,” he says.