AVTECH embraces the distributors that found them

By Frederick Baehner, Publisher, IBNewsmag

It isn’t often that a small to medium-sized exporter (SME) has distributors/resellers that come to them, but it happened to Warren, Rhode Island-based, AVTECH, a manufacturer and world-wide exporter of Room Alert environmental monitors, sensors and accessories.

As AVTECH President Richard Grundy explains, “At the time Room Alert was released, there wasn’t much available on the market capable of monitoring, logging, reporting and alerting of environmental conditions. As a result, many of our now customers and resellers (distributors) found us.”

Because AVTECH Room Alert monitors have FCC and CE approval, the company ships power adapters that are compatible with all international market applications, and has been exporting all of its 30 years in business.

AVTECH President Rick Grundy with a Room Alert 12E

One of its newer products is the Digital Active Power with Temperature Sensor that allows customers to place the sensor on the outside of any electrical cord to determine power status and temperature of the connected device, versus having to isolate conductors or open their electrical panels to install current-loops. It was instantly in demand and is being sold worldwide.

While AVTECH has always been in the data center market around the world, its markets have evolved monitoring some of the largest warehouse and storage facilities. And, many hospitals rely on Room Alert to monitor sensitive equipment, medications and vaccines.

Additionally, food and beverage distributors depend on Room Alert to preserve product qualities.

“Data centers are often early adopters of new technology,” said Mr. Grundy, “but other markets are quickly catching up and using our Room Alert to monitor and avert environmental conditions that could impact their business.” According to Mr. Grundy, the greatest barrier AVTECH faced in both domestic and international sales is its low overall product cost. “This may seem counterintuitive,” he claimed, “but resellers initially thought it might be easier to sell one high-end switch than 5 – 10 Room Alert monitors.” It proved otherwise.

Another challenge is the protection of its patent and intellectual property. “We work with a team of intellectual property attorneys who regularly advise us as how to best protect our IP in the over 180 countries we sell to,” said Mr. Grundy. “Despite the best legal efforts, we find the best way to protect our IP is to continue to focus on the overall value and integration of Room Alert, our sensors, software and tools. Someone may copy one or two of our products, but it’s tough to replicate the entire suite of products and the way they seamlessly work together. We feel it’s impossible to replicate the quality of our team, the quality of our products, and how we treat our customers, resellers and partners.”

In finding and keeping its distributors or resellers, the company discovered that its best ones are managed service providers or out-sourced IT firms whose clients install firewalls, gateways, Wi-Fi and other IT equipment. “Our Room Alert monitors are a good fit in protecting the capital invested made into other equipment, while rounding out an organization’s business continuity plan,” said Mr. Grundy.“We’re fortunate to have so many international resellers who have been with us for many years,” he continued, “some for well over 15 years.”

When asked about the recently-imposed import tariffs on steel and aluminum, Mr. Grundy noted, “We’re already seeing the impact of the tariffs starting to affect our supply chain. Most of our Room Alert monitors use a steel enclosure. We proudly manufacture all our products, including the enclosures, in the USA with US steel. The rising cost of foreign steel has increased demand for US steel. That increased demand is causing higher pricing. We’re hopeful that US suppliers will be able to ramp up to meet demand so the price increase is temporary, although we must regularly monitor our supply chain to minimize the impact.”

“We believe strongly in and are 100% committed to domestic manufacturing. Our customers depend on Room Alert to monitor for extreme conditions at their most critical facilities and locations. For us, maintaining high quality means keeping all aspects of the manufacturing process as close to our
headquarters as possible.”

Mr. Grundy’s tips for SMEs striving to identify and qualify international distributors? “The Internet has made the entire world be just a click away. Embrace the opportunity and don’t be afraid of the unknown. There are resources available that can help open the international market while minimizing the risk to your business. Engage your state commerce office and US Commercial Service for assistance. Identify a couple of key markets for your products, then determine if any changes will be required to sell your products in that market.

We’re lucky to have incredible support from Commerce RI, US Commercial Services, and the Chafee Center at Bryant University with other state and local agencies available to assist us with both domestic and international business development needs.”

Article originally appeared in the April, 2018 edition of IBNewsmag. Reprinted by permission. Click here to read the original article.