2018 Year in Review

Where did 2018 go? For Computrols, it seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. It was a year filled with new customers, new faces, and the opening of our new corporate headquarters. As lively a year as 2018 was, we couldn’t be more excited about what we have coming up. But first, let’s take a look back at what happened over the last 365 days.

Computrols Grand Opening

In April, Computrols hosted the grand opening of our new corporate headquarters in Gretna, Louisiana. “After spending the last 15 years in a modest 7,500 square-foot facility, our ownership and employees are ecstatic to call this new building home,” said Computrols CEO Drew Mire. “Our new corporate headquarters provides our company with the space needed to expand as we scale our operations. We are proud to say that Computrols’ technology can be found in some of the most prominent buildings in the country and the world, but our strongest presence and commitment remains here in the Greater New Orleans area.”

Computrols Turns 35!

In October, Computrols celebrated its 35-year anniversary with employees and distribution partners. Computrols’ founder, Roy Lynch, said, “It’s hard to believe it’s been 35 years. We have certainly had our ups and downs, but overall, I couldn’t be happier to see what our company has become.”

Computrols Distribution Partner Summit Swamp Tour — Tom Rogers of F.E. Moran Mechanical Services enjoying the swamp tour.

The First Inaugural Distribution Partner Summit

This year was the first year Computrols hosted it’s Distribution Partner Summit. Computrols’ distribution partners from around North America joined at the company’s headquarters to hear the latest about Computrols new products and growth strategies and had a little fun along the way. The group enjoyed a Louisiana fish fry, some classic New Orleans cuisine, and even ventured out for a swamp tour.

As a part of the event, Computrols’ also announced it’s 2018 distribution partner of the year, C&S Building Services. President of C&S, John Culkin, accepted the award on the company’s behalf. Culkin first came across Computrols when he won a contract to operate to operate the HVAC systems at Ellis Island. Computrols and C&S have since been partners for the last 16 years.

New Partners

2018 also brought Computrols two new distribution partners. The first, ACA Mechanical Industrial, is based out of Alexandria, Louisiana, where they have been servicing mechanical systems for over 70 years and counting. The second, Just Controls, boasts owners who have decades of experience in the building automation industry. Just Controls is based out of Millerstown, Pennsylvania and specializes in installing, servicing, and commissioning HVAC controls systems.

New Customers + New Integration Solutions

Some of the noteworthy customers Computrols brought on this year include Gateway Center (Pittsburgh, PA), 400 Oceangate (Longbeach, CA), 24 Waterway (Houston, TX), and 2000 Penn (Washington D.C.). In the process of bringing on these new customers, Computrols also developed a few new integration solutions.

At 24 Waterway and 400 Oceangate, Computrols technicians successfully integrated with two different Teletrol systems. The 400 Oceangate system was a legacy Teletrol system which required our team to integrate using the TSC protocol. The project at 24 Waterway, on the other hand, involved integrating with a newer Teletrol system using the BACnet protocol. Our project at the Gateway Center in Pittsburgh involved rehashing an old integration solution to a Honeywell Delta 1000 fire and life safety system. Developing custom integrations to legacy systems continues to be a unique core competency of Computrols.

Computrols, The Educator

2018 also brought Computrols first-ever live webinars. In August, our Manager of Strategic Partnerships, Mike Clayton, presented on the capabilities and benefits of Computrols Building Automation System. In case you missed it, Mike will presenting on the same topic on January 16 at 1pm. You can sign up here. Later this year, Computrols’ Director of Marketing and Business Development, Scott Holstein, presented a webinar on “Understanding the Life Cycle Cost of a Building Automation System”. A recording of that webinar can be found here.

As a part of opening our new corporate headquarters, we also began hosting our training sessions in the building’s state-of-the-art training facility. This year we offered four CBAS Level I training courses along with a CBAS Level II course, and sales and marketing training for our distribution partners.

Computrols at the Podium

It was another strong year for Computrols as a presenter at a number of industry events. In March, Computrols CEO, Drew Mire and Software Developer, Bryce Jacobs presented at NFMT Baltimore on the topic of “Machine Learning in HVAC Controls”. Simultaneously, Computrols’ Director of Research and Development, Mike Donlon was presenting in Boston at Globalcon on the topic of “Optimal Virtual Metering in Building Automation”.

In April, Mire presented at the annual Interlink conference in Dallas, TX for the Texas Association of Healthcare Facilities Management (TAHFM). He presented on Technology Trends Impacting Building Automation Systems in Healthcare Facilities. The next month, Mire presented at the Southern California Facilities Expo in Anaheim, CA on a similar topic. In the latter part of the year, Drew partnered with long-time Computrols customer, David Handwork of Arkansas State University, to discuss “The Total Cost of Ownership of a Building Automation System”.

Finally, this past November, our Director of Marketing & Business Development spoke at NFMT Las Vegas on the topic of “Understanding the the Life Cycle Cost of a Building Automation System”.

New Faces and Anniversaries

We had the good fortune to add 8 new team members this year. Here are some of the new faces you might see in the field and at our corporate office.

Hector Fernandez, Application Engineer (HQ)

Matthew Gelardo, Manufacturing Technician (HQ)

Skyler Goodwin, Building Automation Technician (New Orleans)

Nick Harper, Building Automation Technician (New Orleans)

Phillip Mckee, Business Development Associate (HQ)

Sergio Zurbano-Perez, Building Automation Technician (Houston)

Austin Sherrod, Application Engineer (HQ)

Andrew Stradley, Building Automation Technician (New Orleans)

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We would also like to recognize 20 employees who have been with Computrols for more than 10 years!