It's show-and-tell time for VTI

BURNSVILLE, Minn.--With the completion of its 21,000-square-foot headquarters here, VTI Security can now show, as well as tell, current and potential clients what its security system design and installation capabilities are all about. Included in the facility are a larger warehouse, set up and assembly rooms for systems integration projects and training space, said Thomas Asp, president and chief executive officer. Bryan Viau, vice president in charge of VTI's expansion project, rejoined the company last fall and in early 2005 began work on converting and remodeling the four office suites that now make up the facility. The company was in its Minneapolis home for 10 years, said Asp, first on the ground floor and later on both levels of the building, covering about 12,000 square feet. But VTI, which registered 24 percent growth last year and is on track for growth in the teens again this year, needed space to accommodate its current employees as well as its expanded services, said Asp. One of the key additions to the new location, said Viau, was training space, even though they weren't sure initially if customers would be interested in on-site training. "We're finding out they are interested," said Viau, "and are willing to pay for that (on-site training)." Asp said the installation of IP-based cameras in the company's own CCTV system, along with a smart card-based access control system, serves as a training tool for both employees and customers and a model for what the company is able to provide. "It's rewarding to open up our video room and network room and show what we have deployed," said Viau. "We can open up our IT closet and show how we do the work." VTI, which employees 100 people both here and in its Denver and Colorado Springs, Colo., locations, will likely add staff in sales, engineering and project management, said Asp. As VTI continues to grow, it has the ability to add 3,000 square feet to its new office, said Viau. The company's clientele is well mixed between the greater Minneapolis and Denver markets, said Asp, "as well as spread out over the country and in Europe, too."