Carousel Industries, Inc.

What goes around For 18 years, Carousel Industries has continued to grow and thrive despite downturns in the economy. One of the reasons for this continued success could be the companyÔÇÖs philosophy of listening carefully to what customers really need. Iris Seymour reports. Like so many other American success stories that started with very humble beginnings, this one began with just two determined young men, one truck and one customer. That was back in 1992, when Jeff Gardner and a partner launched Carousel Industries, Inc. in Exeter, Rhode Island. The company began operating as a provider of infrastructure wiring and cabling. Today, Carousel is a nationally recognized provider of design, implementation and maintenance of powerful converged communications networks for enterprise customers throughout the country. Carousel operates 17 offices nationwide and has about 600 employees.  Gardner, CEO of the company, describes Carousel as a service business, all about people relationships, and is quick to credit its success to its employees. The company excels at discovering and recruiting only the best talent the industry has to offer, he maintains. On the other side of the door are the customers, whose requests and suggestions Gardner takes to heart and to the company drawing board. In fact, his philosophy of always listening to the customer to discover hidden areas of potential services and solutions led him early on to branch out and offer more. As a new entrepreneur, he listened when customers asked if he could do additional jobs they required. They often complimented him on the excellent wiring and cabling he did, for instance, and they wanted to know if he could install phone systems for them, too. He took this idea to the bank and gave the customers what they wanted. Gardner reports that his company has continued to grow by 50 percent every year since those early beginnings. Carousel University is a new initiative Gardner established based on the companyÔÇÖs dedication to listening to customers to discover the depth and breadth of their requirements. When customers began to ask if Carousel could offer classroom training to teach them how to use a variety of applications, for instance, the company responded to their needs with the university. Customers travel to the Exeter headquarters for a three-day training session that will equip them with the knowledge and comfort level they require to use the technology skillfully. Today, CarouselÔÇÖs complement of services and solutions is extensive, offering customers a single-source approach for added value and convenience. Among CarouselÔÇÖs services are Avaya maintenance, managed services, remote monitoring, project management, design engineering, implementation, support agreements, and financing. Solutions include VoIP (voice over Internet protocol), data networking, mobility, unified communications, video conferencing, power and cooling, IVR (interactive voice response), wireless, security and speech applications. CarouselÔÇÖs Rhode Island headquarters handles operations, network operations, customer service, product briefing, accounting and warehousing. Its office in Windsor, Connecticut, operates a call center, inside sales and inside sales support. In March of last year, the company acquired Daycom Systems, a telecommunications company based in San Diego employing over 500 people. The acquisition will enable Carousel to expand its technology solutions while providing national service delivery and a greater pool of resources for its customers, explains Gardner, adding that the acquisition demonstrates that Carousel is here to stay. Given the current state of the economy, the move is a bold one backed by the company philosophy to cater to the customer no matter where in the country that customer might be located. For Daycom, the acquisition will enhance its large customer base because of the strength of CarouselÔÇÖs relationship with Avaya, a telecommunications giant that specializes in enterprise telephony and call center technology. Gardner notes that customers from both companies will benefit from the strategy, as they will be able to offer broader coverage geographically to bring greater solutions to the growing national customer base. It gives Carousel in particular the chance to strengthen its reputation in the industry as the countryÔÇÖs top Avaya business partner. GardnerÔÇÖs relationship with Avaya began back in 1997, when Avaya was CarouselÔÇÖs first equipment vendor and then partner. Avaya supplies all the telephony for Carousel. The launch of another Carousel officeÔÇöthis one in San Mateo, CaliforniaÔÇöreinforces GardnerÔÇÖs assertion that Carousel is here for the long haul. This new office opened in November 2009 and is staffed by employees with over 20 years of experience in the converged solutions space. Garner notes that western geographies will be a major focus of growth for the company in the upcoming years. With these various initiatives in full throttle against the winds of the economy, Carousel is poised to be the full-service technologies provider that Gardner envisions for the companyÔÇÖs future direction. He emphasizes that the companyÔÇÖs role to its customers is to be a true consultantÔÇöto understand their businesses intimately and know what they really require to gain that competitive edge to keep them strong against their competitors. ItÔÇÖs clear that CarouselÔÇÖs strategic locations prepare the company for continued future growth and success. The company has the talented people, the technologies and the solutions, as well as the support and services to back them up. Gardner feels that customers, especially during trying economic times, want a provider they can count on, no matter where in the country they might be located. Customers know Carousel is there for them, he says, especially when things go wrong. They know that Carousel values its relationships with them, the companyÔÇÖs service levels demonstrate that.