Local telecom company scores

Staff photo by Larry McDevittKevin Flounders and Andy Cool go over a program at Comstar Technologies in West Goshen. The telecommunications company recently installed Extreme Networks LAN equipment and an Avaya IP Office VoIP phone system at PPL Park, the home stadium of the Philadelphia Union soccer team in Chester.

Local technology company took on a big

WEST GOSHEN - A local technology company took on a big, high-profile job at PPL Park this spring that had nothing to do sports.Comstar Technologies installed the Extreme Networks LAN equipment used by all of the points of sale, computers and ancillary devices along with the Avaya IP Office VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) phone system at the $122 million soccer stadium on the Chester waterfront.Some 15 contractors were in the running for the job including several big names in the technology industry, said Kevin Flounders, founder."In our line of work, this was huge," Flounders said, adding that he felt Comstar was chosen because it has a "proven track record."Andrew Cool and Lou Voigt were the two primary project managers. The project involved the work of 10 other technicians and engineers over three months using 1,200 labor hours to complete.The voice and data integration company put phone systems in the "ticket offices, management offices, food service area, coaches' offices and press area on the fourth level," said Cool, 37, of Uwchlan. "And there are phones in every single suite, that's another 30 phones."In all, 150 phones were installed.Comstar, headquartered on Carter Drive, provides telecommunications and data cabling infrastructure services to small and mid-sized businesses."We are the company people call when they move to a new office and need to have the phone and computer wires installed," Flounders said. "Comstar also sells, installs and services the equipment that connects those wires together."Its client lists includes Pepsi, GMAC, mutual fund giant Fidelity, the National Constitution Center, Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, and locally, Moody's Economy.com in West Chester, a client since the early days of both companies."We provide old-fashioned customer service, that's why we continue to grow," Flounders said. "The client is pretty much our life. We have 20-year clients. In technology, that's virtually unheard of."Economic and financial research company, Moody's Economy.com, for example, called on Comstar to install the phone systems at its first headquarters, a ground-floor unfinished condominium unit at Summit House on West Chester Pike in 1990."They've followed us through three moves and through three expansions at our last location," said Economy.com founder Paul Getman.Getman said Economy.com intends to expand at its current North Walnut Street headquarters in the near future and will once again call on Comstar."We have a much tighter relationship with our clients and they tend to trust us with more decisions than your normal service company," Flounders said. "We say that if we told our clients what kind of refrigerator to buy they would probably listen to us. That kind of trust is not gained quickly. It is slowly earned by always placing them first and never chasing the quick buck."The communication technology company's early days were similarly low key to Economy.com's."Comstar Technologies was started in 1989 (as Flounders Communications) in my parents' garage by my father, who retired from AT&T," said Flounders, of West Bradford. "I started working with him in 1995 and bought him out in 1997 when there were three employees. Everything I ever learned about business was due to him."The 35-year-old Flounders appreciates the lessons learned, adding, "my father is the only person I ever looked up to and the only person I have ever tried to impress."Comstar now has 27 full-time employees and is still growing, a notable accomplishment in a stagnant economy that has seen many client companies tighten purse strings when it comes to overhead costs, including communications.Rather than balk at the tough money times, Comstar embraced it by shifting its focus onto ways that will save clients money by reducing their monthly recurring telecom and data costs."We now spend the majority of our sales engineers' time poring over clients' phone and Internet bills looking for ways to reduce them anywhere from 30 to 60 percent," Flounders said. "This new concentration has allowed us to continue our goal to move from a $ 5 million company, which we are today, to $10 million within three years."To contact staff writer Gretchen Metz, send an e-mail to gemtz@dailylocal.com.Follow us on Facebook and Twitter:www.twitter.com/wcdailylocalwww.facebook.com/dailylocalnews