Richard Grundy is the new CEO of AVTECH Software Inc., a Warren-based environmental solutions hardware and development company. Though he stepped into the leading role earlier this month, Grundy is a 22-year veteran of the company, where he previously served as president and chief operating officer. His promotion coincides with AVTECH’s 35th anniversary. Originally located in Newport, AVTECH now has offices in the United Arab Emirates and Ireland.
PBN: How have AVTECH’s technology and capabilities evolved in your 22 years with the company?
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GRUNDY: Technology continues to advance at an incredible pace. In the last two decades, the way devices connect to the internet has changed, as well as the way in which our customers expect to receive alert notifications. We’ve seen the launch of smartphones and the ubiquity of internet accessibility from everywhere. And sensors have become smarter and embedded into our daily lives in ways we would never have expected over 20 years ago. We remain committed to keeping pace with these changes so our team can continue to deliver Room Alert products that can protect their most important assets.
PBN: More broadly, how has the environmental monitoring field changed in terms of competition, demand and technological advancement?
GRUNDY: While competition has come and gone over the years, the demand for products like Room Alert continues to grow. Over 30% of downtime for an organization is caused by environment issues, yet many users still don’t know that products like Room Alert are available to protect their people, products and productivity. Our double-digit growth each and every year shows that more and more customers are seeing environment monitoring as a critical requirement to protect their workers and sensitive equipment.
PBN: Have increasing climate and extreme weather events, such as wildfires, impacted this technology and demand? In what ways?
GRUNDY: Each year we set new records for global temperatures with new extremes on every continent, putting everyone at risk for heat-related illness and raising the likelihood of equipment failure from inadequate cooling and strained power grids. While historically our customers have looked to Room Alert to protect technology infrastructure from environment extremes, more and more they are coming to us to protect their workers from the effects of heat stress.
OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] has drafted guidance that will soon make it the responsibility of employers across the country to ensure compliance with heat safety standards, and Room Alert provides the compliance solutions to protect workers and ensure employers are providing safe working conditions.
PBN: In spring 2021, AVTECH reported significant sales growth, particularly outside of North America. What do current trends look like?
GRUNDY: With customers now in 187 countries globally, AVTECH is committed to supporting customers around the world. We’re supporting this growth with our distribution facility established in Ireland in 2018, sales office established in Dubai in 2020, and a strategic acquisition in the U.K. in 2022. The market opportunity for Room Alert is global, and we’re committed to making the investments necessary in terms of both technology and geography to ensure Room Alert is accessible to all.
PBN: What are some of the major initiatives happening at AVTECH, and in what ways do you think the company’s technology will evolve in the coming years?
GRUNDY: Room Alert has historically been installed primarily in IT [information technology] and data center environments. As demand for Room Alert expands into other environments like commercial offices, warehouses, medical and pharmaceutical facilities, and other settings, you can expect to see changes to Room Alert specifically designed with the needs of those customers in mind.
You can also expect to see changes to the way Room Alert connects to the world around it. We recently launched a mobile app that revolutionized how alerts responses can be handled and coordinated. Our customers can expect to see similar types of innovations in our device and sensor connectivity and how the entire Room Alert ecosystem is integrated.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
