Jairo Rugel calls himself a problem solver. The perpetual reader of trade publications savors nothing more than learning something new, implementing it and then seeing it work. So it only makes sense that Rugel founded a technology support company focused on solving problems.
Nine years after starting ATC Tech, Rugel counts thousands of problems resolved, from configuring email to networking printers and installing computer operating systems. And with every application successfully installed, network connection properly executed and email delivered, the business grind for ATC Tech clients continues.
“It’s really just our way of saving the world,” Rugel says with a laugh. “But I like to say we’re taking over the world one computer at a time.”
The company manages hundreds of computers for more than 200 clients spread around the country and the globe. In February, it opened a subsidiary, Newport County Computers, focused on repairing home computers.
Rugel says that both divisions are based on a simple concept – put the customer first. He cringes at the thought of big companies that have entered the IT support market and put broken computers through factory-like repair lines where Band-Aid solutions and data lose are the norm. He has fired technicians who are condescending toward clients. And he steadfastly refuses to nickel and dime customers.
The strategy has worked. ATC Tech has expanded from just Rugel to four employees, including a bookkeeper. The company outgrew its first home in Rugel’s Middletown home and two other offices. The client list has lengthened almost entirely based on word of mouth.
Rugel, however, remains modest. “Egos aren’t big here,” he says.
Trust, however, is.
As technicians shunt computers around and crawl under desks, executives continue conversations about everything from office social gossip to impending layoffs. There’s an unwritten rule at ATC Tech that the staff never discuss what they overhear at client offices, not even with each other.
“Whatever happens at the client stays at the client,” Rugel says, taking a spin off the popular “Whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”
It’s why Rugel is reluctant to name his clients. But he will say that many have been with him for years. His first client, Allied Industries, left him earlier this year only because a larger firm with an in-house IT staff swallowed up the company.
Allied, with just 10 employees, had a relatively small computer system and was relatively close by. But Rugel says ATC Tech also maintains networks with hundreds of computers, some of which are overseas.
Thanks to the Internet and remote support technology, ATC technicians monitor and repair computers as far away as Dubai without ever leaving Middletown. Besides opening up a global marketplace, remote support also saves gas and cuts travel time. That means lower rates and faster fixes, both things customers appreciate, Rugel says.
His clients also appreciate ATC evolving to keep pace with changing technology. When Apple released the iPhone, technicians scrambled to resolve compatibility problems between the phone and Microsoft email systems. When Microsoft released Windows 7, Rugel installed it on his work computer to learn its ins-and-outs. When the iPad came out, technicians found themselves teaching clients just what a tabloid can and cannot do.
“We’re jacks of all trades here,” Rugel says.
For Rugel, the desire to learn a little bit of everything comes naturally. As a boy, he programmed in the BASIC language. As a sonar technician in the Navy, he oversaw systems designed specially for the Navy. He worked for American Power Conversion, overseeing the technology giant’s Latin America help support desk. For GTECH, he trained technicians in how to operate the lottery systems designed by the company.
“I love this stuff,” Rugel says. “I love technology.” •
COMPANY PROFILE
ATC TECH
OWNER: Jairo Rugel
TYPE OF BUSINESS: IT consulting and repair
LOCATION: 55 John Clarke Road, Middletown, and 850 Aquidneck Ave., Middletown
EMPLOYEES: 4
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 2002
ANNUAL SALES: WND
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