Allied forces: communications experts team up to win contest

Entrepreneur, Nov, 1998 by Debra Phillips

"We have three rules in this company," says co-owner Paul Ferraro. "Number one, we communicate. Number two, we trust. And number three, we have fun."

Fun? OK, so maybe you wouldn't expect a value-added reseller of voice and data communication hardware to be the most fun-loving company on the block. Nonetheless, RE/COM's owners - Ferraro, 42, Eric Williams, 32, and Bernie Mikula, 34 - clearly walk the walk. How so? In addition to sponsoring employee trips to Orlando, Florida, and the Bahamas, the entrepreneurial trio converted part of their company's warehouse into a recreational area - complete with pool table, dartboard and Ping-Pong table. What's more, there are plenty of RE/COM outings to movies, ballgames, concerts and the like. "It gives you the chance to see [your employees] in a totally different light," observes Ferraro.

Make no mistake, however: The RE/COM Group is completely serious - and completely committed - to doing the best work possible for clients such as America Online Inc. and The Seagram Co. Ltd. "Our creed is integrity above all," says Ferraro. "We want to do right by competitors, customers and vendors."

PLUGGING IN

Such lofty ideals were conceived, ironically, on Ferraro's sun porch - the setting for RE/COM's first few months of operation. Ferraro, who had been working in the data communication industry, reached a point where he wanted to launch his own company with longtime friend Williams. Mikula, also in the industry, served as an unofficial mentor to the fledgling duo. "Without him," Ferraro insists, "we wouldn't have been able to start."

That was in December 1993. A few years later, the three friendly rivals decided to merge their companies under the RE/COM umbrella. Says Mikula, "None of us have looked back since."

And why should they? Projecting sales of $30 million for this year, RE/COM is a testament to the power of good, strong connections. "The three of us have never had a fight or even a major disagreement," marvels Ferraro of the close-knit bond between him and his partners. "It's a relationship that's worked right from the beginning."

And relationships, ultimately, are what The RE/COM Group is all about. "We have very low turnover among employees and customers because we spend a lot of time working with them," says Ferraro. "We're very proud of that." Pride. Trust. Communication. Fun. Is there a better formula for success than that?

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So what exactly does a value-added reseller of voice and data communication hardware do? "Data communication equipment is what marries computers to telephone lines," explains Bernie Mikula, 34, co-owner of Moorestown, New Jersey-based The RE/COM Group Inc. "When computers need to talk to other computers, [they do it through] telephone lines. The data communication equipment that goes between the computer and telephone line is what we sell."

But their work doesn't stop with the sale, adds RE/COM partner Eric Williams, 32. "We're planning where our customers are going to be next year, whether they know it or not," he says. "We have to be smart enough and knowledgeable enough to tell them where we perceive the industry is going." - D.P.