2019 STS Group Year in Review by Scott Couch
2019 is coming to a close and… WOW… it has been a great year!
As president of STS Group, it’s been a humbling experience to stop and look back at what our incredible team has accomplished. My wife loves to tell people I have 2 favorite subjects: myself and the business / industry. Today I’m focusing on the business!
Very few startups make it past the 10 year mark. For many, this is the point when things become very difficult. Busting through the glass ceiling, scaling and growing a company is very hard to do well… but it is necessary. I’m proud to say STS Group successfully made that transition and is now on a two year path of successful growth!
I’d like to take a few minutes to share 5 accomplishments STS Group experienced in 2019 and give a preview of what to expect in 2020. Spoiler alert… it’s going to be an even better year for STS Group.
- Management Structure
The first accomplishment, and the biggest, was finally getting our management structure correct. Getting this done was NOT an easy process but we did it. And it has impacted everything else in the business.
This process involved the implementation of directors and a leadership team. And, most importantly, getting the RIGHT people in those seats.
Two examples of this:
- STS Group Vice President Eric Vann is now over the entire financial part of the company.
- STS Group Vice President Chris Nelson is now VP of Sales.
This big change gave us the horsepower to go where we want to go!
- Core Values
Our second major accomplishment, and one that also impacts everything else, has been to really ‘live and breathe’ our core values. Our goal in 2019 was to make our core values second nature. To live them out like never before. Now everything we do including hiring, firing and more, moves around this. You can read our core values here.
- Growth
Our third accomplishment that couldn’t have been done without the first two in place was tons of new growth in 2019! We added Florida to our service area and surpassed every goal we set there as well as other areas in 2019.
- Following the Industry
In 2019 we kept our commitment to keep moving forward when it comes to the products and services we offer. We know the future is advanced technology. And the future IS HERE at STS Group. We added some powerful technology in 2019 including video analytics, branch automation, remote diagnostics. We also continued to develop and expand the engineering dept. Because of this focus and hard work, we can now service ATMs immediately without burning fuel. From a cost and customer service standpoint, this changes everything. It now takes MINUTES rather than hours, to provide service to our customers.
- Expansion
In 2019 we expanded our physical space. Confession…we’ve put this off for about 6 years. For a while we tried doubling up on offices but then we started running out of other important spaces like parking and restrooms!
So in 2019 we purchased an additional 18,000 square feet of space next door. We now have tons of room to grow and a roof over our head for many years. This gives our employees the space to do what we need to do which is to take care of our customers. This growth and expansion give us the strength to not only reach new customers but to serve our valued current customers even better.
2020 and Beyond
Because of the accomplishments in 2019, we will continue to expand and grow in 2020 while continuing to provide advanced technology and outstanding customer service to our current customers. We recently announced an expansion into the Texas and Tennessee markets. We are currently hiring in those areas and putting the necessary infrastructure in place there.
In Conclusion
The thing that I am most proud of is not our success, but who we are. Remaining disciplined to our core values has created a culture and work environment that is genuinely unique. I am incredibly lucky to be surrounded by a group of good humans that share my passion for customer service and doing the right thing… every time.
On behalf of everyone here at STS Group, we say Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and wish you a wonderful new year full of good things in 2020!
Cheers!
Scott Couch
President and CEO, STS Group