as featured in - Comm-Works

enterprise
Leadership &
Governance
Comm -Works Management Team4 Todd
Eberhardt, CEO ■ Al Lampe, COO and President
■ Theresa Lampe, CFO ■ Sheila Kruesel, VP of
Sales and Marketing ■ Linda Brand, Western
Region Sales Manager ■ Patty Prendergast,
Eastern Region Sales Manager ■ Terry Kraling,
Director of Strategic Business Operations ■
Pierre Kormann, Director of Operations ■ Fred
Berg, Director of IT ■ Pat Hile, Director of Training
Outside Directors4 None
TailWind Management Team4 Al Lampe,
Co-founder, Entrepreneurial Advisor and Board
Member ■ Todd Eberhardt, Co-founder and
Board Member ■ Jay Lodholz, General Manager
■ Greg Moore, Sales Manager
Outside Directors4 None
Pulling Off a Spin Off
4 MinnesotaBusiness > November 2003
tomer’s project team to access real-time information
on project status via the Internet.
Web-Works also allows customers to place or
revise work orders online and have them confirmed
by Comm-Works’ project managers.
“In this marketplace if you don’t have
something interactive, you could not be a
national player,” says Eberhardt, about the
importance of Web-Works.
Comm-Works currently provides enterprise
voice and data solutions at more than
88,000 sites – a number that is growing at the
rate of approximately 1,000 sites a month.
Current customers include Michael’s Arts
and Crafts Stores, American Eagle
Outfitters, Federal Express and Allstate
Insurance Company.
To fulfill customer demands at geographically
dispersed locations, the company relies on
a network of 4,000 independent service partners
throughout North America with more than
[Comm- Works]
15,000 certified technicians. These technicians
have their own local customers, but obtain
national accounts through Comm-Works.
“We help fill up their schedules and
quickly become their biggest customer,” says
Eberhardt. Comm-Works operates internationally
through these partners as well, as
many companies with United States-based
headquarters operate overseas locations and
ask Comm-Works to provide service to their
global offices.
With an eye on the future, Eberhardt estimates
the market potential for voice and data
solutions to be $200 billion nationwide.
“Telecom is a mature industry and the
Internet-based segment is becoming a more
mature market,” he adds. “But it still has a lot
of growth potential.”
Stacy Freeborg is a Twin Cities and Colorado-based freelance
writer and frequent contributor to MinnesotaBusiness Magazine.
In August 2003, Comm-Works founders Lampe and Eberhardt launched a second company called TailWind Voice & Data to
provide voice and data solutions to small to mid-size companies throughout the Minneapolis-St. Paul market. While Comm-
Works focuses on Fortune 2000 companies, TailWind targets smaller businesses with fewer than 250 employees, located
throughout the seven county metro area.
“It’s a risk. It’s a tight market and a tough market for all businesses,” says Lampe, and adds that it has costs close to
$500,000 to start the second company. But when the economy is revived, he believes it will start with small to mid-size
businesses, positioning TailWind to ride the wave toward increased demands for services and higher revenues.
“People aren’t spending a lot of money right now on voice and data solutions,” says Lampe. “People are limping along. But
they can’t get too many generations behind.”
Despite concerns about current market conditions, Lampe already projects that TailWind will reach a revenue target of
$2 million by the end of 2004.
As a single-source provider, TailWind sells a variety of offerings including telecom equipment, local and long-distance services,
Internet access and wireless communication. To date, TailWind has over 75 customers, including S&W Plastics, Eden
Prairie, and ZipSort Inc, Minneapolis.
TailWind is located in an office next door to Comm-works in Plymouth. Lampe says they wanted TailWind to be close to
Comm-Works at the beginning to share knowledge and resources. The upstart now has 11 employees. Lampe hopes to hire
five more employees by the end of the year.
In the local arena alone, Lampe has calculated that the Minneapolis/St. Paul area represents a $250 million market for
providers of data and voice solutions. If his estimate proves true, this would leave plenty of room for additional growth
beyond projected first-year company revenues of $2 million. —S.F.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher. ©2003 BBN Publishing, all rights reserved.
Any reproduction of this document is strictly prohibited. For reprints call 952-844-0400.