Towner Communications, based in Mission, recently announced its acquisition of a local telecommunications provider. Its CEO expects the move to triple revenue.
The purchase of ITalk Telecontracting Inc. came after Towner received intel in 2017 of Toshiba selling its business phone division — a specialty of ITalk.
“We knew that there was going to be a great opportunity in this area for us to take (Toshiba) clients over because we had experience serving Toshiba clients,” said Julie Towner, president and CEO of Towner Communications. “So what we did was we started looking (for Toshiba companies), and I’ve always been interested in growth through acquisition.”
Additional intel revealed that Mitel — products Towner specializes in — would purchase Toshiba clients and assets. At first, ITalk declined to be purchased, choosing instead to bring on a new product mix to serve their Kansas City clients. Towner saw this as an opportunity and approached the company. The acquisition was completed in early March.
“It’s been a whirlwind, and it’s been an amazing acquisition as far as a building our business and acquiring new talent,” said Towner. “It’s very hard to find telecommunications technicians and engineers, and we brought over five very, very, very seasoned experts in the field. I don’t think we would’ve found those people hadn’t the purchase acquisition help Towner grow.”
Towner, an enterprise-level business, increased from 10 to 15 employees through the acquisition. According to Towner, the company can now serve its own and ITalk’s clients more efficiently. The merger also moves ITalk from a service-based provider to Towner’s sales-based approach of working with clients.
“With us making tweaks to their business and, of course, with the natural growth of what Towner was before, we will probably triple in revenue,” said Towner. “So we’re really excited about that and just the manpower in our ability to service our clients and potential clients better.”
Towner Communications was named as a 25 Under 25 honoree by Thinking Bigger Business in 2017.
