Essential Connection Does it All
by January 20, 2003 12:00 am 71 views
Owner: Rob and Mary Hartman
Address: 2070A W. Centerton Blvd., Centerton 72719
Phone/Fax: (479) 795-2354 / (479) 795-2141
Hours: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday-Friday
Startup date: Nov. 1
E-mail: [email protected]
A new technology firm in Centerton is offering it all, from network cabling design and installation, to computer and cabling training, and certification.
Mary Hartman, who owns Essential Connection with her husband, Rob, describes the company as a “low-voltage contractor” that handles network and telephone cabling design and installation and is also an information technology training and testing center.
The couple started Essential Connection last summer after working for one of Northwest Arkansas’ biggest corporations and realizing the need for a technology company that could offer all aspects of network cabling.
Essential Connections is a single-source computer and structured cabling company as well as a certified Thomson Prometric Testing facility. Information technology professionals can be tested and certified for a number of systems, including Cisco, Microsoft, Oracle, Sun Microsystems and Citrix.
Hartman said the company is a source for anyone wanting software training or full certification and a source for training of contractors for network cabling services.
The Hartmans continue to invest in Essential Connection as it grows, but she estimated their investment so far at $25,000. They have an estimated 4,000 SF, which includes a training center, three testing rooms, office space and other operational space. They have three full-time employees in addition to themselves. They also hire contract labor for some of the cabling projects.
“Considering we’ve only been open a couple of months, we need to clone ourselves already,” Hartman said about the growing business.
She anticipates they’ll need as many as 30 employees within a year.
Mary Hartman has 15 years of experience in the computer industry in Northwest Arkansas and is a certified software trainer. Rob Hartman is the company’s cabling expert. He’s a former nuclear engineer for the U.S. Navy and built communication centers for NATO and the United States after leaving the Navy.