With more than 35 years of experience, S&N Communications has earned a reputation for taking challenges. “We’ve become well known for solving problems and finding different ways of looking at construction,” President and CEO Allen Powell says. “We look outside the box.”
Based in Kernersville, N.C., S&N provides an array of infrastructure services, including drop cable placement, service repairs, utility locating, installations, splicing, gas distribution, testing and implementation.
Powell notes that the company’s history dates back to the 1970s when Crawford Smith and Wayne Newkirk started the company as a copper-splicing firm. Several years later, the men met Powell, who operated Pyramid Construction in Virginia, which catered to cable TV companies.
The S&N owners were interested in getting into construction, so the three men formed a partnership. Smith and Newkirk bought 50 percent of Pyramid and the company was incorporated into S&N. Over time, Powell’s partners retired and he became president and CEO. A few years ago, S&N changed ownership once again when it was purchased by Sun Capital, a private equity group based in Boca Raton, Fla.
“Sun is big in the restaurant business, retail and manufacturing,” Powell says, noting that the firm wanted to expand into construction. “They are a great group of folks who let us do our business.”
Solving Problems
S&N enjoys a loyal base of customers, including Verizon. “We worked for Verizon even before it was called ‘Verizon,’” Powell says, noting his company’s relationship with Verizon solidified during construction of a fiber system in Virginia and Maryland.
Interestingly, S&N was not the initial choice for the job.
“They gave the project to a national contractor,” Powell recalls, noting the project suffered from problems that included 16 damages to private property per every 10,000 feet. S&N was hired to remedy the situation.
When S&N took over, company officials met with the homeowners to advise about construction dates and areas, and to provide homeowners access to S&N’s 24/7 call center. “We had a procedure that after our people in the field were contacted by our call center, they had 48 hours to respond to that complaint,” Powell explains. This swift response is one example of why S&N has become known for its problem-solving abilities.
The company also took proactive measures to avoid property damages with methods that include use of an air knife to expose utility lines without damaging them. S&N also used a vacuumed water bore system to place pipe under driveways. The water bore – created by S&N – allowed the company to place the pipe without creating potholes that needed to be filled in later.
The region experienced an immediate reduction in damages. “[It] went down to two damages per 10,000 feet,” Powell says. “Today, we’re running at 0.25 damages per 10,000 feet, so you can see how we work to solve problems for our customers.”
Broadening S&N’s Reach
Since Sun’s acquisition of S&N, the underground utility construction company has made major acquisitions including the purchase of Stake Center Locating (SCL) Inc., a locating company based in Salt Lake City. “They focus on the long-haul fiber business,” Powell says. “It’s a different piece of business that was a great fit with our current capabilities.”
Even though the company has experienced substantial growth through acquisitions, S&N has no plans to overhaul any of the identities of the acquired companies. “Stake Center has worked very hard to create a name and brand,” Powell says, noting that the two companies have benefited each other. “We’ve broadened their customer base and their reach has expanded S&N’s footprint to 35 states.”
S&N’s acquisitions include Tower 16 Inc., a wireless infrastructure construction and maintenance firm based in Joppa, Md. S&N also purchased SCE Inc., a wireless infrastructure deployment and professional services company based in Columbia, Md.
These acquisitions maximize the number of services that S&N can bring to clients in the utility industry. “We’re expanding nationwide the S&N way of doing business and solving problems,” says Powell. “[We’re going to] bring them quality like they’ve never had.”
