21 minute read
TrueNet Communications
TRULY DEVOTED TO TELECOMS
Headed by President and CEO, Erich Schlegel, TrueNet Communications is the total broadband solutions provider at the forefront of telecoms technology
Writer: Jack Salter | Project Manager: Yamin Khan
We live in a digital world that is advancing at an almost unfathomable pace.
Today’s state of the art technology advancements require robust networks that are capable of transferring data instantaneously, whilst everything from new scientific breakthroughs to home automation demands more internet bandwidth than ever.
“Digital technology has evolved society rapidly thus far, and it will be fascinating to see what further advancements will be made,” notes Erich Schlegel, President and CEO of TrueNet Communications (TrueNet).
TrueNet, an infrastructure engineering and specialty contractor based in Jacksonville, Florida, takes great pride in the fact that its services are a critical element in the evolution of society.
Expertise in engineering design has been delivered by TrueNet to broadband, wireless, telecoms and enterprise customers since 1985.
WHAT MAKES TRUENET DIFFERENT?
NIMBLENESS – TrueNet’s culture of empowering employees allows it to quickly respond to customers’ needs and excel at fast-track turnarounds. Every opportunity is approached with urgency to make sure deadlines are met and objectives are fulfilled.
STABILITY – Combining more than 30 years in business with the world’s third oldest IT company provides TrueNet with unparalleled scope and resources. A wholly owned Fujitsu company, TrueNet works with the largest communication companies on some of the world’s largest installations. TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP – Few companies can match TrueNet’s core proficiencies or ability to deliver innovative solutions that leverage the knowledge gained from designing and supporting generations of networks. CUSTOMER FOCUS – Everyone likes working with TrueNet, who forges effective and mutually beneficial partnerships that last for decades. EXPERIENCE – Established in 1985, TrueNet’s client list includes leading cable MSOs, wireline carriers, international network OEMs, and enterprises. SCALABILITY – With over 350 associates on staff and hundreds more available through staff augmentation services, TrueNet can scale to meet virtually any project size.
Appointed as the CEO of TrueNet in 2016, it was the opportunity to play an important role in society that initially drew Schlegel to telecoms.
“The internet and dot-coms were still very new, and it was exciting to be involved in watching the capabilities of the internet burgeon into what it is today,” he says.
“The longer I spend in telecoms, the more I understand just how complex the global communication network really is and how important it is to everyone’s daily lives. There is never a dull moment and there are boundless opportunities to adapt and innovate.”
THE FUJITSU FAMILY
Schlegel’s telecoms career started at Fujitsu Network Communications (FNC), of which TrueNet is a whollyowned subsidiary.
FNC, the world’s fourth-largest IT services provider and third-oldest IT company, is part of the global Fujitsu Group (Fujitsu).
As a member of the Fujitsu family, TrueNet is able to provide end-to-end services and industry-leading total broadband solutions.
“TrueNet really benefits from being part of the Fujitsu family. Fujitsu has a great purpose – to make the world more sustainable by building trust in society through innovation – which is a beacon for us at TrueNet to follow in the services we provide to our customers,” Schlegel tells us.
“I believe Fujitsu’s deep connection to society and customers is a big differentiator. We truly act to help our customers achieve their goals and improve life for people around the world; that spirit of partnership with our customers is why Fujitsu and TrueNet have existed, adapted, and thrived for so many years.”
Originally focused on providing outside plant (OSP) cable design services, TrueNet has evolved tremendously as the industry has matured and grown into an essential part of modern life.
The company’s services have expanded over the years as a result,
– ERICH SCHLEGEL, PRESIDENT AND CEO, TRUENET COMMUNICATIONS
and TrueNet is now a valued strategic partner of many telecoms companies across the US and Canada.
“We now offer robust technical services that span planning, design, construction and maintenance of our customers’ OSP infrastructure,” outlines Schlegel.
INVESTING IN THE INTERNET
A clear goal of bringing affordable and reliable high-speed internet to everyone in the US has been set by the Biden administration.
To help make this goal a reality, the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program will expand high-speed internet access to unserved or underserved areas by funding planning, infrastructure deployment, and adoption programs.
“The BEAD grant is just one large piece of the government’s strategy to offer high-speed internet to every American household, with its main focus on rural areas,” Schlegel informs us.
“The overall infrastructure bill includes over $400 billion of funds that will come in the form of loans and grants. This massive injection of capital will generate activity within the telecoms industry unlike anything we have ever seen before.”
Schlegel is a strong proponent of BEAD, as it will only provide more opportunities for US citizens to access the unlimited resources that the internet provides.
In doing so, it will encourage all telecoms providers to re-evaluate how they approach their growing networks.
“TrueNet has gone through great diligence over recent years, challenging traditional practices and methods that have existed for decades,” Schlegel shares.
Well over $5 million has also been invested by TrueNet in the last three years on equipment, vehicles, tools and facilities to support its customers in Arizona and Nevada.
There is a tremendous need for competent, full-service construction in the telecoms sector, and TrueNet continues to expand its capabilities and capacity.
New features continue to be developed, for example, on TrueNet’s proprietary project management and data analytics tool, TrueQ Pro, to further enhance the company’s ability to manage large numbers of projects and transactions with a high level of accuracy.
TrueNet has also invested in drone and data management technologies, to collect large volumes of field data and easily translate it into useable outputs for customers, such as mapping and permits.
“These investments are enabling much faster cycle times, and providing a more complete data set that can be used for reference without return trips to the field, which are extremely costly,” Schlegel explains.
TENETS OF SUCCESS
Equally, the company has invested in building up a robust team to manage and execute wireless deployments, including tower climbing capabilities which are in high demand across North America.
The staff at TrueNet, from executives to individual contributors, are the heart and soul of the business
and the team continues to grow.
“We have some of the best 500+ people in the telecoms industry. As well as developing new technologies, we have heavily invested in young talent to ensure the longevity and success of our business,” reveals Schlegel.
There are several fundamental tenets that TrueNet tries to follow, the first of which is giving people the tools they need to do their job well.
This encompasses everything from equipment, computers and the office environment to training and mentoring, and is “vital to the success of each employee’s success,” Schlegel affirms.
Decision making, meanwhile, is kept at the lowest possible level by TrueNet, as the telecoms industry places high value on the speed of execution.
“For us to stay competitive and to help our customers achieve their goals, then we must be quick and nimble. Unnecessary bureaucracy adds no value to our business.”
TrueNet also has robust programs to enhance the employee experience,
which include competitive benefits, formal performance and annual compensation reviews, as well as ongoing education and training.
“All of these programs, and more, help our employees to grow and feel valued as part of the TrueNet team,” says Schlegel.
Subcontractor and supplier networks are just as integral to the success of TrueNet, with the majority of subcontractors having been valued partners for many years.
To Schlegel, it’s important that not only employees, but partner networks understand the TrueNet vision and what it aspires to accomplish in the industry.
“Everyone from our upper management team to individual contributors and subcontractor partners fully understands that we stand by our work and take pride in the fact that our customers know us above all for our results,” he smiles.
PLANS OF ACTION
Over the years, the leadership at TrueNet has also created action plans that focus on key stakeholders.
This exercise has been made part of the company culture, with all TrueNet leaders taking full responsibility to execute these action plans.
“We don’t just strive for a strong balance sheet; we also want to be a valuable contributor to society and do our part in making this country great,” Schlegel states proudly.
“Some of these initiatives include diversity hiring programs, charitable donations, and green initiatives,” he details.
Likewise, cultivating a culture in which people want to come to work and be proud of the company they work for is one of TrueNet’s main goals.
“Aside from our efforts to improve employee benefits each year, this may be one of the more challenging tasks, but with the right leadership team and a mentality of always listening intently, our team members feel that they have a voice in the company,” offers Schlegel.
“I can’t thank our employees enough for taking so much pride in their work. None of this works without them and their dedication to the company.”
This will remain the case as TrueNet continues to be versatile and ready to assist customers with their everchanging objectives.
The success of TrueNet’s customers ultimately ensures the longevity of the company, and tangentially creates excitement for employees to be working for such a dynamic organization.
“The process of building and maintaining the country’s telecoms infrastructure is overlooked as something that just magically happens,” Schlegel concludes.
“When a subscriber turns on their television to watch one of the 1,000+ channels of content, or searches the internet, they just expect it to work instantly.
“We are one of the companies that makes this magic happen.”
TRUENET COMMUNICATIONS
Tel: 904.777.9052 sales@truenetcommunications.com www.truenetcommunications.com
CULTIVATING THE FARM OF THE FUTURE
Controlled-environment agriculture is being recognized as the most efficient method of choice for farming and horticulture. Originating from the Netherlands, we take a look at VB, and speak to CEO Edward Verbakel about greenhouse advantages and recent developments in Europe and the US
Writer: Marcus Kääpä
Project Manager: Liam Pye
Our history is filled with examples of innovation across a thousand practices, but few have been as important as those great steps made in the pursuit of food.
Turn the clock back to the Neolithic Revolution in around 13,000-10,000 BCE, a time when animal husbandry led humanity to be masters of the herd rather than the hunt, a smarter, more efficient, and less dangerous practice. Thereafter in 9,000 BCE, our ancestors dwelling in the Fertile Crescent (east of the Mediterranean Sea spanning multiple Middle Eastern countries) turned their minds to the plough, lapping over the soil in waves to keep earth fresh and fertile to host seeds and grow crops. Agriculture had begun in full bloom, setting in stone the food-centric path of early, settled civilization.
From such dawn-era knowledge, agriculture has adapted across the world. One only has to look at the iconic terraced hill farms of ancient Wari (and later Incan) culture - techniques that are still used around the world due to their efficiency and success.
Today, such tiered (or vertical) farming methods are not only applicable but represent the future of smart farming, as the most economical use of energy and resources while limiting environmental impacts, in exchange for the highest yield of consumable produce. Smarter farming methods are the key to our future, and this truth is being realized across the globe.
“The world’s population is growing; there is more demand for safe, healthy food all year round, and this is coupled with the necessity of combatting climate change, and the consequential demand for food produce that uses less energy and water, as well as a reduced transport footprint,” introduces Edward Verbakel, CEO of VB.
The son of a company founder (Aad Verbakel), Verbakel is a second-generation family member in an executive position within VB, and has led the company for almost 20 years, managing projects that have been built for clients around the world.
“Modern greenhouses are the way forward; they use 20 percent less water than field-grown crops, use up less space for more produce through tiered farming, and are now considered as assets by investors and capital funds due to their value in the agricultural sector.”
Edward Verbakel, CEO, pictured center, converses with Jim Murphy, Chairman of Mighty Vine (right) and Patrik Borenius, CEO of Green Automation
– EDWARD VERBAKEL, CEO, VB
OVER 50 YEARS OF INNOVATION
VB operates three primary divisions: horticulture, climate and energy. Within the rapidly changing horticulture sector, VB is an industry leader in providing greenhouse solutions that make use of the latest and best technology and design, and
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NORTH AMERICA OUTLOOK: CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE USE OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IN YOUR GREENHOUSES?
EDWARD VERBAKEL, CEO: “Around 12 years ago, VB started to explore opportunities to replace fossil fuels for the greenhouse industry, as we used volumes of natural gas in the Netherlands. It was a very affordable option back then but obviously not very sustainable because there were a lot of pollutants that made it damaging to the environment – CO2 levels were high – and looking towards alternatives is what led us to the geothermal industry. “So far, VB has been involved in 17 out of the 23 active geothermal wells in the Netherlands, most of which are connected to greenhouses, with others feeding industrial solutions, houses or other areas. Today, almost 20 percent of the glass surfaces of our greenhouses make use of geothermal heat rather than traditional forms of energy, which is a large step towards becoming more sustainable. “We believe that this model can be used in international markets as long as we remain informed and aware of the rules and regulations in each particular country we operate in to collaborate and succeed in this area.”
Mighty Vine Tomatoes
can weather even extreme conditions.
Initially founded as a heating supplier to the horticulture industry in 1966, J & A Verbakel Verwarming was started in the Netherlands by two brothers, Joop and Aad Verbakel, with company activities later branching abroad to places such as Belgium, Germany, France, and even in the US.
As the company diversified into greenhouse building projects in 1983, the name changed; what had been Verbakel – Bomkas following a business acquisition of Bomkas Greenhouses in the Netherlands, thereafter became VB, and today the company stands as a specialist in constructing sustainable plants and projects, the center of which are its greenhouses.
“We specialize in the design and build of such greenhouse projects, and we are also active in the energy solutions space, geothermal heating plants, and in other areas such as football stadiums,” Verbakel tells us. “There is currently an energy crisis in which high-tech horticulture requires substantial volumes of energy for heating, cooling and lighting.
“Industries need to become more sustainable; geothermal heat can replace some of the fossil fuels, yet the scale is needed to benefit from these sources. VB is well aware of the domestic Dutch requirements to realise the geothermal sources and has ambitions to bring this knowledge into other markets. However, this will require local partners that are well informed about the local rules and regulations related to these heat mining activities.”
VB’s greenhouse projects are built from the ground up and delivered with professionalism and the promise of bountiful yield, answering the demand in the agriculture industry for smarter and better methods of farming.
SMARTER FARMING
The reason why greenhouses are becoming a core focus of the agricultural and horticultural industries is clear for those who invest in such sectors. For Verbakel, smarter agricultural practices and the sustainable use of energy is key to improving the yield and longevity of food production, and at a structural level, greenhouses are fundamental to this success.
“The availability of food within a large population combined with climate change and the ambition to reduce miles makes it a very interesting topic, especially when combined with the significant attention being placed on controlled-environment agriculture (CEA),” explains Verbakel.
“A field is vulnerable; crops are at the mercy of the weather with the potential to be impacted by storms or exposed to drought conditions, for example. In terms of water usage and pesticides, fields use a lot more water
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Operating worldwide from the Netherlands, R. van der Horst B.V. is a spraying company specializing in heating pipes and construction materials for greenhouse horticulture. Van der Horst uses its own paints that meet high environmental and sustainability requirements.
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MARKET LEADER GLOBALLY ACTIVE INNOVATIVE
than CEA, while also having to make use of more pesticides due to crop exposure to the open air.”
The smarter and more sustainable methods of greenhouse farming are shown by the circular use of resources, exemplified by the resource cost to produce the humble tomato.
According to Verbakel, a field-grown tomato requires up to 20 times more fresh water than a greenhouse-grown tomato, and the water that such greenhouse-grown fruit and vegetables do not consume is recaptured, cleaned and ready to be used again, while in the field, excess water is soaked into the earth along with pesticides and fertilizer that impacts the soil levels. The retrieval and cleaning of this water from an open field requires far more energy, effort and time than that reused from a greenhouse.
“Not only is tiered farming the origin for less water, less space and more produce, but it is the expected future form of farming,” Verbakel adds.
“Nowadays, we are able to use less water and less space due to high-efficiency methods that use less water and less labor. The shortages in daylight and climate are being compensated by advanced technological solutions in a controlled environment.”
Then there are the disadvantages of such labor and field-grown produce shelf life in traditional agriculture. The fact that produce has to bridge distances before it reaches an area where it is being consumed is an issue brought to the forefront of traditional field agriculture.
“Areas with open agricultural fields are not particularly the areas where most of the population lives, and so there exist costs, not only in travel and to the environment, but also shelf life,” Verbakel details. “Meanwhile, our clients are using our technology to grow and bring better quality foods to a more demanding consumer 365 days a year, keeping produce fresher, increasing shelf life, and reducing waste.”
Traditional field farming entails more rigorous and less efficient labor, making employment a less attractive prospect. The difference between working low to the ground, exposed to the elements, compared to the easy access to efficiently grown (sometimes tiered) produce leads to longer-term employment and happier personnel.
“On top of this, greenhouses are seeing new trends of automation and robotization, and are more receptive to such advancements,” Verbakel adds. “CEA allows for a greater level of control and monitoring and is built for the automation of processes, as well as making use of technology that maximizes yield potential and prediction at all times of year, such as LED lights that spread much lower heat so as not to impact the temperature of greenhouses, while increasing light levels to promote growth.” Maroa Farms, and App Harvest in the CEA space.
“Little Leaf Farms has been our respected client since they started their first building in Devens, Massachusetts, in 2015. We have built five consecutive times for them,” Verbakel continues. “The latest greenhouse expansion in McAdoo, Pennsylvania, will integrate Little Leaf Farms’ best-in-class technology, including energy efficiencies across heating, cooling, lighting, advanced data analytics and hands-free automated growing systems.
“Little Leaf Farms employs hydroponic production for its lettuce which is grown under glass and uses captured rainwater, natural sunlight, up to 90 percent less water than field-grown greens, and no harmful pesticides.”
VB has decades of history in North America, going back to Verbakel’s
– EDWARD VERBAKEL, CEO, VB
BUSINESS ACROSS THE POND
Although VB’s roots sprouted in the Netherlands and Europe, the company is branching further afield. Across the pond, the US is a hub of activity for the company and its expansion plans, with VB having successfully undertaken multiple projects for US-based clients and many more promising developments in the pipeline.
“The North American market is a focus for VB. We have a rich history in the US, having been active there since 1971,” Verbakel tells us proudly. “VB has references in over 25 states and works for companies who are each the best in their class.”
In recent years, VB has completed projects for Little Leaf Farms, Mighty Vine Tomatoes, Bushel Boy Farms, Backyard Farms, and Village Farms, as well as with its Atrium Agri partner for Green Empire Farms, Pure Flavor,
Little Leaf Farms
father who undertook his first project on Long Island (New York State), and from there grew the business and helped lead it to what it has become today.
“The North American market is the most important continent that we are focused on at the moment. We are fortunate to experience a good exchange rate and a relatively stable economic climate between Western Europe and North America, not only in the US, but also in Mexico and Canada where we remain active,” Verbakel says.
“When VB began in the US, we delivered solutions to produce domestic plants and flowers, but later in the 2000s we made a shift towards the vegetable market. The US is behind when you look at the greenhouse surface per capita, and this is demonstrated by the country’s food imports and substantial field farming industry, so there remains a great deal of potential in the market for greenhouse developments.”
SECURITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
The US will remain VB’s focal market, given the size and scale of farming across the country and the potential of the sector.
Moving forward, VB is aware that business security is an important aspect of success, which in turn allows the company to continue advancing the agriculture and horticulture industries, helping them develop and become more efficient, eco-friendly, and economical.
“We are aware that we are doing well, but we can still do better,” Verbakel reflects. “Another thing to remember is both profitability and the robustness of the company, as to become more sustainable it
VB
Tel: +31 174 522 222 info@vb.nl www.vb.nl
is important to be economically justified; you should not overspend on trying to become a better supplier and have a lower profile of existence or a lower outlook for a healthy future.
“Looking to the years ahead, together with our clients and partners, we will create a sustainable future by using fewer natural resources while producing fresh healthy vegetables and beautiful flowering plants. Our short-term goal is to maintain key customer relations and increase customer satisfaction.
“Under the Atrium Agri umbrella, we have the capacity and leverage to take on very large-scale greenhouse projects and bring them to successful completion.”
