Martin Engineering, based in Illinois, has spent the past 67 years perfecting the handling of bulk materials. The privately held, family-run companys products include conveyors as well as training and support services for manufacturers of paper, coal, cement and grain, for example. Martin Engineering also targets handling and shipment facilities in places such as seaports and power plants. 

The Challenge. Founded in 1944, Martin Engineering now employs hundreds of people throughout 11 countries. Buildings range from headquarters offices to manufacturing centers each with its own unique set of communications needs. All of that growth recently came to a head as Martin Engineering realized that it needed to move past the limitations and growing expenses stemming from its ShoreTel phone system.

Were a company that has embraced advanced technology including 3-D design and systems modeling to improve our products and processes,” said Wayne Roesner, Martin Engineerings information technology manager. So were very aware of the benefits we could achieve through VoIP and unified communications. We just werent seeing that materialize with the ShoreTel phone system we had implemented.”

The two biggest problems came down to cost and expansion: Martin Engineering was paying more to support its ShoreTel system than it had planned, and it was experiencing difficulty scaling the platform.

We knew we needed to find another solution that could better meet our business needs,” Roesner said.

The Solution. Martin Engineering turned to Midland Communications, an Iowa-based value-added reseller, for an audit of its communications setup. Midland recommended that Martin Engineering switch to Zultys.

We quickly realized that the Zultys solution was an ideal fit for Martin Engineerings needs, given its multisite and remote worker requirements and desire to cut costs while expanding communications tools for the company,” said Jason Smith, vice president of Midland Communications.

Martin Engineering took Midlands advice and hired the VAR to install the Zultys platform. The first phase of the deployment covered 500 employees. Midland accomplished this by migrating Martin Engineering to SIP trunking, installing a redundant cluster of MX-250 IP PBXs at the Neoponset, Ill., headquarters campus and putting MX30 IP PBXs into the offices located in Aspen and Denver, Colo.; Ozarks, Mo.; Peoria, Ill.; and in Mexico. Altogether, the IP PBXs provided Martin Engineering with the UC features it had been wanting, including high-definition video calling, presence, IM/chat, call handling and mobility. In addition, the IP PBXs took up little space at each location, since they fit into one 2U rack-mountable or shelf top appliance. Finally, to complement the IP PBXs, Midland also installed Zultys IP phones at each site.

The Result. Right away, Martin Engineering saved money. The Zultys solution paid for itself on day one,” Roesner said. That was due, in large part, to the elimination of pricey PSTN access. Also, because Zultys takes an all-in-one” approach to its products, Martin Engineering was able to slice its maintenance and support outlay by 50 percent. On top of that, Roesner said the company has seen significant productivity gains” and improvements in customer service thanks to tools including presence, chat and mobility.

Finally, because the Zultys platform supports remote and mobile workers, Martin Engineering has been able to extend corporate access to employees worldwide. Now all of our staff has the same access and connectivity to the corporate communications system, no matter where they are located,” Roesner said.

That also goes for mobile workers using the BlackBerry or Apple iPhone, he said. An employee can be on their mobile phone at a customer site and collaborate with colleagues around the world to troubleshoot in real time,” Roesner said.

Now, because of the overall gains provided by Zultys, Martin Engineering plans to expand its Zultys implementation past the initial 500 employees to all of its global offices.

We couldnt be happier with Zultys,” said Roesner.