Consolidated Telecom, Smith Telecommunications merge

Consolidated Telecom Group LLC and Smith Telecommunications Consultants LLC, two Portland-based telecommunications consulting firms, recently announced their merger forming Smith and Hutchens Consulting Inc.

Previously the two firms had been working together on a technical training project for Avaya, a telecommunications service provider with worldwide offices. Following the completion of the nine-month project the owners, Michael Smith and Dana Hutchens, decided to combine the two firms.

"This is a perfect match," said Smith, president and partner with Smith and Hutchens. "Dana has a lot of the technical background while I have a sales and marketing and engineering background."

Smith and Hutchens had worked together at Qwest and U S West over the past 18 years, before forming their own companies after cutbacks occurred at Qwest in March 2002.

"We have a good working relationship," Smith said. "We both have talents and we will mix those talents together. Right now we are trying to expand and get ourselves out to as many people as possible."

Something that will set Smith and Hutchens apart from other telecommunications consulting firms, Smith explained, will be partnerships with other organizations, which will help to create a wider knowledge base for the firm.

Together Smith and Hutchens have a wide variety of telecommunications experience, including experience in project management, system installation, engineering, training and network infrastructure.

"We can do pretty much anything for anybody as far as telecommunications is concerned," said Hutchens, partner and vice president with Smith and Hutchens. Training is going to be a big part of the firm's business, Hutchens explained, while consulting will be another aspect of what the firm does.

"We look forward to working with organizations, large or small, that can utilize customized solutions that take advantage of reducing costs and increasing efficiency," Smith and Hutchens said in a statement released following the merger.

"Our main focus is to provide the customer with what they need," Hutchens said. "We're going to work within their budget to give them the best project for their dollar.

"We're offering a reduced cost training program without all the fluff," Hutchens said.

Currently, the firm is in the process of designing Nortel training CDs for several of its customers, and is working on a project with Vital Network Systems based in Tampa, Fla. Both Smith and Hutchens are certified Nortel Systems engineers. Nortel Networks is a major telecommunications manufacturer and service provider with offices around the globe.

"I can see us increasing a customer's knowledge and improving their spending budgets," Hutchens said. "I think people are going to like working with us."

Copyright 2003 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.