By MYERS REECE for the Flathead Beacon
Avail-TVN, a company with Flathead roots and a primary office in Kalispell, recently was named the sixth-fastest growing tech company in North America.
Among media and entertainment companies, it claimed the top spot with 38,479 percent growth from 2007 to 2011, according to Deloitte’s 2012 Technology Fast 500 rankings.
Mike Kazmier, chief technology officer for Avail-TVN, said the recognition is a “stamp of approval” for a firm that does a good portion of its work out of the Flathead Valley. Kazmier founded a tech company in Kalispell that later merged to form Avail-TVN.
“I think it helps us establish credibility in the fact that we can run a true global organization from an area like Kalispell,” Kazmier said in an interview last week.
Janina Hobday, who works in content authoriztion support, far left, works in her cubicle at Avail-TVN’s office space south of downtown Kalispell last year. – File photo by Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon
Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 is an “annual ranking of the fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and clean technology companies in North America.” In its 18th year, it bills itself as “the pre-eminent technology awards program in United States and Canada.”
Award winners were selected this year based on percentage fiscal year revenue growth from 2007-2011.
“It is an honor to be included on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500,” Avail-TVN CEO Ramu Potarazu said in a statement.
Avail-TVN is the “largest global provider of multiplatform video services, working with both content and service providers to bring the most innovative digital video services into consumers’ homes and onto their connected devices,” according to its website.
The company works with every major Hollywood studio and television network. It is headquartered in Reston, Va., with offices in California and Kalispell. The Kalispell office, located near MacKenzie River Pizza, employs around 30 people and is currently hiring, Kazmier said.
Potarazu said Avail-TVN has made strategic investments in international expansion and the development of new products and services that have “helped to fuel continued growth.”
“Today, Avail-TVN’s reach extends to 28 countries and more than 75 million households globally, making us the largest provider of advanced digital video services worldwide,” Potarazu said.
Satellite dishes point to the sky behind Avail-TVN’s office space south of downtown Kalispell. – File photo by Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon
Tesla Motors, Inc., earned the top ranking on Deloitte’s list. The company, based in Palo Alto, Calif., designs and manufactures electric vehicles and electric vehicle power train components. Winners hailed from cities across North America.
“The companies on the Fast 500 list are among those that have demonstrated remarkable innovation, creativity and business savvy,” said Bill Ribaudo, a partner with Deloitte & Touche LLP and national TMT leader for audit and enterprise risk services (AERS).
“As a result, these companies have continued to successfully forge ahead in a challenging economic environment. We applaud the leadership and employees of Avail-TVN for this impressive accomplishment.”Kazmier has been an advocate for expanding the tech industry in the Flathead, touting its potential for good-paying jobs that represent a viable and “clean” alternative to traditional extractive and manufacturing industries.
He pointed to Semitool founder Ray Thompson and the founders of Nomad Global Communication Solutions as other examples of entrepreneurs who have found success in the Flathead.
“My main goal is to show other companies like this that they can do it here,” he said. “We absolutely have our roots here.”