Finalist
Information Technology
In 1990, Robert A. Verdun founded Computerized Facility Integration LLC in an extra bedroom of an 800-square-foot house in Dearborn Heights, Mich.
His goal was to help large organizations better manage their facilities and real estate assets. At the time, real estate and facility management technology was in its infancy. CFI grew into one of the country’s largest service providers for facilities and real estate technology with millions in sales and multiple offices.
When the dot-com crash hit, revenue dropped about 60 percent, but Verdun found a way to survive.
Prior to 2001, CFI had a customer base concentration in high-tech and automotive. In addition, the business was primarily nonrecurring-project-based services. As CFI began its comeback, Verdun, the company’s president and CEO, was committed to rebuilding CFI into a far more sustainable business with recurring revenue and a diversified client base. In 2004, the company began diversifying by targeting educational institutes to help provide further protection from economic swings. CFI now does business with more than 20 universities. Today, more than 65 percent of CFI’s revenue is recurring, which comes from a broad range of clients.
The 2008-2009 recession was catastrophic for many companies, but for CFI, 2008 was a record year. In 2009, CFI’s largest client, General Motors, filed bankruptcy, and another client, Palm Beach County, canceled a multimillion project a week before it was scheduled to start due to cutbacks that resulted from its budget crisis. Despite these issues CFI’s strategy of diversifying its clientele allowed the company to survive the recession.
The company services real estate, design and construction, maintenance, and facility management departments as business partners. It has established itself as the premier consulting and systems integration firm focusing on facility management and corporate real estate.
How to reach: Computerized Facility Integration LLC, (248) 557-4234 www.gocfi.com
