TRI STATE TOWER

two-way broadcast work and the don’t work for just anybody,” he says. “We try and work for people tower inspections. Those types who have the same type of values that Tri State Tower has. We of connections always helped Tri focus on people who are going to have a relationship with us and State fill the void and made it a get to know us and know what we’re about.” pretty successful operation.” Hagstrom says that the company’s field teams will often do “When Rick founded Tri State extra work for their long-term clients, whether it’s checking fire ex- Tower in the early ’90s, he was tinguishers and first aid kits, or checking anchors for rust. “By doing driving a late 1980s Buick Skylark so, we’re creating value for the customer,” he explains. “We’re trying around from tower to tower,” says to make sure that they’re getting the most for their money. We live Pete Hagstrom, the company’s Vice by the culture of doing things without being asked; doing the right President for Business Develop- thing, even if no one is looking. We’re going to leave the site better ment. “We currently have over than it was when we showed up.” fifty trucks, trailers, and special That type of attention to its clients also helps the company equipment in our fleet. It’s pretty garner new business. “If a customer is satisfied with the work that neat to think about how far we’ve we’re doing, we reach out to those customers and leverage them come.” Today, Tri State also has to put us in other markets with that company,” says Brunscheen. 75 employees and has expanded “So, if it’s one of the wireless carriers, and we’re doing a lot of great from its original three-state area things for them in , we’ll reach out to people in Iowa and ask – Iowa, , and for a reference for their partners in Wisconsin.” – to include work in , Tri State pays close attention to its own employees, as well. “We , , , and do a lot of promoting from within,” says Hagstrom. “A lot of our se- , among other places. nior Project Managers started off being a Tech One, to a Tech Two, “We’ve been all over the country,” says Brunscheen. Tri State’s services include: turn- When Rick founded Tri State Tower in key tower construction and erec- tion, including site acquisition, pad the early ’90s, he was driving a late and pier foundations, grounding 1980s Buick Skylark around from tower utilities, site grading, access road installation, compound and anchor to tower. We currently have over fifty fencing, generator installation, line and antenna installation, and We are committed to keeping your trucks, trailers, and special equipment in microwave installation; tower site maintenance, including emergen- contracting business protected so you can our fleet. It’s pretty neat to think about cy and disaster recovery; technical focus on your day-to-day operations. how far we’ve come. services, such as equipment instal- lation and inspection, as well as PETE HAGSTROM troubleshooting and testing: and a VP FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT new fiber division that offers fiber www.firstiowa.com optic placement, splicing, testing, Robert L. Hammerberg, CIC drilling, trenching, and boring. Brunscheen stresses that since 319-393-5262 PREFERRED VENDOR AT A GLANCE | TRI STATE TOWER [email protected] much of Tri State’s projects come n First Iowa Insurance Agency, Inc. WHAT: Tower fabrication, construc- WHERE: Marion, Iowa from its current customers as www.firstiowa.com tion, and maintenance for wireless repeat business, building rela- WEBSITE: www.tristatetower.com companies tionships with them, and always “going above and beyond” is still key to the company’s success. “We