With operations in the U.S. as well as Brazil, COTECH’s expertise stands out because of its focus on utilising rope-access experienced climbers rather than lifts and other machines to perform the job. Ranging from tower surveys to maintenance and new site builds, COTECH serves the telecom tower industry with its highly experienced climbers and local knowledge. In this interview, Jon Stouffer, the company’s VP, shares with us his insights into why manpower is better than machines.
TowerXchange: Please introduce yourself and your role within COTECH.
Jon Stouffer, Vice President, COTECH Tower Services:
I am the Vice President of COTECH Tower Services with more than twenty years’ background and experience in the vertical tower space. My role as the VP of COTECH Tower Services is to guide and direct the organisation to business opportunities that meet our objectives while exceeding our customers demand for on time delivery with the highest safety and quality standards.
In today’s vertical tower space there are many choices for service oriented companies but COTECH Tower Services by far exceeds the competition through its constant demand for training to ensure the safety of every rope access experienced climber while delivering a quality product to each customer based on the specifics of the contract.
TowerXchange: Give us some background about COTECH, its activities and footprint.
Jon Stouffer, Vice President, COTECH Tower Services:
COTECH Tower Services has a global footprint with offices both in the U.S. and Brazil and strategic partners around the globe, thanks to whom we are able to provide resources to meet our customers’ needs within a reasonable period of time. To date, we are actively engaged with most carriers and vertical space operators in the region.
Nowadays, time is money therefore the demand for a qualified, skilled and highly trained workforce is the key to business success. COTECH Tower Services thrives on our ability to understand the customer and deliver the product through our rope access trained professionals.
We provide certified, trained and qualified rope access experts to services vertical structures where most would utilise aerial lift supports such as cranes or man lifts. Due to our level of expertise and ability to service the elevated work area through rope access we can deliver a product faster while maintaining a higher level of the safety and quality as a result.
We can perform aerial surveys, structural modifications and upgrades and general routine carrier adds through our highly skilled and trained workforce.
TowerXchange: What is driving the demand for engineering services in Brazil?
Jon Stouffer, Vice President, COTECH Tower Services:
Many of the demand in Brazil is brought to light through the acquisition and capital funds invested through U.S.-backed companies. We believe that this market will continue to grow and generate a higher demand for tower inspections and upgrades will follow suit.
TowerXchange: Are you looking at expanding beyond the country in other South American markets?
Jon Stouffer, Vice President, COTECH Tower Services:
COTECH Tower Services is always entertaining new growth opportunities and as they unfold we will certainly take a closer look at the positioning of COTECH Tower Services at the front line of the industry. We believe with each opportunity there must be a level of commitment on our part, in order to give our customers the level of service they have come to expect. We will continue to evaluate each opportunity as they are presented but I believe it’s a safe bet that you will see COTECH Tower Services in other South American markets soon.
TowerXchange: In terms of new builds, which types of towers and in which locations are more in demand?
Jon Stouffer, Vice President, COTECH Tower Services:
In today’s greenfield market, we see a variety of new builds comprising of virtually every structure typically designed. Most new builds today are largely focused on increasing capacity, requiring an additional vertical space for added channels and data use, as opposed to the old school days where we built tall structures to flood the area with RF.
The need for higher quality services demands the ability to adequately cover the market space in peak and off peak hours, therefore the demand for capacity-capable structures has been the build plan forward.
Stealth design of the structures has become a vital component as well in this build model due to the tighter constraints on where you can build and what it must look like. COTECH Tower Services has built virtually every structure capable of supporting antennas in order to propagate an RF signal. It’s exciting to build the uncommon structure although each one tends to bring a unique challenge.
TowerXchange: Are there many single tenant towers in Brazil compared to those capable of hosting multiple tenants? Do you do a lot of retrofitting?
Jon Stouffer, Vice President, COTECH Tower Services:
Like in virtually every part of the world there are single tenant structures. When the structures were built they were built with a primary focus in mind and years back no one was interested in shared vertical space nor did the business model exist that presents itself today.
The ability to retrofit a structure provides customers the possibility to maintain services to its subscribers while the work is carried out. Until a few years ago, retrofitting a structure was viewed as the last resort but quickly has become a normal means of doing business in today’s vertical tower space
In today’s world the demand for greater capacity is driven by the desire for faster data speed. This demand has created the need for structures to support greater loads. Over time the wind speeds haven’t changed nor has the soil bearing capacity. However, the increased weight and wind resistance has changed and has been driving changes in terms of structural calculations, in light of the increased loading of antennas and radios.
The ability to retrofit a structure provides customers the possibility to maintain services to its subscribers while the work is carried out. Until a few years ago, retrofitting a structure was viewed as the last resort but quickly has become a normal means of doing business in today’s vertical tower space.
TowerXchange: What is your competitive edge? Why should towercos work with COTECH?
Jon Stouffer, Vice President, COTECH Tower Services:
COTECH Tower Services provides a unique competitive edge in this space by forging two highly skilled and trained qualifications into one package.
COTECH Tower Services delivers the SPRAT and IRATA trained professional combined with highly skilled and experienced communications professional. The scope of work can involve an RF upgrade to pathing of highly sensitive microwave, COTECH Tower Service’s continues to deliver the customer the product they have come to expect.
Our ability to bring a level of skill and training to the industry that has been plagued with safety infractions has been the constant for our customers. When our customers engage with COTECH Tower Services they expect nothing but the highest caliber professional that will adhere to the demands of the safety industry while delivering their product on time and within budget. We believe in those values and will only employ folks of the same mind set. We are an extension of our customer therefore the commitment to safety, value and the highest of quality will be the driving forces that push us forward.
