2. residents in the early stages of Alzhei-
mer’s that don’t need as much constant
monitoring but can certainly call when
needs arise.
Because there are different house-
holds at Wealshire, different channels
have also been set up to alert just the
staff needed for that area of the cam-
pus, eliminating mass communications
when unnecessary and thus helping to
keep labor costs under control. Staff
can also communicate with each other
through this technology if more assis-
tance is required.
“It provides security for all involved –
the resident, their family and our staff,
knowing help can be reached at any
given time,” added Severson.
As Wealshire continues to provide
“residents the opportunity to live with
pride and dignity and in a community of
well-being,” innovations in technology
are essential as with Advanced Wire-
less Communications, who is support-
ing them along the way.
Page 2
Wireless Resource Newsletter www.AdvancedWireless.com
Advanced Wireless Announces
Retirement of CEO and New Partners
Advanced Wireless Communications
(AWC) announces the retirement of
Ben Coons, CEO, as of September
30, 2013, and that new partners have
joined the company.
Ben Coons founded AWC in 1992,
along with his son Ken Coons, who will
continue as the company’s President
and majority owner. “Ben enjoyed his
tenure at AWC and is amazed that the
company grew from a start-up to a
multi-million dollar company,” says Ken
Coons. “Ben has been instrumental
in building the company from a small
handful of customers to the thousands
of locations and businesses who use
our products today.”
The CEO’s departure opened the
opportunity to take on new busi-
ness owners and management team
members. This new team comes from
Rebound Enterprises LLC, Northfield,
Minn., and the appointments include:
• Brett Reese has been named
AWC’s chairman of the board. He also
serves as Rebound Enterprise’s man-
aging principal and chairman of the
board, founding the investment and
advisory company 25 years ago.
• Jon Bergquist has been
named AWC’s chief operating officer.
Bergquist has 30 years experience in
manufacturing, including engineering,
sales, operations, quality, and finance.
• Bob Reese has been named
AWC’s chief financial officer. He has
more than 29 years experience in
continued on page 4
3. When Brown’s Super Stores Inc. – a
conglomerate of 10 ShopRite super-
markets in the Philadelphia region –
needed to resolve how they handled
spills in their stores, they contacted
their Advanced Wireless Communica-
tions representative.
It was important to ShopRite man-
agement that they find a solution that
would allow store employees to han-
dle spills quickly and efficiently without
having to leave the site of the spill to
get assistance with clean-up. When
Lou DeCenzi, ShopRite’s director of
loss prevention, safety and POS oper-
ations, met with his Advanced Wireless
representative, they discussed the pos-
sible solutions.
Until the meeting with the representa-
tive, the store’s employees would han-
dle spills by posting a wet floor sign and
leave the area of the spill to report it,
or they would have to wait for a fellow
employee to walk by to communicate
information to management about the
spill. This process was less than ideal
as there were delays in reporting and,
at times, spills were left unattended.
As a solution, the Advanced Wireless
Communications representative rec-
ommended that the store’s manage-
ment post four-button wireless trans-
mitters in strategic areas in order to
notify the clean-up crew of spills, main-
taining the store’s control and safety.
The Instant Assistant® system offers
communication between a custom call
box to a two-way radio, wireless phone,
pager or public address system. The
system can be custom-designed of-
fering instant communication between
strategically placed call boxes to the
appropriate personnel. The system al-
lows for immediate response times to
potentially dangerous spills, reducing
liability and creating a safer shopping
environment for the store’s custom-
ers and employees. The system also
provides up-to-the-minute activity and
performance reports, allowing users to
evaluate the system’s use and effec-
tiveness.
“We purchased a transmitter for each
aisle of the store, two for the produce
areas, two for the meat aisle and one
for each department, including dairy,
frozen, and the front of the store,” says
DeCenzi. “The four-button transmitters
allow our employees who discover a
spill to remain in the area, preventing a
potential slip or fall.”
Each button on the transmitter com-
municates a unique need: 1) wet spill,
2) dry spill, 3) manager, and 4) clear.
Once installed, the wireless communi-
cations staff offered on-site training to
30 ShopRite associates as well as on-
going follow-up training.
“The transmitters have allowed us
to cut our reaction time in half,” says
DeCenzi. “We had a great experience
working with Advanced Wireless Com-
munications. The installation and the
sales team stayed with the store until
the employees were comfortable using
the equipment. They also continuously
checked in with the stores after the in-
stallation.”
ShopRite is now considering future
purchases of similar devices for its
Shop From Home Department.
Page 3
(800) 475-5852 Wireless Resource Newsletter
Grocery Chain Reduces Risk from Spills
4. public and private accounting.
In addition to these appointments,
Rick Bowles has been named Vice
President of Sales. As President Ken
Coons will now focus more on product
development and making strategic
decisions to forward AWC’s mission.
“Rebound Enterprises and AWC are
both businesses with strong Northfield
connections,” says Jon Bergquist.
“About two years ago, Ken Coons
and Brett Reese had their first con-
versation regarding the potential of
Rebound participating in some man-
ner to coincide with Ben’s retirement.
Rebound brings a broad base of
successful sales and manufacturing
experience to AWC as well as equity,
working capital, and focus.”
The collaboration’s immediate agen-
da is to ramp up customer service
initiatives, revamp some key products,
and achieve higher levels of growth by
adding two to four additional regional
sales staff.
Advanced Wireless Communications
is a leader in the design and integra-
tion of wireless communications solu-
tions. The company focuses on provid-
ing reliable and cost effective on-site
communications to retail, health care,
education, and manufacturing compa-
nies throughout the U.S.
AWC Announces Retirement of CEO and New Partners
Page 4
20809 Kensington Blvd.
Lakeville, MN 55044-8353
(952) 469-5400
Toll Free: (800) 475-5852
www.advancedwireless.com
Wireless Resource Newsletter www.AdvancedWireless.com
Pictured from left to right: Ken Coons, Bob Reese, and Jon Bergquist