The two career commercial furniture specialists made the case for their company’s admission to membership at FSN’s last general meeting. That was September 2013, in Boston. John Vento, the owner and founder of CIS Office Installers, and Jim Graf, the president, were very effective in telling the CIS story. The vote for admission was unanimous.
With the addition of CIS Office Installers to our group, Facilities Services Network has substantially expanded the opportunities we can provide to organizations seeking high-quality regional and national support for product lines and managed facilities.
Based in Monroeville, Penn., CIS serves greater Pittsburgh plus an extended operating area that effectively encompasses western and central Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, upper West Virginia and western Maryland.
A field staff of about 35 professional installers provides installation, reconfiguration, repair and maintenance support for the full spectrum of systems furniture, case goods, movable walls, millwork, high-density storage systems, specialty seating and workplace accessories. CIS offers 40,000 square feet of long- and short-term storage in a secure, insured warehouse, and operates a fleet of trucks and vans. Other services include facility maintenance, panel refurbishing and carpet and textile cleaning.
[of membership] is the high standards that FSN stands for.
“I think the largest benefit to being a member of FSN is the opportunity to share knowledge with other people who are committed to a best-practice approach to furniture and facility services,” wrote Jim Graf in a recent email interview.
“The collective years of experience within FSN is a tremendous resource,” Graf continued. “A good example: Manufacturers are constantly adding new product lines and changing existing lines. If CIS is approached to work with one of these new products, we can almost always find at least one other FSN member who’s had experience with it. And the members are always willing to provide the kind of technical information that can help us quote the job accurately and reduce our client’s cost or schedule risk.”
John Vento wrote, “Another great benefit is the high standards that FSN stands for. Some of our national accounts at CIS have projects going on in cities where other FSN members operate. When I can contract with them to do the work for me, it saves my client money and allows me to sleep at night knowing that my job will get done in a thoroughly professional manner. I’ve already used other FSN members on several occasions to complete jobs for CIS. It works very well.”
Jim Graf will represent CIS at FSN’s upcoming general meeting, March 3–4 in Santa Monica.
