DAKOTA DUNES -- During its nearly six years in metro Sioux City, Sterling Computers has kept a relatively low public profile.
The company, a reseller and provider of computer hardware and information technology and services, has had little reason to advertise locally.
The federal government accounts for the bulk of Sterling's $120 million annual business.
The company, whose personnel regularly work in classified environments, has contracts with the Defense Department and various intelligence agencies, as well as major military contractors that include Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrup Grumman.
"What we really do at our core is provide the systems and the storage and the networking equipment to allow any branch of the government to access their data in real time at any place, any time," Sterling vice president of services Brad Moore said. "We have to make sure that it gets there in real time and gets there securely and to the right people, not the wrong people."
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Expanded local workforce
Sterling, based in Norfolk, Neb., recently combined its Sioux City and North Sioux City offices at a single location in Dakota Dunes.
The company became the first tenant in the Riverview Corporate Center, an office and warehouse complex built on speculation by a coalition of groups four years ago.
Fourteen employees currently work out of Sterling's sales and service office at 870 Cottonwood Lane.
With the exception of Moore and one other employee, the Sterling staff all have previous experience at Gateway, the computer maker that grew rapidly in North Sioux City in the 1990s.
Moore said the abundance of talented Gateway alumni still living in the area helped attract Sterling to the region in 2004.
That depth of experience and expertise helps offset the high cost and difficulty of traveling in and out of Sioux City.
"I think the reason the owners wanted to expand here was the quality of available here and how much talent you get for the cost to hire good people," Moore said.
The company hopes to double its workforce in Dakota Dunes in the future.
"As long as we can continue to hire the rights kind of people, we're going to continue to grow here," Moore said. "I don't know if there a limit."
California roots
Sterling was founded in 1996 by Maggi Jones and her husband, Troy, in Torrance, Calif.. As a Hispanic, small businesswoman, Maggi Jones qualified for the U.S. Small Business Administration's 8(a) program. The program, named for a section of the federal code, was created to help small disadvantaged businesses compete for and access the federal procurement market.
Sterling grew to become the 13th largest 8 (a) small business before graduating from the program in 2008.
Sterling resells computer hardware and IT equipment from the industry's largest manufacturers, including Dell, Sun, HP and Oracle.
Sterling has 45 engineers with a TS level or above working in the field. That roster includes 19 engineers based in the Omaha area, where they are assigned to contracts at Offutt Air Force Base.
About 30 sales staff work at Sterling's headquarters in Norfolk. In 2004, Sterling moved its headquarters from southern California to northeast Nebraska, where Troy Jones, the company's chief executive, grew up.
Jones and his wife, Maggi, remain the majority owners of the business. Last year, Brad Moore, his father, Darrell, and brother, Jeff, acquired a 25 percent interest in the firm.
At the firm's Dakota Dunes office, the inside sales team is led by Tim McCabe, director of business development. McCabe and Adam Nelson, senior project manager, are both ex-Gateway executives.
BREAKOUT
More space to rent in centre
Landlords are looking to lease additional space in the Riverview Corporate Center.
Sterling Computers, the first tenant to sign, occupies 5,200 square feet, or about 14 percent of the total building.
The center, which features a total of 41,500 square feet of flexible office and warehouse space, was built at a cost of about $4 million in 2005.
Landlords are The Siouxland Initiative, Dakota Dunes Development Co. and the Dunham Co., a Sioux Falls-based firm that served as the project developer.
The center, located on a 5.74-acre site near Interstate 29, features tall ceilings, loading docks and ample parking.
