Think about how much technology you use on a daily basis.
We're not just talking about your laptop, your cell phone, the GPS in your car. Even a trip to the grocery store involves a dizzying high-tech infrastructure: the barcode scanner at the cash register; the data tracking encoded on the little club card on your keychain that tells the grocery store which coupons to send you; the magnetic card reader through which you swipe your credit card; the sophisticated inventory and order tracking systems in the back-of-house. Feel like eating out instead? Go to a sports bar and watch the game on a giant TV; your waiter will use hospitality software to enter your food and drink orders, and the software will automatically tell the bartender, and the kitchen, what to make. Fancy something a little more upscale? Just make sure you call ahead for a reservation -- which your restaurant might hold for you using a computerized reservation management system.
It's pretty astonishing how much we rely on tools like this -- some of which we never even see or think about -- to live convenient daily lives. And now think about this: There's a chance that
BlueStar, Inc. -- which has called Northern Kentucky home for over 50 years -- helped your favorite grocery store, or sports bar, or fine dining establishment, put those tools into place.
BlueStar, Inc. was founded in downtown Cincinnati in 1929, and opened a branch in Covington in 1957. Today, BlueStar is one of the fastest-growing distributors of solutions-driven technology, including digital signage, point-of-sale, radio frequency identification (RFID), data capture, and ID & security. From the extra-large TV screen at the sports bar and the digital kiosks at the shopping mall to the back-of-house inventory systems, asset tracking and access controls that allow a business to operate efficiently and seamlessly, the technologies BlueStar touches are integral, and increasingly ubiquitous.
In 2009, BlueStar moved its operations from Florence to Hebron, where they now employ about 220 workers in the region. (Worldwide, about 480 people work for BlueStar.)
Steve Cuntz, President and CEO of BlueStar, says that the talent base of Northern Kentucky has been key to BlueStar's success -- and that the caliber of jobs BlueStar has created in the region have in turn benefited the community.
"There are a lot of talented people living in the area, and we have been very fortunate to be able to hire and retain a lot of them," Cuntz says. "(And) based on our business model, we have been able to provide what I would consider above-average paying jobs," Cuntz says. "We are putting a lot of tax money back into the community."
And with the grand opening of Griffin Hall -- the new home of NKU's College of Informatics -- Cuntz sees continued strength in Northern Kentucky's high-tech business climate. (Cuntz was a member of the Dean's Advisory Board for the College of Informatics when it was first opened in 2007.)
''With their enrollment base, it is bound to have a positive impact on the technology sector in this area,'' he says.
BlueStar values the Northern Kentucky region for its logistical infrastructure, as well. The company is a stone's throw from the regional FedEx distribution center and conveniently close to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
''We located here based on the long-term economic benefits of being close to the airport,'' Cuntz says. ''That is extremely attractive for our suppliers to visit with us, and convenient for me, because I travel so much.''
But he also appreciates Northern Kentucky's charm -- and so do his employees, which is good for business.
''Northern Kentucky has very nice big city attributes -- sports, entertainment, theater, opera -- but it also has a very low cost of living. We are able to attract people to come here to work with us because of the cost of living, compared to the big city benefits,'' he says.
Cuntz predicts revenue growth of around 10% in 2012. In a marketplace where infinite messages compete for blink-like attention spans, digital visual communications are in high demand. The market for RFID and other automatic data capture (ADC) is still growing, too, as organizations see the efficiencies they can create in the supply chain. The company has seen an increase in its foreign operations.
But the biggest potential for BlueStar's growth, Cuntz says, is in what is loosely deemed the ''securities'' sector: surveillance, access controls and identification technologies. (Some of their products are biometric: think fingerprint readers and retina scanners.) Though BlueStar has been involved in the securities market for years, the company is seeing such great potential for activity and interest in that market that they are intensifying their focus on these products.
So keep an eye on BlueStar, Inc. They're rising in Northern Kentucky. You might even start to notice how the technologies they provide power the efficiency and ease of your everyday life.
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