Custom installation firm Livewire is familiar to regular readers of Residential Systems thanks to the column and blog contributions from the firm’s founder and CEO Henry Clifford. Now the company is celebrating its 20th anniversary of providing technology integration services throughout Central Virginia.
To celebrate the occasion, Livewire is making charitable donations to several Richmond-based organizations throughout the year. There are also plans to recognize the remarkable employees and loyal clients who’ve made the past two decades possible.
“Livewire started out as just an idea, one that relied on a lot of hard work to get people to believe in what we’re doing,” says Clifford. “It’s evolved from a one-man band to a thriving, organization with talented and amazing people all rowing in the same direction. No single person is responsible for our success or failure, which is a huge step forward when you compare the before and after.”
Clifford founded Livewire in January 2002 from his Henrico home. Those early days saw team gatherings held on living room couches, leadership meetings in his home office, and work vans parked along the curb outside.
“The company really started from my own inability to find quality integration services for our home,” says Clifford. “Our choices were between companies who were either incredibly expensive or had shoddy workmanship. No one seemed to take a professional services approach to this industry. I thought that was a hole we could fill, and that really began our journey of simplifying technology in Central Virginia.”
Today, Livewire has grown into a 30-plus person outfit operating out of offices at 4900 and 4901 West Clay Street near Willow Lawn. The company offers a comprehensive slate of technology services including smart building automation, indoor and outdoor lighting control, custom theater solutions, security systems, distributed audio/video, and networking solutions in both residential and commercial markets.
“We’ve continued to evolve, and just last year renovated our warehouse space to include a training center,” says Stacy Hicks, who was promoted to COO last April after six years with the company. “Not only does this enable us to take a more hands-on approach to our own technical training, but we’ve opened the doors for others in our industry to do so as well.”
Livewire has been consistently recognized by Virginia Living, R-Home Magazine, and CEPro as one of the top service providers in the state.
“We’re proud of our roots here in Richmond, my home town, and will continue to thrive here,” says Hicks. “We look forward to welcoming integrators from across the country to our home, and to expand their knowledge through training programs.”
For more information, visit www.getlivewire.com.
