HOUSTON—Preferred Technologies, an integrator based here that does network infrastructure as well as security, recently opened its second facility in Austin, Texas.

“We’re excited to be expanding, and it’s part of a much larger plan we have for growth within Pref-Tech,” Terry King, Preferred Technologies’ GM, told Security Systems News.

The new location will be about 1,500 square feet and includes a conference room and warehouse space. “While the size and layout is perfect for an initial office—the key feature is its location,” King said. “We are less than 15 minutes away from key customer locations and just minutes away from critical transportation corridors, which allows us to easily maneuver around the Austin area.”

The company signed on the lease in July 2016, but was fully moved in with daily operations in October 2016.

“What’s important about this next step is it will serve as the template for how we want to grow offices moving forward,” King said. This office will help Pref-Tech understand what is needed to open an office, particularly in terms of budgeting space and materials and keeping the core values the same, he continued.

In Austin, Preferred Technologies “will continue to operate with the same focus and partnerships that we do in Houston,” King said. “Pref-Tech’s been very successful and built a very good reputation in the Houston market and we want to take the same approach … and replicate it here in Austin.”

The company is currently hiring—it has about 68 people and plans to have more than 70 by the end of January. The majority of employees will be based out of Houston, according to King. “We’ve got a vision of really developing our team over the first quarter that will support what we have in terms of our plan for this year,” he said.

“We’ve been working on building out a one-year, three-year, and 10-year plan, which has us looking to grow into other markets in Texas, including Austin and San Antonio,” he said.

“Our first year plan … is to make sure that we’ve got Austin growing the way it should be, and it’s stable and structurally sound, and we’ve got the right people on the bus and we’re growing our customers,” King said. “Within three years we would see ourselves opening one, if not two more branches outside of the Austin and Houston metropolitan areas.”

The company is also looking at Dallas as a potential opportunity, as well as out-of-state territories, such as in Louisiana, according to King.