A Butler County company is celebrating 10 years of providing control systems that help a wide array of markets reduce their utility costs while maintaining the quality of the work environment.

Led by president and general manager Mark Putnam and vice president and sales manager John Brofft, Innovative Energy Solutions is a building control system company that dates back to the 1950s under different names.

Located at 3680 Symmes Road in Hamilton, the company installs, services and operates the “brains” of a building — the air conditioning, heating and lighting systems — Putnam said.

Besides energy services and management, Innovative Energy offers services throughout the tri-state, plus Dayton and Columbus, for digital video management, building automation, lighting control, access control and ongoing maintenance of HVAC systems, according to the company.

The business, which employs 16 people, handles commercial accounts consisting of the health care, education, commercial office, hospitality, government and industrial markets, with education and health its two largest market segments.

Revenues were up this year compared to 2011, Putnam said. However, the business mix has changed with the downturn in the construction market.

“We have focused growth in the service and energy management segment of the business for both new and existing customers and more direct owner-negotiated work,” he said.

Q: What’s been the biggest challenge of weathering the recession and how did you manage to do so?

“We’ve been pretty fortunate through this recession and we attribute that success to a great staff and their commitment to our customers and hard work in years past. That loyalty goes both ways in our partnerships with a very good base of customers that have rewarded us with projects through these slower times. We’ve been very fortunate to land several large project opportunities and secure several new key service accounts. As a company we’re very well trained, well organized and we have great processes in place thanks to a strong management team. That combination and commitment has helped us weather the recession well and will promote continued growth for our company in the future.”

Q: What’s the biggest change the business has experienced in the past several year and how has it dealt with that change?

A: “We’ve had to shift our company focus a bit the past few years with the downturn in commercial construction. While new construction is still a key element of our business, there are fewer opportunities and increased competition on virtually every project. We have targeted more negotiated work through new and existing customers and we continue an aggressive focus on preventive maintenance contracts and service growth.”

Q: What are some recent noteworthy accomplishments and/or awards?

A: “IES just celebrated our 10-year anniversary the first of December and we have celebrated many accomplishments over the years. We are a Premier Partner — Top 25 — for Schneider Electrics Buildings Business Worldwide. IES was awarded the new Princeton High School Middle School project this year working with the district and Turner Construction. We also recently completed the new Turkeyfoot Middle School for the Kenton County School System, which is a state of the art high performance school that uses many green features to reduce energy consumption.”

Q: What advice would you offer to someone just starting out in business?

A: “Make sure you have a good business plan and rework that plan every few years to ensure you have a clear direction for your company. Provide excellent service and always take care of your customers and their needs. Remember that success is short lived, and whatever got you there won’t keep you there so continue to reinvest, retrain and reinvent yourself and your people.”