Defined by NYC

Your author (KW) catches up with Vantage Chief Commercial Officer Justin Tomasino (JT). 

KW: How many Vantage employees are based in the NYC metropolitan area? Is Vantage hiring in this geographical area and, if so, for which positions? 

JT: There are approximately 500 employees based in the NYC metropolitan area. Vantage is always looking for great people to join our organization. In the NYC metropolitan area, we have several positions open. Currently, we are looking for a regional field engineer located at our Regional Service Center in Astoria, Queens. We are also hiring across our national footprint. We have an open position for a territory sales manager in the Mid-Atlantic area and an additional regional field engineer position in the Miami area. 

KW: Tell me about the role Vantage products play in the vertical-transportation (VT) systems of iconic NYC structures. 

JT: Vantage is honored to have provided our products in several iconic locations throughout NYC. Our freight door equipment, manufactured by Courion, is installed at Yankee Stadium, Memorial Sloan Kettering, The Juilliard School and New York Presbyterian Hospital, to name a few. Our passenger door equipment, produced by GAL in the Bronx, is in use at The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, John F. Kennedy International Airport, the MetLife Building and even the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. Our list of iconic buildings is global. Our door equipment, controls and machines can be found throughout the world at places like the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Palace of Westminster in London and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

KW: What are Vantage’s top-selling products in the NYC metropolitan market? 

JT: Vantage’s product portfolio is extremely broad. Today, for the most part, we see an even distribution of door equipment, control systems and machines in the NYC market.

KW: How is Vantage playing a role in the city’s wave of office-to-residential conversions and efforts to increase housing stock? 

JT: Often, we do not see a straight conversion from office to residential. Property owners are moving more toward a mixed-use scenario when they convert office buildings. This leads to a need to differentiate user groups including residents, visitors, retail and delivery. A destination dispatch system integrated with access control allows for this type of flexibility. GAL’s GALaxy IV provides this level of technology for end users.

KW: What’s the health of the new-equipment market now in NYC? 

JT: The new equipment market overall has slowed in the NYC area. What we are seeing is the need to modernize the existing VT inventory of residential buildings. This demand exists both in the public and private sectors. Modernization has historically been a high percentage of Vantage’s business, and we are continuing that trend today. Vantage supports not only residential modernization, but modernization in other segments, including medical, transit, hospitality and commercial.

KW: What are the main challenges and rewards of doing business in NYC right now?

JT: NYC has always been a fast-paced environment with demanding customers. We welcome that. Our goal is to support our customers’ projects “end to end” — not just to the point of sale. Engaging at the front end with design and product application then delivery, installation and on-going technical support makes us a full partner with our customers and their projects. This is extremely rewarding for the team. We are active partners throughout the entire life cycle of the customer experience.

KW: Tell me about the ties between NYC and Vantage. 

JT: Vantage and GAL have close to 100 years of history in manufacturing and business in NYC. Given our history in the Bronx, NYC has helped define us as a company. Our commitment to all our customers is demonstrated by our recently completed investments in manufacturing infrastructure and systems. This investment will ensure that we can continue to meet the growing needs of our loyal customer base.

KW: What are the main business drivers (office, residential, outer boroughs) in NYC right now? 

JT: Residential is a key driver of the modernization market today. I would say that this is the case throughout all five boroughs. As an organization, I would say we are “optimistically bullish” on the commercial market. The news is reporting more and more “return-to-office” focus groups at the Fortune 500 level. We view this as a positive sign for the future of commercial space, and of VT.