April 17, 2018

A global company that has quietly grown from Sioux Falls is moving into a new space that could allow it to double in size.

AVPro Global Holdings was founded by Jeff Murray, who was recruited out of the Army to Sioux Falls to work at Sencore. He left the company when it was sold in 2008 and started his own business out of the Zeal Center for Entrepreneurship three years later.

When the handful of staff outgrew that space, they moved to 3518 N. Casco Ave.

“We’re hiring all the time,” Murray said. “We’re really looking forward to getting into a larger space.”

The company has grown to 23 people and is moving to the 20,000-square-foot former Ferguson building at 2222 E. 52nd St. N. in May.

“It came on the market one day, and we made an offer the next. It’s perfectly set up for us,” Murray said.

AVPro Global Holdings began as a provider of high-impact display calibration training to installers and integrators in residential and commercial audio-visual markets.

The company now designs, manufacturers, markets and sells testing and audio-video connectivity equipment worldwide. It has three operating companies: Murideo, which designs and manufacturers HDMI video and audio test equipment; AVProConnect, which designs and manufacturers audio-video connectivity products for the residential and commercial markets; and AVProStore.com, an e-commerce operation that distributes other brands that support the company’s products.

“We provide back-end connectivity solutions and test the equipment,” Murray explained. “We make the products that allow you, for example, to put in a cable run throughout airports and train stations down to high-end residential connectivity.”

In Sioux Falls, the company works with several audio-visual integration companies who have used AVPro products to connect equipment for classrooms, hotel conference spaces and major spectator events across the city.

“We have been fortunate enough to work with some large, influential companies, supplying them with private-branded products customized for their needs,” Murray said.

The company manufactures in Shenzhen, China, through an entity that it partially owns. Much of the engineering also is done in China, with some engineers in the U.S., along with tech support and sales staff. Murray’s son, Matt, is chief technology officer, and has been integral to the company’s rapid rise, Murray said.

“The growth of the housing market and the economy in general, combined with 4K technology in televisions, is fueling our company’s growth,” he said.

As homes include more “smart” technology, outdoor audio equipment and televisions in multiple rooms, “you need to have products like ours that will distribute a signal throughout a home,” Murray said. “And our test equipment really helps. Once we get dealers using a generator and analyzer to troubleshoot, it becomes really easy for our phone support team to walk them through to find a problem.”

He has been challenged to find employees, but that hass become easier as his business has been able to offer more benefits, he said.

“We have full benefits, a 401(k) and an employee referral program for hiring new talent. It’s a small, niche industry, (but) we could easily double in size in the next few years. Our new space is big, and we’re installing quite a few extra work areas.”