Almo says it will use the 2017 Tax Cuts reward employees with incremental bonuses of $1,000 and to invest in office expansion and workplace improvements.

Almo announced its plan to redistribute 2017 Tax Cuts savings to employees and invest in resources during the 2018 E4 AV Tour.

Regardless of politics and how you feel about President Trump’s championed 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, you have to feel good about what Almo Corporation is doing with its freed up capital.

The distributor, and parent of Almo Pro A/V, says it will use the savings to reward every employee that was employed by the company on February 18 with an incremental bonus of $1,000 and to support its plan to expand and upgrade its workplace environments.

Given that Almo Corporation had about 700 employees on February 18, that’s a $700,000 investment.“The new tax law lowers taxes on our business, which gives us the ability to give back to our employees and invest in our technology infrastructure and partner relationships,” says Warren Chaiken, president and CEO, Almo Corporation, in a press release.

“We are rewarding our employees with an incremental bonus of $1,000 as they are the greatest asset we have to offer as a business. We also have a plan in motion to continue upgrading our corporate headquarters, sales offices and warehouse facilities.”

“We’re really investing in the company,” said Sam Taylor, executive VP of Almo Professional A/V during the E4 AV Tour stop in Tyson, Va., this week.“

All of our offices have been significantly upgraded, and we’re just finally finishing the upgrade on the Baltimore office, where we moved to a new space. We are going to be hiring a lot of people this year. We’re going to double the size of our new business team, so there’s a lot going on.”

Another example, Taylor added, is a new ERP (enterprise resource planning) system. “We’ve signed a contract with NetSuite that’ll be deployed later this year.”

Almo lists current and future enhancements that it says are aided by new tax law related savings:

• Continuation of the Almo corporate headquarters expansion in Philadelphia, PA, which includes a 7,000-square foot second story addition to expand office capacity by 65 employees. The first floor is being reconfigured to make more room and improvements.
• A new Almo Global office in Ft. Lauderdale to accommodate the entire global business team, and serve as the main office for Almo Hospitality and Almo New Business groups.
• A new, larger Almo Professional A/V headquarter office in Baltimore to allow for expansion and growth.
• Huddle spaces have been added or expanded in all Almo locations to facilitate collaboration.
• The opening of a new 300,000 square foot warehouse in Philadelphia to cover the Mid-Atlantic region.
• Recently moved the Nevada warehouse to a larger, 300,000 square foot facility.Soon moving the Ohio warehouse to a larger 260,000 square foot facility.
• The addition of wellness coaches to help with health and fitness.Standing desks available to employees to encourage movement.
• New internship programs for marketing, accounting and logistics to invest in the company’s future.
• A management leadership program for new managers and an online learning management system for all employees.

Investing in Pro AV for Almo Pro A/V Offices

The plans were in motion before the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but Almo Corporation is embracing the opportunity to support its investment in better workplace technology for its employees – after all, pro AV is a big part of its business.“

All three of their offices have moved recently to support expansion. A year ago it moved its Florida office into a new space with huddle rooms and meeting spaces in Fort Lauderdale.

Taylor described the space as allowing employees to move away from big cubicles and into a “very modern environment with more square footage.

“We have about 30 to 35 employees in Florida, but we built an office that is capable of holding 60 to 65 folks.

”Two weeks prior to kicking off its E4 AV Tour, Almo Pro A/V moved its headquarters near Baltimore after outgrowing the facility it had been in for five years. The new space, however, offers a “beautiful view of the reservoir, Taylor said.

“It’s great. It’s almost all glass, so it’s open-air, and our folks really like it. There are huddle rooms for when you need to have private meetings and a conference room. It’s just a really nice — and a lot more room to grow now. We have about 20 employees in our Baltimore office, but this’ll give us the ability to grow to about 50 there.

”The new space also allows Almo Pro A/V employees to live, work and breathe with a lot of the technology that it offers to their dealers. In some cases, Almo employees enter a meeting room or huddle space and use an Avocor, Sharp or NEC display.

Barco ClickShare is employed in most meeting rooms. Some use Biamp Devio, which Almo Pro A/V recently began distributing.

“Getting to use the solutions daily really helps you understand what your folks are doing up there,” Taylor added.