Ralph D. Wilson honed skills interfacing computers to control equipment in a programming job in Brigham Young University's physics department. Later, he learned to use computers to increase production of synthetic diamonds.
The University of Utah gave him a contract to convert software algorithms for cancer therapy into faster hardware plug-ins for commercial applications. That successful venture gave birth to TransEra, the first step on an entrepreneurial journey for Wilson and his brother, Ronald.
Wilson, an electric engineer by training, has particular skills for making technical products user-friendly. And that serves him well as president of Orem-based Vantage Controls, a company TransEra acquired in 1993. TransEra had first agreed to do development for the already-existing Vantage, but when the latter got into financial difficulties, TransEra took over.
It's a home-automation specialty company that targets primarily high-end homes and some commercial sites. But the company has developed a new wireless RadioLink product (winner of four major trade show awards) that will allow it to enter the retrofit market, instead of focusing exclusively on new construction.
The next challenge for Wilson and the rest of the company is positioning Vantage Controls to reach a larger market with affordable home automation — something that to this point has been impossible. Vantage is working on a product that takes less customizing and is easier to produce and is cost effective.
More than that, his friends and colleagues say, Wilson works hard to make employees feel like part of a team, recognizing their accomplishments and providing amenities that make the job enjoyable.