Matthew Calabrese with a completed intermediate distribution frame (IDF) cabinet.

Thunder Valley Enterprise professionals install structured wiring for industrial controls of an assembly line.

It’s fair to say that Thunder Valley Enterprise (Thunder Valley) of Detroit, Michigan, is the embodiment of the Motor City’s ability to reinvent itself. Founded in 2005 by Matt Calabrese, President, Thunder Valley has been providing the Detroit metropolitan area with fiber optic and copper cabling infrastructure, audio, video, access control and network solutions.

The company boasts that its low overhead costs—not maintaining a brick and mortar location—and high standards are what keeps clients coming back for more. And its client roster is a veritable who’s who of Detroit businesses: General Motors, Ford, Android Industries, the Detroit Sypmphony Orchestra, Kohl’s and several branches of the Department of Defense call on Thunder Valley for their network cabling and infrastructure needs.

Hit the Road, Matt

It’s safe to assume that Thunder Valley was started in an unconventional way by an unconventional person. Matt is a serial entrepreneur who once started a trucking business with his wife so they could go on cross-country adventures. He opened his first company in 1998 as an outlet for his need for speed. “My career started pretty conventionally. I worked at HP Inc. building data centers on the night shift for corporate America,” he explains, “but I had the entire day to myself. So, I took the opportunity to chase a dream. At the time, I raced motocross and superbikes semi-professionally. I loved it and did a lot of track days. It was a great time.” It was so much of a great time, in fact, that Matt opened a motorsports company with a business partner. And the name of that company? Thunder Valley Powersports.

“Thunder Valley took off and things were going well,” he says, but when his business partner was deployed to Iraq, Matt found he had lost the thrill. “Everything was going fine until my partner got deployed. That forced me to shut the doors. I didn’t have the time to work my night job and run the business myself without sacrificing quality somewhere. But, I kept the business entity open because I knew I would use it in the future.”

With Thunder Valley Powersports then in the rearview mirror, Matt found himself climbing HP’s corporate ladder, building data centers around the U.S. But again, he ran into unforeseen problems. “After corporate restructuring, my team was axed and I was laid off in 2009,” he explains.

“I didn’t have a choice but to go out on my own. So, I dedicated 100% of my energy to resurrecting Thunder Valley.”

Jump-Starting Thunder Valley

First, Matt spent time rebuilding Thunder Valley into a company focused on network cabling. “I wanted to keep the Thunder Valley name for nostalgia, but because it was no longer a motorsports company, I had to make a hard pivot. I was starting from scratch on my own this time.”

It may seem like an unorthodox transition, but Matt had been working in the information technology (IT) industry since 1996 with varied roles from field engineer to software development. Matt admits that things transitioned slowly in the beginning; it was just him and a truck for the first year, but he stayed the course with one singular vision in mind: be a tradesman. “To me, being a tradesman meant delivering the best final product with attention to detail and professionalism on every job. I didn’t want to churn the work.”

He explains that network IT and cabling in the early 2000s, when he started in earnest, was “the Wild West” and that most general contractors and builders would throw IT cabling up in “the last two weeks of the project.”

Cabling wasn’t in the design plans for a building or even considered until the last minute, Matt explains, which led to problems. Invariably, when there were technical issues with substandard cabling or a network, he would be called in to fix the problem. And what he saw over and over again, he says, was shoddy workmanship and low attention to detail.

“I saw so much money wasted by good people because cabling wasn’t thought through,” Matt says. “People would throw cables on top of lights or other electrical components. A bundle of cables would just be shoved into a hole and left for someone else to sort out. Just bad work.” He started thinking about why he was being called out for a project that he says “felt like the same ‘fix it’ job over and over again.”

His explanation: IT infrastructure wasn’t treated as a trade. “Since cabling wasn’t being inspected and there were no state guidelines to follow, people were really, really sloppy.” He pauses. “It was a disgrace to the industry and disrespectful to the client.”

Earning Respect

So, he set out to make low-voltage electrical work like network cabling respected as any other trade. “First, I hire people who are highly vetted to ensure they meet our rigid standards. We follow the National Electrical Code and maintain BICSI standards. There’s no one on the team that doesn’t work cleanly and professionally,” Matt says. “Next, I make sure that we are ready for the job beforehand. That means we have invested heavily in any equipment we may need to complete a job. That includes not just scissor lifts, copper cabling certifiers and fiber optic equipment, but a dump truck, bulldozer and excavator to properly complete underground cabling work. We’ve done it so we can be fully prepared for our jobs at a moment’s notice. If a GC cuts a fiber line, we are immediately ready to spring into action. They won’t hear us asking them to do anything for the repair but to stand back and let us get it done. And finally, we are problem solvers. If we need to fabricate a bracket or something to get the job done right, we do it ourselves. Welding, 3D printing, whatever is needed. We get a lot of respect from electricians and other trades because we take our jobs seriously, work efficiently and safely to get things done professionally.” Thunder Valley flourished under Matt’s direction. Soon, the company was working for name brands like Carhartt and Rite Aid. But another client changed the course of the company forever.

Branching Out

Matt never aimed to branch out of IT services. He was happy growing his business around network infrastructure. But, a longtime client asked him for help with a service Matt admits he never looked to engage in—security and access control.

“Security systems didn’t interest me because they were so proprietary,” Matt says. “But one day a client reached out to me and asked if I could design and install a security system for them. As hard as I tried to refuse the work, they wouldn’t take no for an answer. So, we began investigating the market.” The client that requested their services was none other than Android Industries. And the project Thunder Valley would be working on? Factory ZERO, the main supply source for General Motor’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center, the company’s all-electric vehicle assembly plant. It was the first automotive plant in the U.S. to install dedicated 5G fixed-mobile network technology.

So, Matt and his team got to work. “It turns out network cabling and security access systems are a great match,” he says. “With access control, video monitoring and other security services, you are running the same cables, or close to it, as we would on the IT side. It was a natural fit. As technology has evolved, the days of simplistic systems and analog technicians have faded. Anything current is internet or cloud-based with users leveraging mobile devices instead of a physical badge.”

Today, the company provides an array of access services and solutions for clients across the finance, health care, retail, consumer and education markets. The website showcases video security, intercom systems and access control. But Matt is demure. “I’m not going to go into too much detail on our work, of course,” Matt explains. “But I can say that integrated IT and security solutions now account for about 30% of the business.”

Matt adds, “Let’s face it, there are a lot of “Detroit IT” companies saturating the market embellishing their abilities, using all the right buzz words in their marketing and, ultimately, delivering half-witted results at best. It’s been an unfortunate reality in this industry.”

But Matt isn’t worried. Instead, he takes the opportunity to make sure construction professionals are educated about the industry so they can make the best decisions for themselves. “After a short conversation about their projects, GCs (general contractors) realize quickly that we are not one of the dreaded ‘Low Volt’ companies they have to deal with, but instead are a group of capable, competent tradesmen able to handle anything they need.”

Make IT a Priority

The most important thing to know, according to Matt, is that network infrastructure should not be an afterthought. “IT can’t be an afterthought, especially now when we are connected to our devices all day. That’s my best piece of advice—don’t leave IT needs until the last two weeks of a project. Think about it when you’re designing the space. It will save you money in the long run. Bring it up to your customers early on. Oftentimes, their IT staff is focused on the hardware that will be going in and are not well versed in the cabling aspect. A good cabling vendor can help bridge that gap.”

Second, he says, is to do some research before reaching out to a network or security provider. “I liken it to buying a car. You don’t walk into a dealership and say, ‘I want to buy a car!’ No, instead you say ‘I want an SUV with four-wheel drive or something specific. Do the same amount of research you would for buying a car. You don’t need to know exactly what you want, but you need a ballpark,” Matt says. “Having a baseline knowledge will protect you from the cowboys out there who may not be working in your best interest. It will save you money.”

He relays a story about a former client in Detroit. “They worked with an overseas vendor to rewire their facility to optimize their video systems,” Matt says. But, there was something lost in translation—literally. “The vendor was selling them products and the client was assuming they would install everything, but the vendor had never agreed to do any installation. Eventually, we were called in to sort out the mess. And what we determined is that one copper mid hub could have saved the company over $20,000.”

Finally, and most importantly, treat low-voltage work the same as any other trade, Matt says. “Make sure they are reputable and that they work well with other trades. You can look for certifications, sure, but anyone can pass a test. No one needs a paper pro, they need a team that can get in and gets the job done. The first test: Ask them to pull a permit. It will weed out the trunk slammers right away. Make sure your prospects have worked with projects like yours—that they have an impeccable safety record and have a history of completing projects on time and budget."

“Lastly, make sure that they take pride in their work. I can sleep at night knowing that we bring our all to every client. While we may not be the only company in the area doing this work, we’re the best.”