Communications Technology International Incorporated (ComTec) has its roots in the very earliest days of the industry. In the late sixties, Bill Simmons retired from IBM where he had been a Director of Planning. At home, he reflected on how unproductive most meetings were and built a system to improve them. He named his brainchild the Consensor and in 1972 applied for a patent which was granted in 1974. (watch 4 minute video interview with Bill Simmons; inventor of Consensor - video opens in popup window)
The Consensor was a system of dials, wires, and three lights; red, yellow, and green. A question was asked verbally and people would turn their dial anywhere from 0 to 10. If the majority agreed, the green lamp would light. If not, either the yellow or red would.
Bill teamed with a couple of others to form Applied Futures, one of the very first Audience Response companies. Although business was strong for this fledgling company, the Command and Control management style of the day proved a formidable opponent.
In 1986 Brooks International, a management consulting firm headquartered in northern NJ, purchased Applied Futures. Brooks found the Consensor to be an invaluable tool in getting a quick, accurate "finger on the pulse" of a client organization.
In 1988, Mike Lull (then a VP with Brooks) purchased the Consensor business from Brooks and and renamed the company Communications Technology. In 1992, Tom Campione joined ComTec and helped build an industry leading company that has focused on software development for Fleetwood Wireless Audience Response Systems.
In 2005, Tom purchased a majority stake in ComTec and along with the rest of today's management team remains committed to providing quality products while retaining an industry leadership role.
