About Our Staff

B. H. Trout is the founder and Senior Director of EPM. He is a University of Missouri graduate with degrees in both Electrical and Civil Engineering. Mr. Trout has over forty years of experience in the design and application of automation to mechanical systems, and has participated in the design of over 20 million facility square feet. As one of the original EPM engineers, he has held every engineering position in our company. Mr. Trout is responsible for customer satisfaction, the successful installation of the CTC systems, and the overall operation of the company.

Benjamin H. Trout III is the President of EPM.  Since he joined the company in 1990, Mr. Trout has held manufacturing, service, service management, installation, installation management, sales, design, and internal automation positions. He is a Certified Network Engineer, and is responsible to the customers for securely integrating the EPM CTC systems into the customer's existing Local Area Network and Internet infra-structure to enable the customer to take advantage of remote support and deregulation tasks, while satisfying the strictest of security requirements, including encapsulation and end-to-end encryption.

Christopher Adam is responsible for Quality Control and Research and Development. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri and holds degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering. Mr. Adam is responsible for all EPM R&D activity and is proficient in computer board level design and Assembler, C, C++, Linux programming. Prior to assuming this position, he was in charge of software production and installation design. R&D includes research and development for all new applications and products that EPM produces and the performance of all existing products and software.

Wes Wieberg is EPM’s Design Engineer. Mr. Wieberg is very familiar with our system and its evolution.  He is experienced in contols and their relationship to mechanical systems.

Lance Talbert is a software engineer responsible for the programming of EPM's production software and assisting R&D with new and upcoming products. He is proficient with Assembly, Javascript, PHP, Python, C#, and HTML programming languages as well as MySQL database management. Lance graduated from State Technical College of Missouri with an Associate's Degree in Computer Application Development. He is also experienced with mobile app and website development.

Sterling LaBarbera is a Computer Engineer for EPM. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri with a degree in Computer Engineering. Mr. LaBarbera is experienced in C/C++ and python programming, and is responsible for updating control software and assisting Research and Development, including BACnet integration for EPM systems.

Tiffany Staats is EPM’s administrator. As administrator, Mrs. Staats is responsible for all administrative functions.  Mrs. Staats has over five years administrative experience.

Erica Bunting is Tiffany's Administrative Assistant. Miss Bunting comes to us with a background in state regulatory applications and filing, and financial account applications and filings.

Rick Nickelson is EPM’s Manufacturers Representative for the State of Kansas. Mr. Nickelson has been with the company since 1998. Before becoming Manufacturer’s Representative, Mr. Nickelson was Director of Security for Dillons Corporation for Missouri, Kansas Arkansas and Oklahoma. Mr. Nickelson received a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Criminology from Central Missouri State University, Warrensburg, Missouri and served as Chief Investigator for the Fulton Police Department, Fulton, Missouri and served with the Columbia Police Department, Columbia, Missouri.

James O. Johnson semi-retired but still holds responsibility for code and regulatory compliance for EPM installed CTC systems. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri with degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering. Mr. Johnson has twenty years of experience in the design and application of automation to mechanical systems, and has participated in the design of over six million facility square feet. Prior to his retirement, Jim held every engineering position in the company.

Our Qualifications

The engineer, design, manufacture, installation and service staff of our company has the following disciplines and qualifications:

1.) Electrical Engineering - Power and power control circuit design and conversion of existing control systems to computerized controls;

2.) Mechanical Engineering - Design, operation and maintenance of mechanical systems, including heating and air conditioning systems;

3.) Electrical Engineering/Computer Engineering - Analogue and digital computer hardware and software design;

4.) Civil Engineering - Building, environmental systems applications and building envelope design;

5.) Electronic Engineering - Analog and digital hardware and software application design;

6.) Internet & Network Certified Engineering - Aggregate demand limiting using network & Internet Technology;

7.) Computer Science - Software and software application design;

8.) Electronics Technicians - Manufacturing supervision, quality control and service;

9.) Licensed Electricians - Field installation of "CTC" systems.

Experience has taught us that the division of responsibility shown above insures successful installations and satisfied customers. We are especially proud of our use of the Customer Advocate to help EPM clients resolve problems and execute the full power of our company without having to negotiate the technical and organizational maze so prevalent in today's business world. This one-call approach guarantees EPM's professional follow up insuring CTC system operation and savings, and demonstrates our dedication to not sales, but engineering solutions to engineering problems.