There is a saying we have all come to believe: “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” Jonathan Pine, president of Renova Technology, Atlanta, believes that isn’t always the case.

Renova Technology, a 23-year-old after-market B2B repair services provider based in Atlanta, reported its customers — primarily commercial security integrators — documented savings of $5.8 million in 2016. In 2017 Renova projects its customers will save more than $10 million as a result of both a rapidly growing customer base and greater participation by existing customers.

The company said it is able to achieve these savings by repairing rather than the replacing high-end security cameras and DVR/NVRs that are out of warranty or even discontinued. Renova repairs more than 1,200 different models of such devices, representing more than 40 manufacturers. Their repair menu has been growing by 25 to 40 new models each month.

“Our customers are saving on average $2,400 on every DVR we repair. They save $1,200 by having us repair a camera,” Pine said. “The savings appeared so extreme that at first it was really hard to get our customers to believe it. But now we are repairing on a national scale for at least four out of the seven largest integrators in the country, many super-regionals as well as smaller integrators. We even repair for the Department of Homeland Security, municipalities and some self-maintaining enterprises.” Pine said Renova even received a letter of recommendation and thanks from DHS in August.

Renova charges for only what is repaired, which Pine said is about 98 percent of everything sent in for repair. Renova’s lead times average about six to seven days and provides expedites. “We found that integrators were purchasing replacements mainly because they could not wait sometimes over a month to get a repair back from the OEM,” Pine said, “so we have concentrated on speed of repair, quality, as well as the scope of products repaired. We have even developed and maintain customized advanced exchange programs for our customers that allow us to ship as quickly as a major distributor.

Renova, which offers 90-day warranties on all repairs, reported it had less than 1 percent warranty return over the past few years. “Our engineers all follow best practices in repair at board and component level,” Pine said.

Renova also sources, refurbishes and occasionally sells security equipment. The company’s other customers span a range of business-to-business industries: manufacturers of self-service kiosks and point-of sale, banking and gaming. Repair volumes may range from 5,000 to 9,000 devices per month. “Over the 23 years we have been in business repairing for OEM’s, I estimate we have kept over 7 million pounds of electronics from the landfills — outside of the security industry. One day I hope we will be repairing directly for security manufacturers as part of our customer base. That may take time. This is still a young industry.”