About Protech History of Protech
History of Protech
Founder - Frank Bruffey, Jr.
Since the founding of the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York (the first American association on record) in 1768, associations have been working through and for their members toward the realization of a common vision or goal. In 1984, with the continued advancement of technology, Frank Bruffey, Jr., founder of Protech Associates, Inc., saw an opportunity to align the purpose-driven association community with this new technology to increase the effectiveness of the valuable relationships between associations and their members. Frank acted on this opportunity, and on November 24, 1984, Protech Associates, Inc. was founded in Laurel, MD.
A family-owned company, Frank placed an emphasis on growing Protech the same way he raised his children. Employees and customers were treated as if they were part of his own family, and these values were instilled in his children to ensure they would be maintained as the company continued to grow.
Since its founding, Protech has devoted its efforts exclusively to developing technology solutions for associations, beginning with our proprietary VisionSeries product. Protech sold and installed VisionSeries for 17 years, working closely with each association customer to gain a deep understanding of their organization to develop a solution that best suited their specific needs.
Around 1993, customer relationship management (CRM) began to evolve as a new method of managing relationships with constituents. This emergence revolutionized the way the world looked at customer relationships and communications – and Protech took note. So when Microsoft entered the world of CRM, Protech recognized the immense value we could deliver to associations by combining the vast resources and technological expertise of Microsoft with our deep understanding of the association community. In 2003, Protech joined the Microsoft family as a Gold Certified Partner and Independent Software Vendor (ISV), and CRM for Members, the very first non-proprietary association management solution, was born. This was a pivotal event for Protech that has allowed us to significantly accelerate our market penetration and the growth of our company.
Protech has since expanded its operations to add offices in Chicago, IL, and Fargo, ND. The addition of these central locations positions Protech to better serve associations throughout the entire United States, and allows us to keep a finger on the pulse of Microsoft’s product direction and development strategy, as our Fargo office sits just across the street from Microsoft’s second-largest US campus.
Our focus today remains the same as it was over twenty years ago – to help associations effectively build and enhance their vital member relationships. The growth of our company and our partnership with Microsoft have allowed us to take that one step further, delivering more than just a technology product, but rather a full technology business roadmap that meets associations’ needs today and positions them for continued success in the future.