Future POS plans to grow into campus
CENTER TWP — Butler County is a long way from Silicon Valley, but that doesn't mean it can't be a successful place to create software.
That has been one of the guiding philosophies for Future POS, a Center Township-based firm that develops point-of-sale software for the hospitality industry.
John Giles, company founder and president, is a Butler High School graduate. He has grown his business, and now he wants to create a large campus for his business.
The company has grown over the years. At about 50 employees, it already is close to outgrowing the building on Route 8 it bought and renovated about three years ago.
Before that, it was housed in an office building on South Eberhart Road in Butler Township for six years.
In January, Giles and his wife, Kelly, who is vice president, bought 59 acres next to the Pioneer Drive-In in Center Township.
Their dream is to develop an entire campus, and they plan to start making that dream a reality this spring with preliminary layouts.
Giles said construction is at least two years away, but the campus will be designed in a way that after the first building is up, the rest can follow as needed.
“This is going to be the last time we ever move because I'm sick of moving,” he said.
He started writing Microsoft Windows-based software during the early 1990s to streamline processes for businesses, and that led to focusing on software that serves as the operational backbone for restaurants, arenas, hotels and other facilities.
“It just fuels your imagination,” Giles said about developing software.
“You build on your successes, and you learn more and more as you go. Before you know it, you're creating really cool stuff.”
He wants to expand here because the cost of living and of doing business is much cheaper here than other places, and a fun work environment can be fostered anywhere.
Giles plans to continue to attract talent from elsewhere and to encourage it to grow from within. The company is hiring software engineers, graphic designers and support technicians.
“It's just a question of finding talented, motivated people, and I think when you have the coolest office place in town, it's going to attract the best people, too,” he said.
“A company that's acknowledging of the people who built it, you're going to get that personal investment,” he noted.
