V Tech Conversions, Plymouth: A Wage Benchmark Every Marshall County Employer Now Has to Reckon With

V Tech Conversions (led by President Wayne Nifong and Managing Partner Derek Nick) launched production in July at a 16,000-square-foot facility at 2525 Western Ave. in Plymouth, converting empty box trucks and vans into mobile fiber splicing labs and underground sewer inspection units. The state is backing the company with EDGE tax credits. They've hired 11 people so far, targeting 25 by end of 2028, at an average wage of 165% of the Marshall County average.

For employers in Marshall County competing for skilled electro-mechanical and fiber technicians, V Tech just set a visible local reference point. At 25 total jobs, the direct labor-market pressure is bounded, but the number is out there, and workers can see it.

The execution risk that isn't getting reported: V Tech is running two product lines with fundamentally different sales cycles out of a single 11-person operation. Fiber splicing labs sell into fast-moving BEAD broadband deployment budgets. Sewer inspection units sell into slower, bid-based municipal procurement cycles. If BEAD demand accelerates faster than the municipal side, the headcount math to 25 gets complicated quickly. Worth watching.

The broader question worth asking your team: if V Tech's model is to retrofit existing fleet assets rather than buy new, where are you doing the equivalent, buying new when a conversion would compress cost and lead time?