Vivint Smart Home campus now open on USU’s Innovation Campus
Note: This story has been updated to include changes announced following Tuesday’s proceedings. Vivint Smart Home announced the new building would be called the Vivint Smart Home campus in Logan instead of The Vivint Smart Home Sales and Innovation Center. The company also stipulated it plans to employ 400 people at the campus, not 500.
The Vivint Smart Home campus in Logan has opened its doors on Utah State University’s Innovation Campus.
The 43,000-square-foot building will be home to up to 400 employees, the company announced in a press release. Vivint Smart Home specializes in home security and the new Logan building focuses on the company’s smart home technology.
USU President Noelle Cockett spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday. She said the city is excited to bring high-tech companies like Vivint Smart Home into Cache Valley to expand the technology sector and provide employment opportunities.
“This is an important moment for Cache Valley to create these kind of opportunities for workforce development and employment,” Cockett said.
Alyssa Roberts Vivint employees listen to USU President Noelle Cockett speak at the Vivint Smart Home campus open house on Tuesday, May 13. The new building is located on the USU Innovation Campus.
Vivint’s president, Alex Dunn, said he anticipates the company will partner with several colleges and departments at the university, including the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business and the Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education program. The company also plans to work with USU’s Center for Persons with Disabilities to create safer, more accessible home environments for those with disabilities, Dunn said. Cockett echoed Dunn’s plans and said she hopes the university can work with the company to develop a “smart apartment” for the deaf and blind.
She said she also anticipates the Huntsman school will partner with Vivint Smart Home’s business management and customer service departments and that she hopes the company will partner with the business school’s developing sales program.
Steve Dixon, senior vice president of experience and operations for Vivint, said the company wants to tap into USU’s student workforce in every area of the company. Currently, the new innovation center has 380 employees. Many employees in the sales department from other Vivint Smart Home campuses will consider the Logan campus their “home base,” to receive training, Dixon said.
The campus’s “homey but industrial” building style is meant to mimic the feel of a home, the company said. The main floor includes a customer service call center, which largely employs USU students.
Matt Halton Employees tour the new Vivint campus during an open house on Tuesday, May 13.
A basketball court is at the heart of the building, which Dixon said will be used for employee recreation and assembly. Located on the second floor is a smart home simulator. The room is staged like a house and is designed to show off smart home features. Employees will have access to this room to gain an understanding of how the products operate, Dixon said.
Kimberly Lassen, a Vivint employee and sophomore at USU, said she “loves” working for the company.
“They treat their employees well and they have great values. Honesty and integrity come first,” Lassen said.
Dixon said he thinks the company and students will mutually benefit from the partnership.
“In the end, the thing that is the most important is that our company is just a collection of people and the choices they make,” Dixon said. “We will only continue to be part of the world’s most innovative companies if we empower our workers in every aspect to do what they need to do.”
In 2017, the company was ranked 22nd of business magazine Fast Company’s list of the top 50 most innovative companies in the world. Dunn said the company chose USU’s Innovation Campus in part due to the strong work ethic of USU students and employees.
“Vivint has a legacy of over-achieving. Innovation is in our DNA,” Dunn said. “USU has that same DNA. It’s an over-achiever.”
Logan City’s economic development director Kirk Jensen expressed his excitement and confidence in the company.
“It’s always exciting to see a company grow in Logan, especially when they’re the 22nd most innovative company in the world,” Jensen said.
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Photos by Matt Halton