Where It All Began: From Dining Room Table to 50 Years Strong
The story of Vern McCain, Tibor Folding and Barry Schleiger—and the relationships, hard work and shared commitment that shaped Communication Company.
Left to right: Dan Schmidtendorff and Barry Schleiger with original company owners, Vern McCain and Tibor Folding
Fifty years ago, Communication Company didn't begin with a large team, a corporate office or a fleet of service vehicles.
It began with two men, a shared knowledge of electronics and sound systems, and the willingness to build something of their own.
In the winter of 1975, Vern McCain and Tibor Folding began operating Communication Company from Tibor's dining room and basement. By the spring of 1976, the business was officially incorporated.
What followed was five decades of growth, change and innovation. But behind each stage of that growth were people willing to learn the business from the ground up, work alongside one another and eventually prepare the next generation to lead.
As Communication Company celebrates its 50th anniversary, we're looking back at the people who helped build that foundation—and the entrepreneurial spirit that continues to shape the company today.
Where It Started: Tibor Folding and Vern McCain
Vern McCain
The partnership that eventually became Communication Company brought together two men whose paths to South Bend were very different.
Vern McCain grew up in Edwardsburg, Michigan, where he worked on his family's farm, played sports and attended Edwardsburg High School. From an early age, he showed a natural aptitude for mathematics and an interest in electronics—interests he would eventually turn into a career.
He went on to study electronics at the former Lake Michigan College, Whirlpool Technology Institute. After earning his degree, Vern began working for a local electronics company.
It was there that he met Tibor Folding.
Tibor Folding
Tibor had come to the United States after fleeing Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution. After settling in the area, he built a career that would eventually bring him together with Vern installing sound systems in local schools.
Years of working side by side gave the two men more than technical experience. They saw an opportunity.
Together, they decided to build a company of their own.
Building a Business From the Ground Up
The earliest version of Communication Company looked very different from the company customers know today.
Operations initially ran out of Tibor's home. Like many entrepreneurs building a business from scratch, Tibor and Vern handled whatever needed to be done. They engineered systems. They sold them. They installed them.
A workday could begin with designing or selling a system and continue late into the evening as they completed the installation themselves.
Their early focus was on communication and sound systems for K-12 schools throughout Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan. During those formative years, Tibor and Vern also established a relationship with Rauland-Borg Corporation that would become instrumental in Communication Company's growth, eventually helping the company become the sole Rauland integrator serving Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan.
But technology alone wasn't what grew the business.
From the beginning, customer service mattered. Tibor and Vern developed a reputation for doing what was necessary to complete a project and support the people relying on their systems. Technical expertise, hard work and a commitment to customers became part of the company's identity long before Communication Company expanded into the range of life safety, security and communication solutions it provides today.
Tibor, in particular, would be remembered for his steady presence, willingness to mentor others and belief in doing the right thing even when it wasn't the easiest option.
Those principles helped a home-based startup gain customers, take on larger projects and eventually need more people.
One of those people was Barry Schleiger.
From Weekend Installer to Future Owner: Barry Schleiger
Barry Schleiger
Barry's Communication Company story began in 1977—not in an office or management position, but on jobsites.
He started working weekends with Tibor and Vern, helping install speakers. In January 1978, he joined the company full time, beginning a career that would span 39 and a half years.
Those early years gave Barry a firsthand view of what building a young company required.
Communication Company was still operating from Tibor's living room, dining room and garage. Barry remembers the company's first van as a Ford Econoline with "three on the tree." More importantly, he remembers learning the business directly from its founders.
For his first several years, Tibor and Vern worked alongside him in the field. Barry supplemented that hands-on experience with courses at Ivy Tech, but much of his education came directly from doing the work.
Among the early projects he remembers were Chicago Trail Village, Tanglewood Trace, Fountain View Nursing Home, Logansport State Hospital and Karl King Towers.
After approximately seven years working in installation and service, Barry moved inside and began assisting with estimates. His field experience proved invaluable. He wasn't estimating projects based solely on plans or numbers—he understood what completing that work actually required because he had done it himself.
That combination of technical knowledge and practical experience would become increasingly important as Communication Company grew.
And eventually, Barry's role would change again.
Passing the Torch
Dan Schmidtendorff
By the mid-2000s, Communication Company was approaching another defining moment.
Barry had spent nearly three decades growing with the business. Dan Schmidtendorff, who joined Communication Company in 1996 as a design engineer and project manager, had also taken on increasing responsibility within the organization.
In 2005, Barry and Dan began conversations with Vern and Tibor about the future of the company. In December 2006, the transition became official when Barry and Dan purchased the business from its founders.
At the time, Communication Company had 14 employees and approximately $3 million in annual revenue.
For Barry, ownership represented another chapter in a career that had already taken him from weekend speaker installations to field service, estimating and company leadership. Over the next 11 years, he continued helping grow the business alongside Dan and the company's support staff.
He also invested in the future of the industry beyond Communication Company, working with IBEW Local 153 and its apprenticeship training program to help find and develop workers for the trade.
It was a continuation of something that had been present from the company's earliest years: experienced people passing what they knew to the people coming behind them.
Carrying the Foundation Forward
From left to right: Barry, Tibor, Dan
Dan's path to ownership began in 1996, when he joined Communication Company as a design engineer and project manager. Over the following decade, he moved through sales and leadership roles before becoming an owner alongside Barry.
The timing presented an immediate test. The ownership transition came shortly before the Great Recession, but the company continued moving forward, diversifying its services and strengthening its presence in healthcare, life safety and security.
Barry remained an owner until his retirement after nearly four decades with Communication Company, while Dan continued leading the organization into its next period of expansion.
Today, Communication Company has grown far beyond the operation that once fit inside Tibor's home. Its teams serve healthcare facilities, schools, government organizations, commercial properties and entertainment venues across Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, providing integrated communication, life safety and security technologies.
Yet many of the principles behind that growth would have been familiar in 1976.
Know the technology.
Understand the work.
Support the customer.
Teach the people coming behind you.
And when something needs to get done, find a way to get it done.
A Legacy Bigger Than Any One Person
A 50-year company history is rarely the story of one person.
Communication Company's story began because Tibor Folding and Vern McCain took their experience installing school sound systems and turned it into an entrepreneurial opportunity. It grew because people like Barry Schleiger joined them in the field, learned the work firsthand and eventually took responsibility for helping lead the company. And it continued because a new generation was prepared to carry that foundation forward.
The technology has changed dramatically since those first installations. Communication Company has expanded from school sound and paging systems into fire alarms, nurse call, access control, video surveillance, intercom, audio-visual systems and other integrated technologies.
The company itself has changed, too.
But across five decades, one idea has remained remarkably consistent: the strength of Communication Company has always depended on the people willing to do the work, share what they know and take responsibility for what comes next.
Fifty years after Tibor and Vern first went into business together, that may be one of their most important legacies of all.
Celebrating 50 Years—and the Story Continues
From the people who built the foundation to the employees, customers and partners who continue to shape Communication Company today, our 50th anniversary is a celebration of everyone who has been part of the journey.
Explore more stories, milestones and memories from 50 years of Communication Company.
