WEST MIDDLESEX, Pa. -- It was especially fitting for U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-3 Pa., owner of a Cadillac-Chevrolet dealership in Butler before he was elected to Congress in 2010, to praise Bryce Veon Wednesday and all that he’s accomplished at Autosoft Inc.

Veon is president and CEO of Autosoft, the third-largest software and related-services company to serve auto, motorcycle and watercraft dealerships in the United States. It also serves dealerships in Canada.

Autosoft serves 2,000 car dealerships, including Phil Fitts Ford in New Castle -- owner Bill Fitts attended -- and has 30,000 users, says its vice president for marketing, Stephanie Woeste.

The occasion was the open house Veon and the Autosoft staff held to celebrate the addition of a newly renovated technology center to accommodate its growing operations and expanding staff of software developers.

Autosoft, founded by his father in the Veon family’s garage 26 years ago -- Bryce was 13 at the time -- has created more than 60 jobs in the last 18 months and plans to add at least 50 more next year to bring its workforce to 200, the company says. More than 100 in West Middlesex work in software development, technical support, customer training, human resources and as “business office associates.”

Twenty-six moved into the newly renovated building last month from the slightly smaller headquarters building 50 yards away. The structure, like its headquarters counterpart, has an open floor plan organized into well-lit open themed spaces that encourage employees to cooperate.

Veon hosted the open house where Kelly, state Sen.-elect Michelle Brooks, R-50, state Rep. Mark Longietti, D-7, Mercer County Commissioner Matt McConnell, a Republican, Randy Seitz and Robert McCracken marveled over the success Autosoft has enjoyed and all they foresee it achieving.

Seitz is president and CEO of Penn-Northwest Development Corp., the lead economic development agency for Mercer County; McCracken president of the Shenango Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Veon began with a modest and brief soft-spoken, “I know it’s hard to believe we’re here,” aware of how, like much of the computer industry, his father “started literally in a garage,” before turning to Seitz, who acted as emcee.

“We’re here today for a celebration,” Seitz declared, saying that Autosoft could well prove that Mercer County becomes “a center of innovation and technology in northwestern Pennsylvania.” Autosoft, the Penn-Northwest chief said, is “an advertisement for” his agency’s “Make it! in Mercer County” marketing campaign. The county, long known for its manufacturing prowess, “can some day succeed in the global marketplace” as well for its technology industry, he said.

Veon agreed, “Autosoft could one day be a game-changer for [nearby] communities.” Next month the president of Autosoft expects to offer dealers a mobile app that will allow the salesmen at auto dealers to have access on their tablets or smartphones to the same information on their PCs or laptops.

This should prove useful when they’re with a customer taking a test drive. They won’t have to return to the dealership to provide the specifics the customer wants about that model or other cars on the lot.

Congressman Kelly was effusive in praising Veon for his “courage. You have done it. Your vision, your strategy. You’re creating jobs.”

By remaining in West Middlesex, Kelly noted, Veon is giving talented young people a reason to come to Mercer County or stay here. “It’s people like you who bring them back,” the congressman stated.

Brooks and Longietti picked up on Kelley’s theme, Brooks saying that Autosoft “gives hope” to young people, that they need not leave to get a job worthy of their education and talent in a large city.

Longietti noted that the slots Autosoft filled in the last 18 months are “60 STEM-related jobs that have an average salary of over $65,000.” Autosoft, he continued, is a “recruiting tool for the best and brightest software engineers.”

McConnell reminisced about how long he’s known the Veon family and joked about Veon’s youthful appearance. “He doesn’t look a day over 18 right now,” the county commissioner remarked, then turned serious, expressing his appreciation for Autosoft remaining in Mercer County: “He’s had opportunities to go other places, but he stays here.”

While Autosoft has salesmen throughout the United States, it has opened only one office outside West Middlesex so far, in Dayton, Ohio, about 1½ years ago.

McCracken praised Veon as the Henry Buhl of the 21st century. He noted that the 19th century industrist, who generously gave of his wealth to Sharon and Hermitage and for whom buildings, streets and parks are named, hired immigrants from eastern Europe to work in his factories and mills. McCracken wondered aloud whether Buhl, were he alive today, would pursue high technology instead.

Autosoft provides the software systems that allow dealers to track inventory, costs and prices, technical support for their services department operations and customer history. It also provides dealers with business forms, promotional items, signage and technology products.

And the company provides training in the use of its software, which is updated regularly as both vehicles and regulations change.

Phil Fitts Ford has been a customer of Autosoft almost from its beginning, Bill Fitts said. “They provide a good product at a fair price,” he said. Despite calls from competitors of Autosoft, “There’s been no reason to change,” Fitts said. “They’re constantly improving their product.”

Another advantage is the proximity in West Middlesex to the Fitts Ford-Lincoln dealership, 3250 Wilmington Road just north of New Castle.

Pictured: Bryce Veon, president and CEO of Autosoft.

Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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