Kotman Technology is marking its 20th anniversary by opening a new office in Clovis, California. The company, which began in a small apartment and now employs more than 30 people, has relocated to 924 N. Temperance Ave. in the Clovis Research and Technology Business Park.
The move represents both an expansion and a homecoming for founder John Kotman, who returned to the Central Valley after attending Fresno State. “Coming back was to go to Fresno State, but I also had family and friends in the Central Valley,” he said. “I really enjoyed living here and I wanted to move back.”
Previously based at the former Bitwise South Stadium building in Downtown Fresno, Kotman Technology outgrew its space after several expansions. “We wanted a spot we could call our own,” Kotman said. “We wanted to make sure we could have a great place for our team; tech can be really stressful at times. We made sure to have a great team breakroom, a great place where people could hang out after work if they wanted to.”
The new office features open areas for collaboration as well as private spaces for focused work. The design includes ample natural light and centers around a conference room intended to foster communication among staff members. Local firms Facility Designs and Centerline Design were involved in planning the layout.
Kotman explained that flexibility was key during development: “In the past two years, even as we were laying out the floorplan, our teams have changed two or three times in that iteration,” he said. While some employees work remotely, Kotman emphasized that personal interaction remains important: “You can’t replicate that over [Microsoft] Teams,” he said. “If we can do that in person, it’s a much better experience.”
Serving clients across industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, professional services and nonprofits, Kotman Technology keeps surplus equipment on hand for emergencies. “We can typically get things quickly,” Kotman noted. “But if something happens immediately — there’s times when someone’s like, ‘Hey, I left my laptop on the roof of my car and I need another one rather quickly’ — those types of things.”
Operations manager Luke Ross described how the new location strengthens relationships with clients: “One thing that’s been neat about the new office is when clients stop by, I think the environment has created a spot where people can come by and hang out,” he said. He outlined support, security and strategy as core pillars of their business model: “The strategy element is emphasized in the office — clients seeing that they have a relational partner, one who can take the time to invite them to the office and sit down with a client. That was the goal in developing the new space,” Ross added.
Reflecting on their recent transition into the new building, Kotman remarked: “It was kind of, you know, doing a project for ourselves…we were able to keep both offices operating and move teams at different times throughout a week or so.” According to him, many clients did not notice any disruption during this period.
He concluded that this attention to detail reflects what has guided Kotman Technology since its founding.
