About Us

Jimmy Lazzara is a recognized leader in industrial product sales and played a pivotal role in building STI alongside his father, Anthony Lazzara. He graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1979 with a degree in Natural Resource Management and Forestry. Upon graduation, he joined STI as a sales manager and purchasing manager, helping the company become the number one market share leader in safety automation products in North America. 

Jimmy was promoted to Senior Vice President, overseeing global sales and establishing a robust distribution channel worldwide. His philosophy of rewarding those who do the work and protecting those who perform the job created North America's strongest and purest distribution channel for safety automation products. Under his leadership, STI made significant acquisitions, including Datricon, STI/Environecs, AET products, and Lundahl Instruments, now known as APGSensors.

In 2006, STI was sold to Omron, a major Japanese automation control manufacturer, with sales nearing $75 million. Jimmy was the second-largest shareholder at the time of the sale. After retiring, he moved to Bend, Oregon, and later to San Diego, where he worked briefly for a contract manufacturing company before being recruited by Cal Industrial Sales to build sales in various regions.

Jimmy's expertise and loyalty to distribution have earned him a legendary status in the industry. Eventually, he relocated to Florida and was recruited by L-3, working as a sales engineer before establishing his own distributorship, Omni2Controls.