Like the construction industry that fuels it, the structured-wiring business was dismal in 2007, and high-volume integrators continue to struggle in 2008.

"We're definitely down," says Mark Buzzard of Liberty Bell Alarm, Sacramento, Calif. "None of the builders are building anything."

Well, that's not exactly true.

Though the construction industry has been hit hard, some builders are building. With fewer homes in production, savvy builders are looking to maximize profits on the homes they do build.

That absolutely means including structured wiring in new-constructions, making homes compatible with future technologies and immediate upgrades.

This list of the Top 30 Structured Wiring Installers was compiled by TecHome Builder sister publication CE Pro. These are installers that are managing to stay afloat and even thrive during the housing slump.

Click here to download the list.

Still, the Top 30 companies are generally reporting about half as many structured wiring installations as last year. Many of their competitors are doing worse than that.

In the production market, many installation companies have gone out of business by giving away the prewire and banking on the upsell, according to several companies on the Top 30 list.

In the custom world, however, the prospects are rosier, according to George Clark, general manager of Design Tech Electronics, Waldorf, Md. His company provides a very basic 3x3 structured wiring package free of charge to custom builders.

"The only thing we ask in return is the homebuyer's information sheet so that we can meet and upsell," he says.

Clark says this approach has been working well. "The custom home buyer/builder spends a lot more than the standard track home buyer, which offsets the cost of labor and the free package."

Builders, meanwhile, can also benefit from working with structured wiring dealers to create homebuyer packages. The two industries are linked together. In essence, it means they can go down together or battle back together.

About the Top 30 Listing

The CE Pro Top 30 Structured Wiring Dealers represents a sampling of the high-volume installation companies in North America. This list should not be considered a complete, definitive guide. Some high-volume dealers do not participate in the rankings.