Hydro-Thermal Corp.
400 Pilot Court, Waukesha
www.hydro-thermal.com
Year founded: 1934
Product or service offered: Hydroheaters
President & CEO: Jim Zaiser
Projected 2015 revenue: $17 million
Target clientele: A diverse pool of markets. The industries at the forefront for Hydro-Thermal today include food and beverage processors, pulp and paper manufacturers, and ethanol/biofuel/starch.
Business organization memberships: FISA, TEC, MMAC, Waukesha Chamber of Commerce, 3A, AMSE and more.
What has fueled your company’s growth?
“Hydro-Thermal is always looking toward the future to see what’s next. Innovation is a key component, fueling improvements to existing technologies and driving the development of new products. Hydro-Thermal also believes in focusing on long-term vision and thoughtful strategy, rather than short-term tactics.”
What is the biggest obstacle to your company’s growth?
“The biggest obstacle to Hydro-Thermal’s growth is a long sales cycle. Another area of challenge Hydro-Thermal is currently focusing on is demonstrating increased value to customers for ultra-innovative ideas which are new to the marketplace.”
Do you plan to make any changes to your company?
“Hydro-Thermal has experienced phenomenal growth over the last few years. Despite a large building expansion in 2012, Hydro-Thermal is in the process of building a second manufacturing location which includes a dedicated sanitary welding facility. It will also house additional office space for our rapidly growing staff.”
Who are the business people you admire?
“Our president and CEO, Jim Zaiser, is the third generation owner of Hydro-Thermal. The business people he looks to for inspiration are those who came before him: his father, grandfather and talk of his great-grandfather. Jim also is a great admirer of legendary coach and leader Vince Lombardi. All of Jim’s influences share common traits of championing risk and reward, responsibility, and taking a work hard/play hard approach.”
What is the outlook for your industry?
“Hydro-Thermal views the outlook for the next several months to be tough for our industry, especially since approximately one-third of our business is international. Adverse conditions caused by the exchange rate and high U.S. dollar may be threatening, but hard economic times often lead to success for Hydro-Thermal. We are cautiously optimistic, since our products ultimately save companies’ money and energy.”
What is your company’s most important growth strategy?
“Hydro-Thermal is known for placing great importance on identifying and solving the needs of our customers. In addition to that, Hydro-Thermal also heavily focuses on predicting customer needs – championing continuous improvement throughout the organization, seizing both customer-facing and internal opportunities.”
