Emteq, a New Berlin-based manufacturer of wiring and lighting components for the aerospace industry, has grown rapidly since the company was founded in 1996. The company has about 230 employees now, and by the end of the year will have about 280. Its revenues are expected to rise to about $45 million this year. It had about $21.5 million in sales in 2004.
Emteq occupies about 57,000 square feet of space and is negotiating for an additional 35,000 square feet of space in its current building.
Through organic growth and strategic acquisitions, the company should grow to $100 million in revenues within five years, according to Jerry Jendusa, president and chief executive officer of Emteq.
“If we can grow (organically) by $6 million to $8 million per year and we start partnering (or acquire) a company with $4 million to $6 million in business each year, we should be close, within five years, to $100 million,” he said.
By the time Emteq reaches $100 million in sales, the company should be operating as nine or 10 separate business units that are each doing about $10 million worth of business per year, Jendusa said.
“The vision is that Emteq will be the centerpiece in a family of companies,” he said. “Now we need the organizational development to align that.”
Jendusa’s plan calls for each unit to operate as an independent business, with its own, entrepreneurially spirited management team in place.
“If we want to grow, we will grow through our people,” he said. “I want to spread the success of what made my small business successful.”
If Emteq is to grow through its people, it will need to train and develop them, especially if they are to act like entrepreneurs.
To develop its leaders, Emteq has created its own in-house training program, named Q University (QU). The company recently launched its first 13-month QU program, Jendusa said.
“We recognize with Emteq that we have tremendous growth capacity,” Jendusa said. “We have tried to analyze what makes us successful and capture that, so we can train and look for that in people.”
The QU curriculum is based on Emteq’s Q Factor list of core values. Those Q Factors are geared toward customer responsiveness, value-added solutions, resourcefulness, teamwork, speed and flexibility.
“We’re creating a culture around growth and continuous improvement, while we’re keeping the customer in the forefront of all our thoughts,” Jendusa said. “We can’t rest on our laurels.”
The first QU class, between 13 and 15 people, meets once a month for six hours. Topics and lecturers vary. Two weeks after the monthly classes, the class gathers in small groups to reinforce the previous class session, said Paul Schulls, director of organizational development with Emteq.
The university program is needed because Jendusa will need to allow others to run the independent units within Emteq as the company grows. To ensure those leaders will make decisions in line with Emteq’s philosophies, they need to be trained with Emteq’s policies, core competencies and vision ingrained, Jendusa said.
“We’re developing the core leadership team that can take us to the next level, so that the company outlives me and it is not dependent on me,” Jendusa said.
The QU program is designed only for Emteq’s employees, both new hires and current employees, whom the company believes are potential leaders, Jendusa said.
“They will be put in after they are identified as being capable of being managers or supervisors or have the potential to be promoted,” he said. “We want there to be a spirit of competition.”
The employees who go through the university will be evaluated before and after the program, so their progress can be tracked.
“It’s your farm team,” Jendusa said. “If someone leaves, you can put someone else into that role.”
The curriculum for QU is being developed with the assistance of SYATI, an organization that helps provide training for companies looking to develop its leadership. Before each session, Schulls and Rose Meagher, executive director of SYATI, will meet to finalize the lesson, drawing references from what is going on within Emteq.
“We will inject real-time examples,” Schulls said.
Emteq Inc.
Location: 5349 S. Emmer Drive, New Berlin
Products/services:
Lighting, electrical and mechanical products for the aerospace industry
Employees: 230 now, more than 280 by the end of 2007
Revenues: About $45 million anticipated for 2007
Web site: www.emteq.com
