"All men and women of success have devoted much time to deep concentration and meditation-though many have never used the word "meditation" to describe their mental processes. They were people who could dive deeply into their problems and come out with pearls of right solutions. If you learn how to withdraw your attention from all objects of distraction and place it upon one object of concentration, then you will know how to attract at will what you need." Swami Kriyananda
Don't put your company in the hands of amateurs.
It takes more than one turnaround to prove
sustainable success...
Archfield Consulting Group's assignments are global with on-the-ground experience in over 22 countries. They cover diverse high tech, basic manufacturing and service industries. They include clients with annual revenues ranging from start up to over $600 million.
DIRECT INDUSTRY AND PRODUCT EXPERIENCE:
Experience encompasses two major defense contractors in New York and California.
The most recent assignment was to improve sales and profits for a $42 million Long Island , New York aerospace avionics company. The company designed, developed, and manufactured aircraft electronic subsystems, principally:
- Display & Control Products: cockpit control panels, caution and warning enunciators, lights/switches, night vision display panels and dimmers;
- Power Products: primary power transformer rectifiers (TRs) and inverters, secondary power - battery chargers, miscellaneous airframe power supplies; Proximity Sensing Systems: sensors (transducers), which detect the position of landing gears, cargo doors, and aircraft control surfaces, and control units that process signals provided by the sensors to determine location and to send to the appropriate cockpit readout/computer data bank.
Markets served: Military and Commercial Aviation
Competitors: Korry, Eaton, Honeywell
Key customers: Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, U.S. Gov’t.
Sales increased 32%, while operating income was improved 29% to $7.75 million. This was accomplished through the following specific actions:
- Implemented “lean manufacturing” using Toyota Production Method tools: 5S, visual management, pull systems, standard work, mistake proofing and other continuous improvement techniques.
- Achieved measurable productivity improvements of 36%.
- International sales organization was consolidated and reorganized under new management.
- Implemented a customer rapid response new product prototyping system
- Strategically repositioned the company from a components supplier to a provider of engineered systems solutions through the acquisition of new technologies
Previous experience was as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Ducommun Aerospace Group, which included major defense subcontractors, including Aerochem, Inc. and Jay-El Products, Inc. With annual sales of over $100 million, customers included Martin Marietta, Northrop Grumman, McDonnell Douglas and Boeing.
COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
In March of 1987 stepped into the role of President & CEO of a $270 million construction company losing $1 million in cash per month from 15 commercial properties with approximately one million square feet. Cash flow was turned positive within 6 months. This was accomplished through the following specific actions:
- Within the first year occupancy rates were increased from 65% to 90% by recruiting new management and outsourcing leasing functions
- Construction was completed on time and on budget for three commercial projects of over 150,000 square feet through project management controls, permitting and labor negotiations
- $80 million of bank debt was negotiated to non recourse at lower rates and banks agreed to debt forgiveness of $11 million
Properties were sold at a profit of over $30 million to shareholders.
Extensive experience in the cosmetics industry as a director of two successful privately held manufacturers in Southern California
From 1988 to 1997 served on the executive, audit and compensation committees for a $35 million cosmetics manufacturing company specializing in nail polish and hand care products. Joined the board of directors when the company sales were less than $10 million. Performed the function of close confidant to the owners and assisted in the growth of sales, product expansion and high end dept. stores such as Nordstroms and Saks Fifth Avenue. The company completed a successful sale of 100% of its stock to Revlon at a substantial premium to shareholders.
From 1995 to 1997 served on the executive, audit and compensation committees for a $15 million cosmetics manufacturing company specializing in nail polish, hand and facial care products. Joined the board of directors when the company sales were less than $5 million. Performed the function of close confidant to the owners and assisted in the growth of sales, product expansion and high end dept. stores such as Nordstroms, Saks Fifth Avenue and Dillards. Led the due diligence and negotiations for the successful sale of 100% of the company's stock to a Korean conglomerate at a premium to shareholders.
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING
President - $102 million environmental engineering & manufacturing (1987-97). In January of 1988 completed the acquisition of a privately held environmental engineering and capital equipment company servicing. Increased sales from $17 million to $100 million. Increased profits from $2 million to $16 million in 3 years. Increased shareholder value by $183 million through an initial public offering on the NYSE.
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Completed three acquisitions which included manufacturing facilities in England, Wales and Italy
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Sales offices and new license agreements were established in over 20 countries
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International sales increased from $2 million to $60 million
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Over 25% of sales resulted from newly developed and licensed products
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In April of 1990 successfully completed an IPO of 20% of Wahlco shares on the New York Stock Exchange realizing a market capitalization of $240 million
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The 20% sale resulted in an increase in shareholder value of $183 million
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The company was sold in 1998.
FOOD, BEVERAGES, PRODUCE AND AGRICULTURE
These assignments involved two privately held companies.
The first assignment was as VP/General Manager to restructure a privately held produce and agriculture company in Southern California. The priorities were to improve profits, implement a new IT system, design and implement an internal financial system and prepare the company for an IPO on the NASDAQ.
Sales were increased from $76 million to $98 million and operating profit increased by 28% in 12 months for shareholders of this $98 million produce wholesale distribution and farming company during Mr. Huta's tenure as VP/General Manager.
- Shifted the strategic business focus and investment to profitable product lines, table grapes and exotic imported fruits
- Started up a processing plant to maximize profits from early and late season strawberries
- Implemented a new IT system capable of tracking product line transactions and integrating financial and sales data
- Implemented a new internal control system acceptable to outside audit firm
- Renegotiated and improved terms and size of lines of credit, included a seasonal adjustment factor
- Established uniform reporting and internal control systems for over 50 partnerships and consolidated reporting
The second assignment in this category was as VP/CFO and VP Operations for a $56 million beverage distributor located in Southern California. The company was a newly acquired Anheuser Busch distributorship and required a new IT system, improved warehousing procedures and delivery systems to meet the requirements of Anheuser Busch management in St. Louis.
Sales were increased by 30% and operating profit increased by 48% in 24 months during Mr. Huta's tenure as VP/CFO and VP Operations.
- Implemented a new IT system capable of interfacing with customers and Anheuser Busch's purchasing and sales collection systems
- Developed a new routing system based on Monte Carlo theory that reduced delivery expenses by 35%
- Negotiated labor contract renewals with the local union leadership
- Renegotiated and improved terms and size of lines of credit, included a seasonal adjustment factor
INTERNATIONAL SALES AND MANUFACTURING-ASIA
Successful assignments include extensive international sales, marketing and manufacturing, with a heavy emphasis in Asia and Eastern Europe.
Living in China, established a greenfield manufacturing facility in Shenzhen and sourced products from China, Malaysia, Singapore and India.
Speak six languages and accustomed to over 50% international travel.
- Opened sales offices in over 10 countries
- Revenues in China were increased by $15 million in 18 months for an electronics sensor manufacturing company
- Revenues were increased by $22 million in Asia and $12 million in Eastern Europe for an environmental capital equipment manufacturer in 24 months.
- Environmental product sales increased from $17 million to $100 million
- Profit increased from $2 million to $16 million in 3 years.
- International sales increased from $2 million to $60 million.
- Over 25% of sales resulted from newly developed and licensed products from Asia and Eastern Europe.
Implemented “lean manufacturing” at 13 large manufacturing facilities around the world using Toyota Production Method tools
- 5S
- visual management
- pull systems
- standard work
- mistake proofing
- other continuous improvement techniques, including Six Sigma.
Four facilities were located in the United States: two in Massachusetts, and one each in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
Nine of the 13 plants were international located in
- Toronto, Canada
- Sheffield, England
- Newcastle, England
- Swansea, Wales
- Düsseldorf, Germany
- Milan, Italy
- St. Lucia, Caribbean
- New Delhi, India
- Shenzhen, China
The plant in China was a greenfield.
Also negotiated the acquisition of a low cost automotive parts manufacturer located in Budapest, Hungary.
INTERNATIONAL SALES AND MANUFACTURING-EASTERN EUROPE
Successful assignments include extensive international manufacturing experience, including Western and Eastern Europe.
In addition to being fluent in German, Italian and Ukrainian, a working knowledge of other Slavic languages is an asset. Established engineering offices in Warsaw, Kiev and Moscow.
Implemented “lean manufacturing” at 13 large manufacturing facilities around the world using Toyota Production Method tools
- 5S
- visual management
- pull systems
- standard work
- mistake proofing
- other continuous improvement techniques, including Six Sigma.
Four facilities were located in the United States: two in Massachusetts, and one each in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
Nine of the 13 plants were international located in
- Toronto, Canada
- Sheffield, England
- Newcastle, England
- Swansea, Wales
- Düsseldorf, Germany
- Milan, Italy
- St. Lucia, Caribbean
- New Delhi, India
- Shenzhen, China
The plant in China was a greenfield.
Also negotiated the acquisition of a low cost automotive parts manufacturer located in Budapest, Hungary.
The following acquisitions were negotiated and completed:
- California based engineering and manufacturing company of environmental air pollution control capital equipment with sales of $17 million. The company was grown to $102 million within two years and taken public on the NYSE for a gain of $183 million to shareholders.
- Manufacturer of industrial valves located in Maine with sales of $16 million.
- Manufacturer of industrial valves located in Swansea, Wales with sales of $12 million.
- Manufacturer of industrial valves and hydraulic equipment located in Sheffield, England with sales of $18 million.
- Manufacturer of industrial valves located in Milan, Italy with sales of $5 million.
- Manufacturer of heat exchange systems for power generation and industrial process facilities located in West Virginia with sales of $10 million.
- International marketing and sales organization located in Basil, Switzerland with sales of $22 million.
- Engineering design company for power generation, municipal civil engineering and commercial construction projects with sales of $8 million in Düsseldorf, Germany.
- Manufacturer of industrial valves located in New Delhi, India with sales of $11 million.
- Construction equipment leasing company located in Chesterfield, England with sales of $12 million.
- Value added reseller and systems integrator of computer networking equipment located in New York with sales of $24 million.
- Sold a $5 million digital mapping software development company in California.
- Sold a $270 million commercial construction and property management company in California.
- Sold a $290 million oil and natural gas trading company in California.
President - $290 million oil & gas (1988-91). In June 1988 became Chairman of an oil & gas trading and distribution company. After installing a new financial team and implementing a new trading system. Company was returned to profitability and sold at a $10 million profit a year later.
U.K. client parent company's sales were $10 billion in 1998. Company was merged in 1999 with combined annual sales of $16 billion.
Assignment was to turn around declining sales and profitability of the $155 million international thermal sensors and aerospace group of six companies with over 1,500 employees located in the U.S., Europe, Caribbean and Southeast Asia.
Two year management, sales, facilities and financial restructuring resulted in the improvement of sales by 18% annually and operating profits of the thermal sensors group by 74% over the two years. The parent company was able to improve shareholder value by $135 million through a sale of the Group.
Electromechanical Sensor Group with manufacturing plants in Rhode Island, Newcastle, England and Shenzhen, China has annual sales of $80 million. The group designs, develops, and manufactures:
Precision and Electromechanical Products:
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temperature sensing and switching components
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bimetallic, tight temperature control thermostats providing thermal solutions.
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thin surface applied heating solutions. Applications are highly customized requiring a high level of technical design and customer support..
Markets: Commercial Aerospace, Military, Industrial, Medical, Appliance, HVAC, Office Automation and On-Vehicle markets.
Competitors: Emerson, Eaton, Honeywell.
Key customers: Boeing, Airbus, Matra, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, U.S. Gov’t., Hamilton Beach, Xerox, Canon.
Electronics Sensor Group in Massachusetts and St. Lucia: With sales of $35 million, designs, develops, and manufactures thermistor temperature sensors including ceramic wafer fabrication.
Markets: Satellite, Telecommunications, Appliance, Office Automation, On-Vehicle, and Medical.
Competitors: Emerson, Siemens.
Key Customers: Motorola, Xerox, Canon.
Aerospace company: With sales of $40 million, designs, develops, and manufactures aircraft electronic subsystems, principally
Display & Control Products:
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cockpit control panels
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caution and warning anunciators
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lights/switches,
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night vision display panels and dimmers.
Power Products:
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primary power transformer rectifiers (TRs) and inverters
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secondary power - battery chargers and miscellaneous airframe power supplies.
Proximity Sensing Systems:
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sensors (transducers), which detect the position of landing gears, cargo doors, and aircraft control surfaces
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control units that process signals provided by the sensors to determine location and to send to the appropriate cockpit readout/computer data bank.
Markets: Military and Commercial Aviation.
Competitors: Korry, Eaton, Honeywell.
Key customers: Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, U.S. Gov’t.
Key Accomplishments
- Improved profits 74% from $18 million to $31 million
- Increased sales 21% from $128 million to $155 million
- Consolidated the management and administration of two U.S. companies into one operating entity, reducing overhead by over 20%
- Consolidated two 250,000 sft facilities
- Defeated an organized labor attempt
- Moved commodity product production offshore by establishing a green field low cost manufacturing facility in China and doubling the size of the St. Lucia operation
- Implemented “lean manufacturing” procedures in all facilities converting from batch to cell manufacturing using single piece flow, Kanban and Kaizen techniques. Achieved measurable productivity improvements of over 30%
- Penetrated Chinese market for electromechanical components
- Strategically repositioned the company from a components supplier to a provider of engineered systems solutions through the acquisition of new technologies
- Successfully negotiated the acquisition of three companies located in Germany, Italy and Hungary
Extensive experience in the software industry as Chairman and CEO of two start ups, a VAR systems integrator and PC seller, and as a director of a NASDAQ small cap company developer of government and municipal systems.
Most recently in 2001, chairman of the executive committee for a $12 million Rhode Island small cap NASDAQ software company specializing in municipal government systems. As lead director, negotiated the successful sale of the company to TRW at a premium for shareholders.
Previous experience was as Chairman of a San Diego geo-mapping software start up. Grew the company from $0 to $8 million in 24 months and sold the company to IBM at a $2 million profit for shareholders.
As Executive VP completed the successful turnaround of Ducommun Data Systems, a $48 million value added reseller of personal computers for AT&T
Successfully started up a software company in Los Angeles as CEO of a spin-off of a multi billion dollar real estate construction and property management company. The start up was an Hewlett Packard VAR and reached sales of $2.7 million in the first 12 months with positive cash flow.
TEMPORARY STAFFING AND EMPLOYEE LEASING
This national temporary staffing company, with sales of $82 million and with 80 offices throughout the U.S. providing skilled labor to the construction industry, sustained losses of $26 million in 2000 and 2001. Within the first six months under ACG management, the company turned profitable. This was accomplished through the following specific actions:
- Closed 40 non profitable offices and reduced annual operating costs by over $10 million without jeopardizing the core business
- Transformed organization from a centralized bureaucracy to a lean enterprise driven by entrepreneurial branch managers
- Implemented a pay-for-performance incentive system that improved morale, employee retention and profitability
- Reduced annual workers’ comp premiums by over $3 million and reduced injury claims by over 50%.
The company's equity investment of over $30 million was saved from bankruptcy. The assignment was concluded in August 2003 leaving the company with a new competent management and sales team and a solid foundation for future profitable growth.
Assignment was to consolidate three divisions of a wire and cable manufacturer, a subsidiary of a $2 billion public company headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The three operating companies were located in Canada and the U.S. with over 300 employees. Increased sales by 42% and annual operating profits by $2.5 million. This was accomplished through the following specific actions:
- Implemented “lean manufacturing” in all three plants through employee participation using Toyota Production Method tools: 5S, visual management, pull systems, standard work, mistake proofing and other continuous improvement techniques
- Productivity increased by 38%
- Quality improved 86%
- On time delivery improved 53% reaching a company record of 98.6% on time.
- Within 6 months a new field sales commission program was implemented
- Over 50 distributors and independent national and international sales representative organizations were rationalized
- Within the first 12 months expanded into two new key markets with product modifications: Power Generation Gas Turbines and Telecommunications
If you are interested in investment capital or improving the profit performance of your company, please e-mail us at info@archfield.com