UPDATE 1
New plant, equipment
boost gross profit at
Spray Control Systems
by Beth Ewen
A new 15,000-square-foot building complete with a second robot is increasing efficiency for Spray Control Systems Inc., the Upsize Growth Challenge winner last year that captured the overall champion award by audience vote.
?Gross profits are up 4 points. I wouldn?t have believed it until they showed me the numbers,? says Craig Kruckeberg, CEO of the Blooming Prairie truck-parts maker, which sells products under the brand name ?Minimizer.?
He put $1.3 million into the building and equipment, which allowed him to consolidate machines and people formerly spread about.
?We had five operators on five machines, and one robot. Now one guy can run all six, with two robots,? he says, adding that he employs two people to run the machines, to make the work load reasonable. He expects $7 million in revenue this year, up from $5.8 million last year.
Kruckeberg also hired a CPA as a controller, who had been with a large accounting firm and was tired of traveling to multiple locations. She?s made a ?huge difference? to the company, he says, especially to his ability to delegate day-to-day responsibilities. That was a major goal for Kruckeberg last year, when he entered the Upsize Growth Challenge and worked with experts.
?Everyone said, work on it, not in it,? he says, about advice he received on running a company. ?I said, how?? But now he spends his time on higher-level duties, such as doing long-term cash-flow projections and developing new ideas.
One such idea is a new division called SCSI Technologies, in which Spray Control?s customers, truck manufacturers, can put virtual test drives of their trucks on their Web sites, paying $395 a month for the feature.
Kruckeberg is also working with his accounting firm to plan his exit, hoping that one of his four children will eventually want the business. ?I?m out of here in 15 years,? he says.
Craig Kruckeberg, Spray Control Systems Inc.: 800.248.3855; craig@minimizer.com; www.minimizer.com
