by Karen Brune Mathis
Managing Editor
Renee Vozel and Tom Whipple took jobs at Ameritape soon after it was founded in 1990. They stuck to it.
Ameritape is a small manufacturer, with 12 employees and a family atmosphere. The employees, many of them cross-trained, work daytime hours, five days a week.
They take long rolls of tape — single-sided, double-sided and specialty tapes — and cut it into custom widths and convert it to different shapes and sizes.
It’s used in industrial, medical, aerospace and electronics industries as well as the government. Examples: Conductive foil tape on a battery; chevron-shaped two-sided adhesive tape to attach items to fabric cubicle walls; protective film on appliances and calculators; insulation tape. The list continues.
Vozel and Whipple bought the business from the retiring owners on Aug. 14, 2008, just as the recession was settling in. They took measures to cut staff and every expense they could.
Now, they’re catching up with staffing and sales, but still lag the pre-2008 boom times.
Their survival skills:
• Hire good people, especially those who can multitask and understand the “whole picture” of the business. “You might pay a little bit more, but their ability to do the job is worth it,” said Whipple.
• Negotiate contracts for better prices with vendors.
• Take advantage of free training and workshops provided by vendors and community sources.
• Find nonmonetary ways to reward employees, such as bringing in lunch, shutting early on holiday weekends and remaining flexible.
• Embrace the technology knowledge of the younger generation.
• Share piecework with small businesses to help them survive.
“We’re doing well,” said Vozel.
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