Combining Strengths Synergistically: PDS and Green Circuits

Estimated reading time: 16 minutes

Matties: Well, that's what makes this partnership so valuable, that there are clear lines of talent here that are stronger together.

Matthew Becker: What attracted us to the integration of these two organizations is the culture. There are lines of responsibility and there's a good jigsaw puzzle piece fit. Both organizations have the exact same attitude: The customer comes first.

These guys will do anything the customer needs, quick turn, constant communication. They are not manufacturers, they're service providers, and they have that service attitude. PDS grew without a real sales process. They would get referrals and customers would trust them, and they would build that trust and meet their commitments. If they didn't do it, they would give them rebates or whatever it took to satisfy the customer.

The customer was always first. Green has the exact same philosophy as PDS. And the employees all know it. I always say the hardest thing to do when you integrate a company, or start a company, is to get that sense of urgency into the culture of the company. If you don't have it, creating it is almost impossible. You must start with it. And the beauty is both organizations have it. One is not going to have to pull the other along the way. They both understand that when “the customer needs it on Tuesday and we will work Saturday and Sunday if we have to.” It is a quick-turn service industry.

Matties: It’s an aligned mentality here, then.

Becker: Yes. It's really nice.

Park: If a customer wants it same day, no one says no. Our people do it. They’re responsible. Even if they stay until one or two a.m., they finish the job. Of course, PDS does the same thing. We give people a very flexible environment.

I tell our people, don’t rush in the morning because everybody has life to deal with… a baby, children off to school, etc. Being late five or 10 minutes is not a big difference. If you come five minutes later, then you cover five minutes, no problem at all. That's just one example, but that's the same message to the whole team. They feel ownership because they have flexibility and are free to take care of their responsibilities. So, if you don't create a good working environment, then you cannot expect people to go the extra mile. It’s the same at PDS.

Matties: With the combined companies, you expect sales to grow. What sort of growth do you expect and in what time frame?

O’Neil: We've talked about capacity and roll out and all those things. I'd say doubling revenue within 18 months is a controlled, realistic milestone for us.

Matties: I would think anybody with an investment in this company would be excited about that prediction.

O’Neil: Prediction or projection? (laughs) The pieces are all in place. Green is one of the industry’s best kept secrets. There are OEMs out there who are actively looking for this solution and just don't know where it is. We have what they want, we have it at the price they're willing to pay, and they just don't know about us. We just have to let the world know.

Matties: What do the OEMs want?

O’Neil: They want what they want, when they want it. And they want that flexibility. For the most part, we want to find OEMs that look at the business as a partnership and want a healthy supply base. We offer quality, and quality is the price of poker. If you don't have that ante, you don't get in the game. Quality is there, along with flexibility, creativity, and the openness to listen to what they want and come up with a solution.

For instance, an OEM might say “We need you to manufacture between 500 and 600 systems a year, but we usually order 250 twice a year because that's how we get our best price.” Well, would it make more sense for you to get 40 to 50 a month, and you tell us what you want and when you need it? We have some stock on hand. For a lot of them, that just opens their world, changes their cash flow, changes their business, and allows them to invest money into engineering and marketing. They shouldn't be investing their time in trying to figure out supply chain and inventory turns. That's our expertise. So that's what they are looking for.

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