Wired for Growth
Custom manufacturer thrives by sharing gains with workforce,
investing in community
MEMBER: Minnesota Wire and Cable Co., Chamber
member since October, 1993
LOCATION: Energy Park Drive and facility in Eau
Claire, Wisconsin
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 115 Saint Paul location,
50 Eau Claire, location
CHAMBER SERVICES UTILIZED: participant and keynote
speaker, 1993 Saint Paul/Metro East Manufacturer's Day; Prepare
Saint Paul programs and activities
This spring has been a season of celebration at a small
manufacturer in Saint Paul called Minnesota Wire and Cable
Company. In April, the company celebrated a milestone with
employees - distributing more than a million dollars through
a profit-sharing bonus program over the past seven years.
In May, Fred Wagner, founder and CEO, was named 1994 Business
Person of the Year by the Minnesota Family Business Council.
Articles in the St. Paul Pioneer Press and coverage of the
profit-sharing event on KSTP-TV have highlighted the company's
recent success.
At the core of Minnesota Wire and Cable Co.is a family
with a set of values that revolve around integrity and a
commitment to the community in which they do business. The
company believes in treating all employees and customers
with openness and respect. This candor has paid off - consider
some of the company's recent achievements:
- Distributed more than $1 million in profit-sharing since
1987 (everyone in company receives the same amount, based
on hours worked)
- Grew from 7 to 170 employees in 12 years
- Revenues increased from 3.7 million in 1981 to 6.3 million
in 1992. Projected revenue for 1994 is $7.8 million
"We're open with our key customers, telling them what
our burden rate is, our profit margins, pretty much everything,"
says Paul Wagner. "This openness has landed us accounts."
The company also shares profit and earnings information with
all employees on a regular basis. Such moves have helped build
employee loyalty and kept turnover to a low 3.4 percent, well
below the industry average of 7.2 percent.
Based in Saint Paul's Energy Park area, Minnesota Wire
and Cable Co. is the only manufacturer of customized wire
and cable assemblies in the Midwest. Approximately 80 percent
of the company's business comes from the medical device
industry, including local customers such as 3M and Empi.
Fred Wagner started the business in his basement 26 years
ago as Wagner Consulting Corp. All nine of his children
are involved in the company, seven as employees and two
have spouses who work with the company. Minnesota Wire and
Cable Co. also employs several in-laws and other family
members. Today, Fred Wagner's daughter Joan Thompson has
worked for the company the longest at 13 years and serves
as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President.
Her brother Paul Wagner joined the company in 1985 and succeeded
his father as President in 1992.
Long active in the Saint Paul/Metro East community, "giving
back" is one of the cornerstones of Minnesota Wire's
business philosophy. Recently, the company increased their
visibility through their Saint Paul Area Chamber programs
and events such as Prepare Saint Paul and Saint Paul/Metro
East Manufacturer's Day. Paul Wagner says, "This isn't
just where our business is, this is the place our employees
live, their MWCC, and we want to make that MWCC a good one."
Such community-mindedness means that the company hires
and trains a local workforce, made up of 40 percent minorities.
The company has also hired and developed former felons through
Stillwater state prison's Amicus Program.
Involvement in the Chamber's Prepare Saint Paul program
has been meaningful for Minnesota Wire and Cable Co. Thompson
recently participated in a business-education mentoring
program called Partners in Learning. The company hosted
a job-shadowing program where students had the opportunity
to not just tour the company and hear speeches, but to spend
time with the employees one-on-one to learn about their
jobs. "Our employees benefited from the experience
as much as the kids, " says Thompson. "It's important
to bring students and teachers in to show them what a manufacturing
environment is really like - those students are our future."
Minnesota Wire and Cable Co. plans to expand their Chamber
involvement in the upcoming months to include public affairs
involvement, and further activity in Prepare Saint Paul.
Thompson hopes to expand the Job Shadowing program the company
initiated through the Partners in Learning Project, and
to have teachers tour the facility.
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