software database developers
The Down East software database developers company, founded in 1917, produced clam chowder and other canned seafood products under the Bar Harbor and Atlantic labels. Now known as Look's Gourmet Food, Cote took the company, which still cooked clam chowder in 60 gallon vats and relied on people to carry around four gallon, stainless steel pails of the chowder between production stations, and invested roughly $500,000 in venture capital funding to modernize the plant. The new automated software database developers equipment has increased output from 10 cans a minute to 60 cans a minute. But while the company was "extremely archaic," Cote says, that was one of the "charms and allures of the brand." Cote, a former Pepperidge Farm and Odwalla executive, knew that no matter how old school the plant was, the Bar Harbor brand name and the small batch production process was priceless. So, when Cote installed a conveyor belt and automated software database developers equipment in his processing plant, he made sure that chowder was produced in 60 gallon batches like it had been for decades. While on paper it may be more efficient to produce the chowder in larger batches, Cote saw the value of small batch production in the specialty food market he was trying to tap. Cote has turned Look's Gourmet Foods into a niche specialty food producer that ships its Bar Harbor and Atlantic brand products all over the country. The business has grown five fold in the four years since he purchased it — growth that this year landed the company on Inc. magazine's list of the 5,000 fastest growing U.S. private companies. That ability to see past a shabby exterior and glimpse a business' underlying value is requisite for people looking to acquire an out of date business, says Vlachos, who brokered the sale of Look's Canning Co. to Cote in 2003. photo/whit richardson Jeff Johnson, who bought The Paint Pot in Portland earlier this month, might invest next year in new paint mixing technologies as part of a plan to update the business Sweat equity Drapeau's and Look's Gourmet are extreme examples of businesses in need of a modern overhaul, but even businesses that are relatively up to date are fair game for a new owner who sees areas where modernization could pay dividends. That's exactly what Jeff Johnson figured when, in mid November, he acquired The Paint Pot, a paint store in Portland. The previous owners hadn't neglected the business, Johnson says, but he believed the store's "old style environment" could be updated. For example, while the previous owners had invested in a new cash register that tracked the store's inventory, Johnson says they were scratching the surface when it came to the useful data the system could provide — from daily sales reports to identifying what's selling and what's not. "They were using it to report," Johnson says. "You need to use a system like that to manage." But, Johnson is asking himself how to take advantage of opportunities to modernize the business while maintaining and building on the strengths the existing business already has, such as its customer service. Will investing "six figures" in new paint mixing technologies and a second location during the next year put customer service at risk? He doesn't think so, but admits that "it's a fine line you walk." Along with an investment of capital to modernize a business through technology upgrades, a new owner also must invest a large amount of time and effort to turn a business around. In 2006, Andrew Broskie acquired New Dimension Homes, a Clinton based builder of post and beam homes, and immediately set about giving it a "top to bottom and bottom to top redo," he says. That meant adding new technology and a wireless Internet network, and installing a new phone system. But it also meant plenty of personal sacrifice: Broskie says he slept in the company's model home for four months and often fell asleep at the computer late at night. But it paid off. Broskie says sales at New Dimension Homes are up more than 100% this year, and that he expects them to more than double again next year. "And, the Lord willing, we'll just keep it up for three or four years," says Broskie. Cote, after acquiring the languishing software database developers company, immediately started working seven days a week, 18 hours a day, he says. He could be talking to a potential client one minute, answering phones the next and working on the production floor filling tin cans with clam chowder after that. The benefit: He was able to identify what worked, what didn't, what vestiges of the old company should stay, which should be scrapped. An initial evaluation of the company is necessary to make decisions on whether to scrap one aspect and invest in another, says Vlachos. One thing a new owner, who often takes on debt to acquire a business, must not do is stick with the status quo, Vlachos says. "If they run it the same way the last guy did, they will fail." While Cote's 18 hour days have been scaled back to 14 hour days, he now spends most of his time on the marketing and sales side of the business, where his strengths lie. Last year, Cote spent 120 nights in hotels as he travelled on sales calls. It takes a certain type of person to acquire an aging business and update it to 21st century standards, Vlachos says. "A Maine business owner is someone who's a sales pro, who's an HR leader, who's a marketing whiz, who knows how to clean the men's room and drive a truck if they have to — that's your typical Maine business owner," Vlachos says. Broskie, who recently purchased a second outdated post and beam building business in Rockport, puts it another way: What's necessary is "the confidence to do what you know has to be done, whatever that is," he says. "If you have a good vision of what [the company] should look like and the skills to get it there, I think it's worth the effort." ... software database developers