Thriving in Tumultuous Times: TigerTek weathers its second recession

Peter Mitchell

When Peter Mitchell (MBA ’84) bought Oakley Motor Repair in 1998, 80 percent of the Eden, N.C., industrial machinery repair shop’s business came from textile mills. No sooner had the deal closed when the economy pushed the textile industry overseas. Many of his customers closed up and moved out; others slid into bankruptcy, meaning he not only lost their business but the accounts receivables as well.

“Maybe my crystal ball should have been clearer,” Mitchell said. “But at the time, my business plan didn’t have that in the forecast.”

Yet 10 years later, Mitchell’s business, which he renamed TigerTek Industrial Services, was named Business North Carolina’s Small Business of the Year. And even as manufacturing plants slowed from working three shifts to barely one last year, orders are still flooding TigerTek’s pipeline.

When he first bought the business, Mitchell immediately began expanding geographically. And as industrial plants changed their machinery, he grew his workforce to meet the demands. In the past decade, manufacturing has begun using servomotors, a hybrid machine that involves a computer telling the mechanical motor what to do. The highly specialized nature of the repairs limits the number of shops that can do them. The smaller size of servomotors allows companies to ship them to TigerTek by UPS or FedEx from around the world.

“I often refer to our company as a hospital,” Mitchell said. “Some of what’s sent to us is not very sick and is easy to repair. Some is very sick and difficult to work on. And some stuff that comes into our shop we’ve never seen before. We have to have highly skilled technicians to diagnose and cure that.”

Last year, TigerTek moved into larger quarters only months before the recession hit. But the building has improved efficiency so much that it has helped in the economic downturn.

“We weathered the first recession and plunged into a second one,” he said. “I’m looking forward to a good stretch of strong markets for awhile.”

Here’s what has worked for Mitchell:

Get business in the door first. Rather than having technicians waiting for work to come in, invest in a sales and marketing force. Better to have the operations group have a little more on their plate than they can handle and add technicians with the specialties needed for the new orders coming in.

Build a good relationship with your banker. Be open and honest; tell your banker what’s good and bad about your business. Having that mutual trust will increase the likelihood that your banker will stand by you in tough times.

Choose a name that will grow with the business. Early in his career, Mitchell worked with a company named Electrical South. By the time he left, the business had grown beyond electrical and expanded beyond the South. Find a name that won’t limit your flexibility.

Hire employees who share your strategic vision. Employees who take pride in their company’s success are more likely to work hard to make it happen.

Coddle your customers. For the past 11 years, Mitchell has carried the off-hours pager himself. Especially in a recession, customers will be wooed by other companies. Give your customers top-notch service so they aren’t tempted to sample the competition.