INDUSTRIAL INFO-TAINMENT Wiring Harness News NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 1 s • After the sale i : e Th su res • Wire Wisdom - Cable Tray Is tu • On meetings and productivity a • Improve crimp quality to increase productivity e F • It’s no longer about information - it’s about knowledge • Short circuit testing for automotive systems and harness design SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2015 Wotko Cable and Harness Assembly By Fred Noer _________________________________ aking a profit as a company and making a difference in society are closely connect- ed concepts for Dustin Coon and Bernard Brunotte in the growth of their wiring harness and cable assembly man- ufacturing business. The men incorporated their compa- ny, which is called Wotko Cable and Har- ness Assembly, in November 2013 in Rochester, Mich. The city of 13,000 resi- dents is on the far north side of the Detroit metropolitan area and 25 miles from downtown Detroit. M “We have a philanthropist ideology and a bigger picture of objectives,” Coon said. “We are very open to how to serve the community and fulfill greater roles that are important to society. We want to provide good opportunities for others. “Our vision is to work with disadvan- taged young adults and give them opportunities for success as they go from high school into main- stream society but who do not go to uni- versities,” Coon said. “We are trying to address poverty and oppressed people in society.” As a relatively new company, adding permanent full-time staff members will occur in the coming months. At this On Meetings and Productivity By Joe Tito Wiring Harness News _________________________________ ike many, I'm often frustrated by meetings. We have all been in meetings that have us check- ing the time, wondering about the work that isn't getting done. I'm convinced the proliferation of meetings has become toxic in organizational culture these days. That's why I'm so intrigued by the work of Al Pittampalli whose brand new book, Read This Before Our Next Meeting: How We Can Get More Done, deals with the scourge of meet- ings as they fill the calendars in the mod- ern workplace. Performing a search on the term L "meeting cost calculator" reveals a num- ber of useful results. These simple calcu- lators take the hours of meetings, num- ber of attendees, and average salaries, to come up with a financial cost in the preparation and holding of meetings. But Mr. Pittampalli asserts that a bigger cost is the emotional toll on people, and the creativity it saps from the organiza- tion. He is convinced the over-schedul- ing of meetings keeps people from doing the actual work that they love, and that actually furthers the mission; be it their mission or that of the organization. Another cost the author refers to is in the delay of decision making meetings tend to foster. He refers to them as the _________________Continued on page 7 Employee of Wotko checking production. point, orders are handled by Coon, Brunotte and up to three temporary employees. The first order to launch the compa- ny was a simple harness with two termi- nations and was processed in April 2014. By the end of the year Wotko had only $14,000 in sales. However, the com- pany is on target to hit six figures this year serving the military, automotive, medical equipment and law enforce- ment markets and doing specialty jobs. “We’ve really turned the corner by proving ourselves and earning every- one’s respect, and our entity is moving ahead in a positive manner,” Coon said. “We have kept costs down, and we’ve been profitable the whole time. We are not feeding the animal out of our pock- et. All our equipment has been paid for through strategic planning. “Part of our philosophy is that the business is an entity with its own identi- ty,” said Coon, 45, company president. “It is its own creation and its own machine. Those who work here will move for- ward by creating an identity for Wotko.” As orders increase and annual rev- enue approaches $500,000, full-time employees will be hired. One will have expertise in harness and cable produc- tion and be certified in IPC/WHMA A- 620 standards. Another will specialize in quality control, and the third will have documentation and inventory experi- ence. Coon would like to have $1 million in sales and more employees by the end of 2016 to increase the marketability of the company. “Then we would be taken more seriously as an entity than a start- up,” he said. “We need to reinvest in infra- structure, and after three years we can go to banks and accelerate the process of investment.” Coon and vice president Brunotte, 51, envision Wotko as a $15-20 million company providing many people with jobs as well as educational opportunities through Detroit-area universities and high schools. “We want to help keep U.S. manufacturing going and be competi- tive in a global sense,” Coon said. Financial milestones may be attained ________________Continued on page 10