INDUSTRIAL INFO-TAINMENT
Wiring Harness News NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 1
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• After the sale
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:
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Th su res • Wire Wisdom - Cable Tray
Is tu • On meetings and productivity
a • Improve crimp quality to increase productivity
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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