1600 Airport Road, Waukesha
Founded: 1980
Employees: 137
2016 annual revenue: $36.7 million
Tony Mallinger, president and chief executive officer of Waukesha-based Metal-Era Inc., knows the value of sustained growth.
The company will finish a 26,000-square-foot expansion to its Waukesha headquarters by the end of the year, and has achieved an average of 11 percent growth in top line revenue each year for the past eight years.
In addition, Metal-Era has increased its employee count by more than 60 percent in the past four years.
“Last year, we realized we needed a longer term outlook,” Mallinger said. “Instead of focusing on operational-type plans, we began a multi-year strategic plan that would carry us to 2020.”
The goal, according to Mallinger, was to hit $50 million in sales by the year 2020.
“That kind of goal entails a lot,” he said. “Our focus now is on how to become more efficient, more productive and how to make Metal-Era a better company as a whole and just a better place to work.”
Part of that plan includes the expansion of the company’s Waukesha campus, but it also involves a renewed focus on employee wellness, training and development.
The project also includes new employee spaces, new break rooms, new locker rooms, new offices and a complete remodel and update of office equipment and cubicles.
“Our goal is to really improve as a company, and we take feedback very seriously,” Mallinger said. “We recently established a culture committee that asks employees how we can improve and takes steps to really act on those ideas. We want our employees to know we care and are listening.”
