AGM Container Controls, named the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s 2009 Small Business of the Year, is a company on top of its game. The chamber award honors the Tucson-based manufacturer for being a leader in the community, demonstrating intelligent business judgment, and showing a true commitment to its employees and customers.

Several factors – intelligent business judgment and commitment to employees and customers  - underscore that AGM Container Controls truly deserves this honor as well as the company’s 8 percent growth in the midst of a disastrous economy. For one, the top two market segments the manufacturer serves are government and healthcare. These two sectors just happen to be two market segments projected to grow in Arizona in 2010.

How did AGM get so “lucky”?  

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I first visited this company as part of a state delegation in the early 1990s when defense contractors were struggling to survive. Founder Roger Stewart, who started the company in 1964, and Joyce Stewart were doing what  successful entrepreneurs need to do when times are tough – they were looking hard for solutions.

Joyce and Roger Stewart, and their newest management team member, now president of AGM, Howard Stewart, were talking with each other and other experts and evaluating their options. They decided to diversify their business.

Rather than rely strictly on defense products, they would find a healthcare product they could produce in their facility with the core skills and equipment the company already possessed. They began designing and building wheelchair lifts and now that market contributes 25 percent to their annual revenue.

What contributes to their success is that they not only talked about their options, they took decisive action.  Today AGM Container Controls is still developing new healthcare products. The decisions Stewarts made in the 1990s and the action they took — and actions they continue to take — contribute to today’s success. 

Another important factor – commitment to employees and customers – is a best practice that can be emulated by any company. Employers often have slogans about how their employees are their most important resource but AGM Container Controls is an employee-owned company where they truly involve employees. Employees receive a financial accounting and know at all times how the company is performing.

There are incentive programs such as cash bonuses for creative cost-saving ideas and a percentage of savings cash award to participating employees.

In an ongoing effort to improve service to customers, AGM installed a computerized system early this year to handle almost all phases of the operations. As often happens, when this process began, it didn’t run smoothly at first. 

AGM’s excellent customer service was threatened as mistakes occurred in shipping, inventory and billing.  Any business who has been through it knows just how frustrating it can be to install a new electronic system.

It fell to AGM’s marketing and sales personnel to contact customers and quickly resolve any and all issues and with customary AGM commitment and action. That is exactly what they did.  It took hard work and patience on everyone’s part but the installation is now running well and in fact is giving customers the benefits that AGM envisioned when they started the process.

Any business can emulate this successful company’s best practices:

1. When times are tough, think creatively

2. Take action to implement your creative ideas

3. Be consistent with your values, message and action

4. Face challenges decisively, letting your values shape your actions – but take action

Contact Sharon Youngblood at say@youngbloodconsulting.com or (520) 795-7498. Youngblood is a certified management consultant, corporate coach and speaker who works with leaders to improve performance and profitability of firms. Her website is at www.youngbloodconsulting.com.