Past Winner Stories
King Systems Corp.
www.kingsystems.com
Dealing with children's fear is a challenge most anesthesia professionals face. Anything would be a valuable medical tool if it reduced trauma for kids about to be anesthetized for an examination or surgery.
Learning that from talking to some of its customers, King Systems Corp., of Noblesville, Indiana, came up with just what the doctor ordered: a Sweet DreamsTM line of the masks that are used on patients' faces when anesthetics are administered. Doctors who had been putting lip balm on such masks, to make their odor attractive to youngsters, would no longer have to do so.
Sweet Dreams masks are brightly colored, and scented "in delicious strawberry, cherry, and bubble gum," King Systems' trade-journal ads say. They "help soothe pre-surgery anxieties and increase patient cooperation." They are "available in infant, toddler, and child sizes, with brightly colored cushions for extra appeal." The cushions-the part that seals them to the face-are adjustable, "for optimal seal and patient comfort."
King Systems' development of the scented facemasks is symptomatic of why the family-owned company, launched in 1977 with a Small Business Administration loan, has succeeded as a manufacturer of anesthesia and respiratory products.
Manufacturers using low-cost, foreign labor dominated the market, initially, and the challenges were compounded in 1981 when one King Systems partner took company information and left to begin a competing business. King Systems had to develop an aggressive plan of action.
The company began by "simply asking every potential customer we approached, 'What do you need?'" says Kevin D. Burrow, a member of the owning family who is vice president of sales and marketing. "Then we responded to those needs."
King Systems committed itself to customizing products for individual needs-such as circuits of varying sizes for respiration monitoring-rather than simply making products to be bought off the shelf, as its top competitor did. Listening to its customers led it to develop a number of products. The scented, pediatric facemask was a refinement of a mask the company had already developed for patients of all ages. Designed with a clear, flexible crown for monitoring the patient's condition, the first mask was a great success-widely recognized, Burrow says, as the best available. The company later began making scented masks for adult patients.
"We took an inclusive team approach to working with and servicing our customers," Burrow says. Customers are assured that King Systems will train them in use of its products, and that the products are of highest quality. To improve production, the firm seeks employee input on what it is doing. To encourage job attendance, 1 percent of sales goes into a pool from which monthly bonuses are given workers who meet predetermined attendance standards. Department heads meet regularly over lunch to keep everyone informed.
Inventory and receivables are closely monitored, reducing need for cash. Attention to manufacturing processes enables the company to ship customized orders in five to seven days. It boasts that its inventory turns over 24 times a year.
King Systems' sales, growing more than 25 percent annually for five years, reached $19.5 million in 1994. The company's original staff of two has grown to 197, and it expects that the plant it has occupied since 1990, which is double the size of its previous quarters, soon won't be large enough.
Says Kevin Burrow: "Our goal is to be a small business with BIG sales." King Systems is progressing toward that goal.
Learning that from talking to some of its customers, King Systems Corp., of Noblesville, Indiana, came up with just what the doctor ordered: a Sweet DreamsTM line of the masks that are used on patients' faces when anesthetics are administered. Doctors who had been putting lip balm on such masks, to make their odor attractive to youngsters, would no longer have to do so.
Sweet Dreams masks are brightly colored, and scented "in delicious strawberry, cherry, and bubble gum," King Systems' trade-journal ads say. They "help soothe pre-surgery anxieties and increase patient cooperation." They are "available in infant, toddler, and child sizes, with brightly colored cushions for extra appeal." The cushions-the part that seals them to the face-are adjustable, "for optimal seal and patient comfort."
King Systems' development of the scented facemasks is symptomatic of why the family-owned company, launched in 1977 with a Small Business Administration loan, has succeeded as a manufacturer of anesthesia and respiratory products.
Manufacturers using low-cost, foreign labor dominated the market, initially, and the challenges were compounded in 1981 when one King Systems partner took company information and left to begin a competing business. King Systems had to develop an aggressive plan of action.
The company began by "simply asking every potential customer we approached, 'What do you need?'" says Kevin D. Burrow, a member of the owning family who is vice president of sales and marketing. "Then we responded to those needs."
King Systems committed itself to customizing products for individual needs-such as circuits of varying sizes for respiration monitoring-rather than simply making products to be bought off the shelf, as its top competitor did. Listening to its customers led it to develop a number of products. The scented, pediatric facemask was a refinement of a mask the company had already developed for patients of all ages. Designed with a clear, flexible crown for monitoring the patient's condition, the first mask was a great success-widely recognized, Burrow says, as the best available. The company later began making scented masks for adult patients.
"We took an inclusive team approach to working with and servicing our customers," Burrow says. Customers are assured that King Systems will train them in use of its products, and that the products are of highest quality. To improve production, the firm seeks employee input on what it is doing. To encourage job attendance, 1 percent of sales goes into a pool from which monthly bonuses are given workers who meet predetermined attendance standards. Department heads meet regularly over lunch to keep everyone informed.
Inventory and receivables are closely monitored, reducing need for cash. Attention to manufacturing processes enables the company to ship customized orders in five to seven days. It boasts that its inventory turns over 24 times a year.
King Systems' sales, growing more than 25 percent annually for five years, reached $19.5 million in 1994. The company's original staff of two has grown to 197, and it expects that the plant it has occupied since 1990, which is double the size of its previous quarters, soon won't be large enough.
Says Kevin Burrow: "Our goal is to be a small business with BIG sales." King Systems is progressing toward that goal.