Past Winner Stories
Buztronics
www.buztronics.com
Buz Lewis took a clunky, staid promotional product and gave it new life and appeal by using technology to solve a design problem. Thus was Buztronics - the flashing button company - born. That fun-filled initial product is now seen on lapels at football games, in restaurants and bars all over the country.
But a lawsuit, the death of a partner and the unhappy realization that the company was losing money, forced Lewis to start managing the company himself including negotiating a fledgling partnership with a Chinese company. He also had to keep his focus on the research and design that had put Buztronics on the cutting edge of the promotional products industry.
This crisis required new strategies. Lewis was able to use some of Buztronics' products to entice retired banker Terry Sanderson into helping the foundering company. Sanderson was so impressed with the reception the company's Harley Davidson products received at an annual rally that he signed on to help.
The next important step was bringing in a turnaround consultant to help the company work with vendors to clear up debt and find a new financial partner. These strategies bought the company time while Sanderson worked with Lewis to stabilize the company.
A few months later, Lewis ran into long-time acquaintance Jim Sullivan. Sullivan asked if he could stop by and tour Buztronics, and the rest is history. Sullivan made some personal sacrifices to come to Buztronics and soon became President. Lewis' title became CEO, and he once again concentrated on developing the exciting products that set Buztronics apart from the competition. Sullivan focused on sales and wooed Disney, Coca-Cola and many others as clients.
Sullivan and Lewis worked with Sanderson to reduce overall company debt and restructure the company. They also collaborated with their Chinese partner company to increase the number of products offered from one (the flashing button) to more than 50 over a three-year period. Using these and other initiatives, they were able to reduce long-term debt and fixed expenses while increasing sales.
Perhaps the most important change at Buztronics was the organizational challenge that was given to the employees. All employees started working together in a concerted effort to help the company move forward. Buztronics has several excellent employees who might otherwise have been ignored by the traditional labor market because of physical limitations or language barriers.
Over the past three years, Buztronics has shown remarkable growth. Although sales were stagnant for several years, hovering near the $5.4 million mark, in 1998 sales grew to $6.1 million. They've continued to skyrocket each year, leaping a staggering $10 million between 1999 and 2000. This year Buztronics is on track to produce $20 million in sales and has two of the top three best-selling items at Disney World. The scope of products produced by Buztronics, however, now ranges from the popular flashing buttons worn by servers in bars to electronic dice, shot glasses that play music and hospital tracking badges.
But a lawsuit, the death of a partner and the unhappy realization that the company was losing money, forced Lewis to start managing the company himself including negotiating a fledgling partnership with a Chinese company. He also had to keep his focus on the research and design that had put Buztronics on the cutting edge of the promotional products industry.
This crisis required new strategies. Lewis was able to use some of Buztronics' products to entice retired banker Terry Sanderson into helping the foundering company. Sanderson was so impressed with the reception the company's Harley Davidson products received at an annual rally that he signed on to help.
The next important step was bringing in a turnaround consultant to help the company work with vendors to clear up debt and find a new financial partner. These strategies bought the company time while Sanderson worked with Lewis to stabilize the company.
A few months later, Lewis ran into long-time acquaintance Jim Sullivan. Sullivan asked if he could stop by and tour Buztronics, and the rest is history. Sullivan made some personal sacrifices to come to Buztronics and soon became President. Lewis' title became CEO, and he once again concentrated on developing the exciting products that set Buztronics apart from the competition. Sullivan focused on sales and wooed Disney, Coca-Cola and many others as clients.
Sullivan and Lewis worked with Sanderson to reduce overall company debt and restructure the company. They also collaborated with their Chinese partner company to increase the number of products offered from one (the flashing button) to more than 50 over a three-year period. Using these and other initiatives, they were able to reduce long-term debt and fixed expenses while increasing sales.
Perhaps the most important change at Buztronics was the organizational challenge that was given to the employees. All employees started working together in a concerted effort to help the company move forward. Buztronics has several excellent employees who might otherwise have been ignored by the traditional labor market because of physical limitations or language barriers.
Over the past three years, Buztronics has shown remarkable growth. Although sales were stagnant for several years, hovering near the $5.4 million mark, in 1998 sales grew to $6.1 million. They've continued to skyrocket each year, leaping a staggering $10 million between 1999 and 2000. This year Buztronics is on track to produce $20 million in sales and has two of the top three best-selling items at Disney World. The scope of products produced by Buztronics, however, now ranges from the popular flashing buttons worn by servers in bars to electronic dice, shot glasses that play music and hospital tracking badges.