Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com June 15, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 5 PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. Valenti Maserati-Fiat | Hartford, Connecticut This building entertains two different dealerships. A Fiat car dealership and a Maserati dealership. The entire building was an interior and exterior renovation project. It was a complete renovation with high end finishes, ACM Panels, and new mechanical systems throughout. Project Size: 7,700 SF 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com PDS ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC. DESIGN BUILDERS • GENERAL CONTRACTORS • CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS SPOTLIGHT ON: Automotive THINK • PLAN • BUILD When Your When Your Business Business Relies on Relies on Technology, Technology, You Can Rely You Can Rely on Us. on Us. Technology Services Technology Services Network Systems and Support Network Security & Encryption Outsourced IT Department Cloud & Hybrid Back-up Systems Business Continuity Systems Outsourced CIO & CISO Services Consulting Services Consulting Services Non-profit Accounting Solutions Fundraising Solutions Software Selection Outsourced CFO Services Network Security Audits SSAE 16 / SOC 1, SOC 2 Audits HIPAA Security Compliance IT Policies and Procedures Business Continuity Planning ASK US ABOUT MICROSOFT OFFICE 365! 280 Trumbull St., 24th FL Hartford, CT 860.524.4400 www.TheTechnologyGroup.com Rodriques' transparency harvests employee buy-in By John Stearns jstearns@HartfordBusiness.com N orman Rodriques, president of Springfield Spring Corp., recently approached an employee in the com- pany's Bristol plant and fired off questions about the business. He asked if the employee knew the company's sales projection for the year, its profit margin, operating expenses, cost of goods sold, and pre-tax income. The employee, unfazed, answered yes to all. Rodriques then asked if the employee ever received a bonus check. He had. Then Rodriques asked what the bonus was based on. Pre-tax income, the employee answered. In the break room, Rodriques pointed to numbers on the wall showing monthly and annual financial measurements and how they compare to goals. It's part of the com- pany's adherence to open book manage- ment, which Rodriques credited with turn- ing the company around early last decade. "It just didn't save the company, it brought me to a different level of manage- ment," said Rodriques, 58, who considers himself a coach. It's all about business transparency, employees understanding how the busi- ness works and their role in its success. It's working, Rodriques said. The company has grown steadily and employees are awarded semi-annual bonuses that can reach 10 to 20 percent of gross pay, depending on com- pany and individual performance. Springfield Spring, based in East Long- meadow, Mass., makes springs, wire forms and fourslide stampings for indus- tries that include medical, firearms, light- ing, automotive, and industrial controls. Bristol hosts the Connecticut division. In 10 years practicing open book man- agement, the company has met or exceeded sales expectations, growing from $3.2 mil- lion in sales to a goal of $9.3 million this year, Rodriques said. The company, with 28 employees in Bristol, is growing its campus this month, leasing a 5,000 square-foot build- ing next door for medical manufacturing. Getting here wasn't easy. While the outgoing Rodriques had a gift for sales when he joined the company in 1986, he didn't fully understand Springfield Spring's financials until after he and Tina Malley bought the business in 2000. Mal- ley joined the company in 1990 as office manager to modernize its systems. After 9/11, sales slipped, the com- pany was floundering, and bankers were concerned. Then, Rodriques stumbled on a book about Jack Stack's open book management. He learned he had to run the company from a position of financial astuteness. He read all he could about accounting, hired a consultant, and devel- oped a business plan. By 2005, open book management was in place. He recommends it for owners who want to stimulate employees and help their business, but they must commit to it, he said. "Show 'em how this organism, this thing we call the business, show 'em how you survive," he said. "Allow them to help." Malley has been instrumental getting the company where it is, he said. "She's the other half of my success story," Rodriques said. "I could not have done this without her." They run the business as equals. Mal- ley, vice president, works out of East Longmeadow. Malley credits Rodriques' energy for involving employees and making open book management succeed. "Certainly we could just post numbers and people would call that open book management because we're sharing, but it's having [employees] engaged [that makes the difference]," Malley said. The company is one of Greater Hart- ford's largest minority-owned business- es. Rodriques, who grew up and lives in Southington and has three grown chil- dren, has a father of Portuguese descent and mother who was born in Puerto Rico. Being a certified minority-owned busi- ness is a marketing tool, he said. "However, you will never get me in front of a purchasing person waving a certified MBE flag," he said. "We stand on the merits of our pricing, our delivery, our performance metrics, our quality management system." Rodriques didn't imagine he'd do the heavy lifting of running a business when he graduated in 1979 with a physical edu- cation degree and dreams of following his father in teaching. He worked first as an insurance agent and was a body builder, capturing the Mr. Connecticut title in 1980. He competed in Mr. America in 1981 but realized that wasn't his destiny. Today, his focus is on building the busi- ness — with his people. n H B J P H O T O | J O H N S T E A R N S Norman Rodriques co-owns Springfield Spring Corp., which has its Connecticut operations based in Bristol. EXECUTIVE PROFILE Norman Rodriques President, Springfield Spring Corp. Highest education: Bachelor's in physical education, Southern Connecticut State University, 1979. Executive insights: " If you're a business person that has built something, and you really want it to stick around, then offer your employees an opportunity to participate in that same success."

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