|
WALKING THE TALK - JAN BLITTERSDORF, CEO and President -
NRG SYSTEMS
Jan Blittersdorf is CEO of NRG Systems, a world leader in
making wind measurement systems sold on every continent and 115 countries. In 1982 Jan’s husband, David Blittersdorf,
founded the company in the kitchen of his rented Bristol, Vermont home. Headquartered in Hinesburg, Vermont, NRG
currently employs 65 people and has grown rapidly in recent years, with sales
over of $29 million in 2006 and rising 30 percent yearly. What makes NRG Systems remarkable is not
only its growth but also the way it operates, walking the talk as a company
committed to socially responsible business practices and renewable energy. After she joined the company as CFO and
vice-president in 1987, Jan Blittersdorf crafted over the years a progressive
compensation and benefits package and developed a hiring system that has helped
create a vibrant organization of dedicated employees. NRG Systems is the winner of a statewide
award as one of the “Best Places to Work” in Vermont, a kudo reinforced by
national recognition from the American Psychological Association for its
healthy workplace environment. The most
conspicuous representation of the company’s passionate dedication of putting
technology in service to the planet is its 46,000 square foot manufacturing and
office headquarters tucked into a hillside where it operates on solar power,
wind and wood pellets. The headquarters
is one of the greenest, most environmentally friendly and energy efficient
manufacturing facilities in the nation, achieving the rare gold standard LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification developed by the
U.S. Green Building Council. When NRG’s
building opened in 2005 it was one of only four manufacturing facilities in the
world to receive gold level LEED certification.
The building, which uses one-fourth of the energy of similar-sized manufacturing
facilities, makes extensive use of natural lighting and the interior features
non-toxic materials which contribute to healthy indoor air quality.
WindEnergyNews.com interviewed Jan in her office at the
award-winning building.
WIND ENERGY NEWS: NRG Systems has adopted the socially
responsible business philosophy and mission of the triple bottom line of
people, profit and planet. Why is this
approach important to you personally and NRG systems as a business?
JAN BLITTERSDORF: We didn’t begin with the multiple bottom
line in mind. When NRG Systems started
25 years ago, all we wanted to do was offer a good product and make money, like
any other business. The multiple bottom
line philosophy evolved over the years, driven by the simple reason that it
made good business sense. The benefits
program and hiring practices were developed to retain good employees, keep
turnover low, allow people to enjoy
their work and be productive, and to receive what they deserved from the
company for their dedication and hard work .
So I started building the benefits package, proceeding gradually and
very carefully, offering one thing at a time so we wouldn’t have to pull it
back, and hiring slowly so we wouldn’t over-hire and then be susceptible to
layoffs, which we’ve never had to do. We
instituted a profit-sharing program seven or eight years ago to allow employees
to share in the financial success. While
the multiple bottom line was something we did not originally intend to do, over
time it worked well and now feels
natural and the right thing to do.
WIND ENERGY NEWS: What are you doing to advance the multiple
bottom line philosophy in Vermont and the wind industry in general?
JAN BLITTERSDORF: The multiple bottom line has become so
deeply embedded in my consciousness that I have become an earnest student and very
interested in the whole concept and what it means for businesses in society. My education has been furthered by being on
the board of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility whose mission is to
further those principles. The
organization has been very valuable to me because of the great sharing by very
engaged people who approach socially responsible business from different points
of view.
As to advancing these principles in the wind industry. That’s a provocative question for me. My husband David and I have been in this
industry for more than 20 years. The
people who started the industry were idealists who deeply believed wind energy
was the greatest thing coming. That’s
not necessarily the case anymore. People
are now coming into the wind industry because it’s a real business, because
it’s an investment opportunity, and because there’s good money to be made. I see a change in the conversations at wind
conferences from the environmental idealism in the past to dollar signs
today. But it’s not all bad. It is wonderful that wind is attracting
investment and growing to now give wind power a solid place in the energy
playing field. But there is that flip
side. The newer players are some of the
big utilities and their portfolio is nuclear and oil and wind. I suspect they are not as committed or
passionate about renewable energy as a solution to environmental degradation as
were the pioneers of the wind industry.
WIND ENERGY NEWS: Has
there been any interest by larger companies in acquiring NRG Systems?
JAN BLITTERSDORF: Yes, but we’ve turned down the offers. We are still young enough, ambitious enough,
and having too much fun to sell.
WIND ENERGY NEWS: In
2004 you took over as CEO of NRG Systems.
You had previously been company VP and CFO. Your husband founded the company in 1982 and
preceded you as CEO, stepping down to become Chief Technical Officer. What have been some of the challenges and
lessons for you in this transition?
JAN BLITTERSDORF: Many.
I humorously describe it to others as being part of a social
experiment. I don’t know many husband
and wife teams who have built a business together and have done what we have
done in terms of switching our roles.
David is a great entrepreneurial leader.
I’ve been described as a business organization leader. He was wise enough to recognize the skills of
an entrepreneur which work so well in a small, growing concern often don’t work
well when the company reaches a certain level or size and structure. One of the big lessons we learned is that we
could have done much better in the transition.
I think I would have insisted on at least a year of still maintaining my
role as CFO and David staying on as CEO and working with the knowledge that the
transition would occur in a year rather than an abrupt switch. But in the end all’s well that ends well and
I’m enjoying the CEO role.
WIND ENERGY NEWS: The
wind power industry is booming and with it NRG Systems is growing, which one
suspects means more employees and responsibilities. What are you doing to train other people in
management as it becomes more difficult for you to handle many duties?
JAN BLITTERSDORF: My
biggest job here is in fact how to manage our tremendous growth. We were a $29 million company at the end of
2006. In 2000, we were a $7 million
company. We had a management team in place when David was CEO. But it was small and underdeveloped. When I took the role I decided change was
needed. If we are going to grow and
become a $30 million or $50 million company there had to be competent,
autonomous people underneath me who would be self-directed and take
initiative. So that’s what I’ve been
doing the last 2 ½ years, building an inner-directed management team.
WIND ENERGY NEWS: Do
you plan any other manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and overseas?
JAN BLITTERSDORF:
Currently it’s not in the plan but it’s always in our thoughts. We built our current 46,000 square foot
facility in 2004 with the idea it was going to last for ten years. Here it is almost 3 years later and amazingly we are adding
on another 31,000 square feet. There’s
only so much building you can do to accommodate the level of growth we are
seeing and eventually we have to look at another model and decide what that
model is going to be. I am not very
comfortable with the idea of manufacturing in a foreign country. So I’m pushing us to test the boundaries of
how far we can go by staying in-house or with partnerships with U.S.
suppliers. If one is creative there are
opportunities in keeping production and the supply line within national borders. Those are the kinds of discussions we are
having. Maybe I’m being idealistic
saying this but I do believe there could be a shift coming back from China in
the not too distant future. Everyone is
there because of the cheap labor and the cheap commodities. But there is a strong possibility that
industries may start coming back in search of local suppliers and sources to
avoid increasing energy costs for transportation. I’d rather be developing those relationships
now and having a strong connection with suppliers before everybody comes
rushing back.
WIND ENERGY NEWS: Can NRG Systems continue to grow and
maintain its socially responsible business approach to management?
JAN BLITTERSDORF: Why
not! As I said before, it just makes
good business sense to be socially responsible and pay attention to the
multiple bottom line. Our turnover is
virtually zero and that’s because people are happy here. They feel connected to the business and share
in the profits. It’s exhilarating for
everyone in the company at all levels to see growing sales and knowing with certainty they will be sharing the profits.
WIND ENERGY NEWS: Women CEOs are still a minority in the
business world and uncommon at the top rungs of the wind industry. What needs to be done to attract and promote
women in the wind business? What are
the opportunities for women in the wind energy field?
JAN BLITTERSDORF: I
think the opportunities are endless for women in our industry. I personally feel like a hot commodity as a female
CEO. I’m getting requests to be on
boards, to speak and be on committees like crazy and I’m never sure whether I
should be flattered or not because some of it is related to the fact that I’m
female. Organizations want rounded
boards, they want more women business leaders on their boards and so they are
asking. The business world has
recognized that women have a place at the table and groups are more effective
when they have a mix of genders in terms of decision making and consensus
building and everything else. I’m aware
of statistics that young girls are not pursuing technical fields and it’s a
huge challenge and I know there are organizations devoted to encouraging women
to enter into technical fields. But with
the maturity of the wind industry women don’t necessarily have to be engineers or technical people. A new organization called Women of Wind
Energy is doing a fine job in encouraging women to not only join but stay in
the industry. An article in the Harvard
Business Review about women and ambition found two things that are important
for someone to realize their aspirations.
Skills and recognition. The
barriers to women getting skills are quickly falling away because women can go
to college and graduate school and find positions. The recognition piece is the key barrier
today. Are women being properly rewarded
for their hard work and job accomplishments?
Are they being promoted for their achievements? Providing recognition for women by society
is going to encourage them to stay in positions, pursue their ambitions and
lead companies in the future rather than giving up.
WIND ENERGY NEWS: What does the U.S. have to do to catch up
with Europe in wind energy?
JAN BLITTERSDORF:
Sound vision and solid political leadership is necessary. Whether that means a national initiative
related to wind or national renewable portfolio
standards, I don’t know. But something
that shows a commitment to this critical renewable energy industry and making
it easy for all 50 states to develop wind energy. There was a debate at the
last AWEA show on the podium whether you can rely upon private enterprise to
lead the way, even going so far as removing the production tax credit and
letting the competitive spirit be the sole driver, or whether wind development
needs to be part of a strong governmental initiative. One speaker reminded us that national
electrification that gave access to the grid to all levels of the economic
system could not have occurred without aggressive public policy. The key question for all of us to ask and
answer is what is required to progress toward a cleaner, better energy future
that’s not going to destroy the environment for future generations. Of course, the wind industry itself must
continue to forge ahead with projects.
In addition to federal leadership there also needs to be state
action. The states are responsible for
permitting and they need to make it easier and more predictable for wind energy
developers. And there needs to be more
collaboration between the states and the wind industry. Gamesa, the Spanish wind turbine
manufacturer, recently built four manufacturing plants in Pennsylvania. The governor of Pennsylvania made that
happen. He actively wooed them to come
into the state and they’ve turned old steel mills into manufacturing facilities
which created many jobs.
WIND ENERGY NEWS: How well do you see your company and other
U.S. based suppliers to the wind industry competing in the global wind
marketplace?
JAN BLITTERSDORF: NRG
Systems is competing very well. We export between 60 to 70 percent of our
product to the global market. We’ve been
doing that for the life of the company.
Without our exporting ability we would have had a hard time
succeeding. After the Carter years a lot
of renewable energy companies went out of business. We made a decision to look
beyond the states and start supplying the world with wind measurement
equipment. It’s been incredibly
successful. We sell to about 115
different countries and our products are everywhere.
WIND ENERGY NEWS: There has been an increasing debate about
the merits of wind energy as this source of power has exploded in growth
recently. Questions of reliability,
siting, environmental impacts, community opposition, subsidization, and so
forth. What is your view of the
environmental pros and cons of wind energy?
JAN BLITTERSDORF: It’s hard for me to think in terms of the
pros and cons, because to me there are so many positives. Wind Energy is clean, safe, endless,
renewable, it’s here and it’s viable.
The cons are hard to find when you compare them to the environmental
impacts of coal. I don’t care how you
clean it, coal still spews out huge amounts of CO2 and dirties our air. It is irresponsible to burden future
generations to stand vigil over radioactive waste from nuclear power for
thousands of years. Some wildlife issues
can be real, but they are being studied very carefully and are usually easily
managed on a site-by-site basis. The amount of birds killed by a wind turbine
is small compared to the numbers killed by house cats and office
buildings. Aesthetics is a challenge,
because beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Some people look at a wind farm and see them as blights on the
landscape. Other people find beauty in
wind turbines and some have become tourist attractions. And most of us find beauty from the fact
that wind energy is not contributing to global climate change that is so
destructive to nature.
WIND ENERGY NEWS: Where is NRG systems headed in the next
five to ten years. What are you
planning or doing to get there?
JAN BLITTERSDORF: NRG
still has a lot of ambition and the company enjoys riding the rising wave of
the growth of wind power. This business
is exciting and a labor of love. Our
strategic planning is crucial in charting the company’s course and is concerned
with answering questions about how every manager in the company can stay
abreast of what’s happening in the world energy picture, and in the wind industry, and how do we
maintain our leadership position. We
want to stay within our wind measurement niche and expand that niche in terms
of what we can do with it. The next five
to ten years is more of the same.
Growth.
WIND ENERGY NEWS: The NRG headquarters building is unique,
possibly one of the most energy efficient and self-sufficient office and
manufacturing structures in the world.
Tell us about it?
JAN BLITTERSDORF: We
were in a regular old sheet metal building for the first 20 years of our
existence that had nothing going for it energy efficiency wise or greenness or
anything else. When we started to
outgrow it we decided the replacement would represent a company deeply
concerned about climate change and at the cutting edge of renewable energy. We wanted to walk the talk. We also wanted a building which protected
the business from any future energy crises, a very practical consideration in
this day and age. If we couldn’t operate
our business and heat it or have electricity we are not going to get our
measurement products out to the wind industry even if they were demanding
them. One of the first things we did as
part of the planning process for a new building was to look at energy
consumption by the business to the smallest level of detail. We put a power meter to anything and
everything that consumed energy. We
found interesting things. For instance,
we switched to laptops since desktops because of their monitors are total
energy hogs. Once you’ve intensely
investigated and planned reducing energy demand in daily operations, the next
step is to design a building system which is superinsulated, day lit, as energy
efficient as possible and add on to that on-site power generation. We hired a great architect who had been
designing green buildings for twenty years.
At first we did not realize we had built a monument to
sustainability. After the building was
up and running the phones started ringing, to our utter amazement. People wanted to come and see our
building. We now provide tours to
business groups and to the public twice a month. And we’ve learned a lot from people who’ve
come through. It’s been so satisfying
and interesting to walk the talk with this building.
Click logo to link to NRG Systems
NRG Systems
PO Box 0509
Hinesburg, Vermont 05461
USA
Telephone: 802-482-2255
|
