By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Grand Rapids-based DornerWorks has added so many employees since January 1 that the company has nearly outgrown an expanded space in less than a year — a space they expected to be in for at least three years.
DornerWorks, 3445 Lake Eastbrook Blvd. SE, specializes in electronic engineering for safety-critical markets, primarily the aerospace industry and the medical device industry.
After a local avionics company reorganized and eliminated several electronics engineering jobs, DornerWorks brought on 23 of those engineers to work in its avionic division, bringing the total employees to 55.
“I’ve always heard that luck is where opportunity meets preparation,” says Tim Walker, spokesperson. “We bought our new building and doubled in physical size, brought in new equipment, and that prepared us for the growth in personnel. These folks came from one of the leading aviation companies in the world and that let us get the best and the brightest.”
The firm is on track for $10 million in revenue this year, about a 50 percent increase over last year. The goal is to expand nationwide with expert avionics services for large aerospace corporations.
“The new engineers give us the size and capacity to do this,” Walker notes. “We’re putting together the sales force right now, and the big push for 2009 is to move from being a regional provider to being a national provider.
“At this point we’re taking a wait-and-see attitude before hiring more. We want to be sure we act responsibly and take care of the people we have. We’re like the snake that swallowed the elephant; we want to make sure we can digest it.”
Source: Tim Walker, DornerWorks, Ltd.; Rebecca Howe, Lambert Edwards & Associates
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Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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