Published June 2001

Fluke Corp. president attributes growth to company's
PASSION for QUALITY

By John Wolcott
Herald Business Journal Editor

Wherever Fluke Corp. President Jim Lico travels around the globe, he feels good every time he sees a Fluke product. The more he travels, the better he feels. Fluke’s electronic test tools and software seem to be everywhere.

“Because we’re a global company I spend a lot of time on airplanes and in different cities. I’ve found that Fluke is one of the most well-known industrial brands in the world because of our company’s passion for serving customers and maintaining the quality of our products,” Lico said.

Heading the Everett-based technology company since September, Lico returned recently from his third marketing trip this year to China, a country that promises a growing market for Fluke products as the Chinese move into new technology plateaus.

“Large China-based businesses will continue to bring growth opportunities for us as they build power plants and infrastructure. One of our strategic growth perspectives is to establish (ourselves) in China,” Lico said.

When Congress passed legislation last year for improved trade relations between the United States and China, Linda Cheever, Fluke’s Vice President and General Manager of International Operations in Asia, welcomed the event as “wonderful news ... it’s our most important focus market for future growth.” Fluke’s sales in China grew by 60 percent in 2000 alone, she said.

“We feel good about our position globally. Half of our revenue now comes from outside the United States. We’re significantly more global than a lot of companies, so we also have a globally astute work force, which offers our employees a diverse set of opportunities,” Lico said.

Fluke’s product manuals are printed in 17 different languages, reflecting the company’s broad global markets, but no matter what market Lico focuses on, the company’s basic premise is the same as John Fluke Sr. originally established for the company.

“What stays the same about this company is that we have a passion for customers and quality,” Lico said. “We try to give the customer a little more than they ask for. The quality of our products is better than ever.”

Fluke’s engineers and marketing staff don’t just ask customers what they want, he said, they follow them around in their factories and other work areas to observe how they’re using the products.

“If you look at our products, most of them help the end-user be more productive. As electronics and computers become more pervasive, there is more need to accurately measure the effectiveness of circuit boards, electrical circuits in power plants and how machinery is operating, part of preventive maintenance. Our testing products help to find and solve problems that keep companies more competitive,” Lico said.

“We spend time in plants, see how they’re using our products, ask what we could do to make them more productive, higher quality and more reliable,” he said.

That has been the secret of Fluke’s success for decades, decades in which the company built a reputation for innovation and quality that recently was recognized by the Smithsonian Institution. The national museum selected Fluke’s testing tools for display because the company’s “no nonsense approach (to design) ... has changed the very standard by which such tools are measured,” according to Smithsonian officials.

Watching people use Fluke’s tools is the best way to be sure the company is making the right tool, said Fluke’s Design Director, George McCain.

“We want to discover how our customers will use the product,” he said. “And we go back and check to make sure we’ve got it right. We want rugged, durable products that are very easy to use and do exactly what you need to do.”

Most of the company’s sales are through its worldwide network of distributors, including firms such as Graybar and Granger, who sell to end-users.

Fluke is so focused on its tool line that a year ago it spun off its networking unit into a separate company, Fluke Networks, a division that was growing so steadily it was taking attention away from testing tools. The Networks spin-off offers Internet and data communication services, along with test tools for cable and fiber-optic systems and a hand-held network analyzer for technicians.

Lico said the company has gone through a recent effort similar to Boeing’s new lean manufacturing approach — working with less inventory, getting new products to market faster and driving quality to a high level where defects are “a rare occurrence.”

“My predecessor did a great job; there was no need for major changes when I became president,” Lico said. “Fluke is a classic great company trying to get better. Danaher, our parent company, also believes in being very results driven, helping customers do their jobs better every day.”

Fluke’s latest expansion into new fields came in mid-May when its parent firm, Washington D.C.-based Danaher, announced plans to buy Lifschultz Industries Inc. of American Fork, Utah.

Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Hart Scientific Inc., will retain its name but become part of Fluke Corp., giving Fluke and entry into the market for scientific and industrial temperature calibration equipment.

Discussing the Boeing Co. moving its headquarters from Seattle to Chicago, at least in part because of Washington state’s difficult business climate, Lico said Fluke has no intention of moving its world headquarters, but it still shares Boeing officials’ concerns.

“There are great people at Fluke, and we love this location, we think it’s the right place to be ... but I think there are some significant issues in terms of infrastructure that need to be dealt with, along with the cost of living, traffic congestion and energy.”

Fluke is the only U.S. manufacturer of products in its marketplace, Lico said, competing with plants in foreign countries where the cost of energy and production is lower.

“The current business climate problems are making it difficult for us. Utility (energy) increases alone are substantial, something we’re dealing with, but we’re very concerned about it. It’s disturbing to us and it needs to be dealt with,” said Lico.

“Fluke’s energy costs include product manufacturing as well as producing many of the electronic components for our products. Energy increases can’t be passed along to our customers,” he said.

“The frustration is not just the energy shortage or traffic congestion but that no one seems to be doing anything constructive about it. We have to go to contingency planning because we can’t get a solid solution from anyone,” Lico said.

Related: Fluke enters new market niche with Wavetek

Related: Fluke has a long history of innovation and community service

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