Fluke president handles
biz growth, 3-year-old

By Linda Thomas
Special to the SCBJ

With a calm confidence, Fluke President Barbara Hulit predicts the company will double in size in the next five years.

This is the first of the Snohomish County Business Journal’s quarterly profiles of VIPs — Very Interesting People. Presented with a well-researched but friendly, comfortable tone and feature-story style, the series offers readers the opportunity to get to know the people who make the county’s business community successful — and interesting. — John Wolcott, SCBJ Editor

“Preparing for growth is at the top of my list,” Hulit said. “We see opportunity in the marketplace, and I’m going to make sure we’re well suited to go after it.”

Everett-based Fluke, maker of precision electronic testing tools and measuring equipment, is already two times bigger than it was before the Danaher Corp. acquired it in 1998.

Washington, D.C.-based Danaher was a client of Hulit’s when she worked for the Boston Consulting Group, and the transition to the executive office has been a natural one for her.

Hulit’s first impression of Fluke — a “phenomenal company with unmatched people and products” — came during a visit to the headquarters a few years before the acquisition.

Those opinions were reinforced as Hulit, 39, went through an immersion process with Danaher last summer. She spent three months on shop floors talking to employees, rolling up her sleeves to manufacture products and sitting in on design reviews.

When Hulit came on board as Fluke’s president, she became the first woman in charge of the company. But she’s not intimidated by being one of the few female executives in the industry.

“I think if Fluke weren’t as deeply entrenched as it is, then people might care more or less who’s sitting in the president’s chair,” said Hulit. “It’s not an issue because our customers know what Fluke stands for.”

One of the company’s strengths, she said, is that it still follows the standards John Fluke Sr. set when he made the first VAW (volts, amperes, watts) meter in the basement of his house in 1948. Those values include “giving the customer a little more than he paid for” and creating products that are “easy to use, robust, durable and high quality.”

Photo by Linda Thomas Fluke President Barbara Hulit says her top job is preparing the company for growth. She expects Fluke will double in size in the next five years.

Fluke has a group of researchers who spend all their time in the field with product users. Customers range from electricians and building engineers to computer network professionals.

“Some of our core users joke that when they die they want to be buried with their Fluke tools,” Hulit said.

Brand tracking studies show that the recognition of Fluke, which does business in more than 100 countries, is “unparalleled” in the precision tools industry. Research also indicates the company’s percentage of sales from products introduced in the last three years is roughly one-third.

“We understand our customer; we have a ton of ideas for products; and we have a great group of associates,” Hulit said. “My job is to put Fluke in a position to capitalize on the opportunities that are ahead.”

While the possibilities for Fluke excite her, spending time with her family energizes her.

Hulit and her husband have a 3-year-old son, who is sometimes more of a challenge to handle than her corporation is.

“Work is a far more rational place than my house,” she said with a smile. “The work force here is much more skilled.”

Hulit bikes and hikes around the area when she has a chance. She also enjoys music and once played the French horn. The instrument sounds like a “sick cow torture device” when she tries to play it, she admitted.

Instead, Hulit is tuning up Fluke by maintaining the strong brand and capturing new markets.

Linda Thomas is a free-lance writer based in Seattle.

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