Sandra Westlund-Deenihan, president and majority owner of Schaumburg, Ill.-based Quality Float Works Inc., isn't afraid to think big. In fact, she points to her large-business mentality as the key to keeping the small manufacturer afloat -- particularly during recent recessions.
"Innovation, diversification and the opportunity to compete in a global marketplace have all equally contributed to our company's success," says Westlund-Deenihan, a third-generation manufacturer.
Quality Float Works evolved from a metal spinning business that her grandfather founded in 1915. Westlund-Deenihan bought a majority stake in the company (formerly known as Chicago Float Works) in 1995 when her father passed away.
Up until the last decade, Westlund-Deenihan notes, the company focused on making "floats" -- hollow metal balls used to level liquid controls -- and sold them to manufacturers of sump pumps. But "the entrepreneurial spirit excels in our darkest hours," as Westlund-Deenihan puts it, and the economic tailspin set in motion by 9/11 forced Quality Float Works to reinvent itself.
With the help of her son, Jason Speer -- who visited more than 80 countries to seek out new markets and applications for the company's products -- Westlund-Deenihan in 2003 launched the Quality Float Valve Division. The new division expanded the company's product line to include entire metal float assemblies (consisting of a metal float ball, valve and rod) and helped the company target new applications for its products, such as desalination and purification of water systems in developing nations and here in the U.S.
"My grandpa and my dad believed you do one thing and do it well, but you can't have a 1960s attitude and survive in this global marketplace," Westlund-Deenihan says.
Since then, Quality Float Works' international business has been growing steadily, with customers in countries such as Belgium, China, India, Germany, Mexico, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. Westlund-Deenihan estimates that nearly 25% of the company's revenues in 2009 came from overseas sales, and she notes that Quality Float Works in 2008 achieved the highest revenues in company history -- in no small part due to exports.
"It just goes to show that if a little company like ours can export and find customers overseas, anybody can," says Westlund-Deenihan. "You just have to step your toe in the international sandbox."
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