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In his suit and tie, James Howie doesn't look like Ben or Jerry, the middle-aged T-shirt boys who run a multimillion ice cream business. But Howie's sentiments sound like theirs. He talks of the "warm feeling" he gets from running his own company and his satisfaction in "doing something positive for the environment." Howie is president, CEO and part-owner of Costa Mesa-based Fluid Recycling Service Inc. The company specializes in the purification and recycling of coolants and fluids used in the metalworking industry. Rather than selling recycling equipment, as do its competitors, Fluid Recycling operates a fleet of mobile units with trained technicians who perform recycling and treatment procedures on site. (excerpt)
In his suit and tie, James Howie doesn't look like Ben or Jerry, the middle-aged T-shirt boys who run a multimillion ice cream business. But Howie's sentiments sound like theirs. He talks of the "warm feeling" he gets from running his own company and his satisfaction in "doing something positive for the environment."
Howie is president, CEO and part-owner of Costa Mesa-based Fluid Recycling Service Inc. The company specializes in the purification and recycling of coolants and fluids used in the metalworking industry. Rather than selling recycling equipment, as do its competitors, Fluid Recycling operates a fleet of mobile units with trained technicians who perform recycling and treatment procedures on site.
Howie predicts 1990 sales will reach $3.5 million, more than double 1989's figures of $1.4 million. The bulk of that comes from such industrial giants as General Dynamics, Hughes, Northrop, Rockwell International and TRW.
"We believe we're the nation's leader in this embryonic technology," Howie says.
Before taking over the helm at Fluid Recycling, Howie rose through the corporate ranks at Wynn Oil Co., a $50 million subsidiary of Wynn's International. In 1976, he joined Wynn Oil as a general manager of its industrial division. Three years later, Howie transferred to Crager Industries, another Wynn's International division, as vice president of marketing.
In 1982, at age 41, Howie returned to Wynn Oil as president and CEO. But after four intense years of attending meetings around the world, he was ready for a change, preferably one that allowed him to stay in California.
In early 1985, Wynn Oil purchased Fluid Recycling from its entrepreneurial owner, operating it more as a research project than a business. Seeing an opportunity, Howie and several other investors shortly thereafter engineered a leveraged buyout of Fluid Recycling.
With his investment of $100,000 of his own money, Howie became owner of 55 percent of the new company. That sent him well on his way toward his dream of being in business for himself in an emerging industry.
"In starting a company from scratch, you have the greatest opportunity to develop the type of environment and atmosphere that you want to work in," Howie says.
But if Howie was looking forward to a more relaxed lifestyle, someone should have warned him that attempting to sell the services of a newborn company in an undeveloped marketplace was not the way to go. Nor was it the way to instant riches. His income dropped dramatically when he left Wynn Oil.
Newly at the helm of Fluid Recycling, Howie found himself working 60 to 70 hours a week. His wife Mary Kay, who for years had taken care of their three sons, became the manager of customer service, and worked the same long hours as her husband. Even their sons were pressed into service, pitching in to run errands.
Contrary to his expectations, Howie's experience from years in the corporate environment didn't fully equip him to face the hurtles he faced with his new company.
"One thing I didn't know about starting a business is the amount of effort needed to overcome some of the obstacles in the marketplace," Howie says.
"I found out that the experience I had prior to starting the company wasn't nearly as important as what I've learned since. When you start a business from scratch, you basically spend all your time raising money to grow the business."
Last September, Fluid Recycling received much-needed investor financing. In exchange for that capital, Howie reduced his ownership in the company to 20 percent.
"Now we have the money we need to grow the business The dilemma of the entrepreneur is whether or not to give up control in the interest of bringing money into the business Somewhere along the line a lot of people came to the conclusion that I did -- it's better to have a company that is properly capitalized."
With the new influx of capital, Howie plans to increase Fluid Recycling's number of operations from two companies in California to five nationwide. Companies in Georgia, Connecticut and Ohio are scheduled to open by the end of the year. Other prospective locales include Michigan, Illinois and Pennsylvania.
Howie has been successful with Fluid Recycling, says Richard Proctor, the company's vice president and general manager, because he is committed, savvy and realistic.
"In the early years, we were ahead of the marketplace. You could still dispose of hazardous wastes for 18 cents a gallon in 1985. That took a lot of commitment to wait for the market to develop.
"He's savvy in that when he walks into a new situation, he can synthesize his experiences to come up with the right way to approach something. And he has not put unrealistic expectations on his employees.
"Jim has a lot of drive. If you put an obstacle in front of him he finds a way to get around it or over it. That is the critical element in running a new business, because things don't go smoothly," Proctor says.
Howie's corporate career taught him how to present himself and his company to the customer.
"Not just Jim, but his team, too, is very, very professional and knowledgeable," says Rudy Tromba, plant engineer at Irvine-based Kaiser Electroprecision.
Howie and Proctor sought Tromba's business in 1986. Ever since, he has employed their company to recycle the water-soluble oil coolant used in the Kaiser machine shop.
"They assured us that what they did was the right thing to do, and they supported it with a lot of information that had been gained from research," Tromba says.
Kaiser Electroprecision continues to be pleased with Fluid Recycling. "Their services have improved rather than just stayed the same over the years," says Tromba.
Changes in the marketplace have contributed to the growth of Fluid Recycling. There is an increased awareness of the needs for alternatives to off-site disposal, Howie says. Once viewed as too expensive, recycling is often yet the least expensive alternative to disposal.
"We don't haul anything across the roads," he says. "There is no danger of spilling things, illegal disposal and all the other problems that have plagued the industry in the past."
When presenting the company to a new prospect, Howie and his team stress that Fluid Recycling's method of recycling coolants and oils enables the prospective company to comply with regulations prohibiting the disposal of hazardous waste. Fluid Recycling's ability to treat and recycle on site eliminates future liability because nothing is hauled away. Plus, says Howie, this method costs less than alternatives such as purchasing and operating recycling equipment for in-house operation.
The future of the recycling industry is promising. "We see sharp increases in the next decade in the number of people recycling. The technology exists today in America to probably recycle 90 percent of the waste that's generated by industry. But it's not packaged in a marketable manner or, in some cases, cost-effective enough," says Howie.
"We feel that one of the major ways of solving these problems in the future will be businesses such as ours."
CORPORATE PROFILE
CORPORATE PROFILE
Company: Fluid Recycling Headquarters: Costa Mesa Employees: 50 (expected to more than double in 1990) Service: Recycling and purification of coolants and fluids used in the metalworking industry. Sales: 1990 projected, $3.5 million; 1989, $1.4 million
PERSONAL PROFILE
Age: 49 Native of: Michigan Current residence: South Laguna Wife: Mary Kay Children: Jim, 26; Bill, age 25; Andy, 23
Copyright CBJ, L. P. Mar 19, 1990