Monday, Jan. 17, 1994, was a watershed date for McMillan Electric Co. (Woodville, WI), says Douglas McMillan, chairman and CEO. That was the day that McMillan met Ashok Thakkar and began what he calls a journey into professional quality management systems (QMS).
Incorporated in 1976, the company began to produce 2,000 electric fan motors per day with about 50 employees. A management team with significant experience in the motor industry coupled with low start-up costs yielded marketplace advantages and for the next 18 years the company remained ensconced in its fan market niche. Economies of scale stemming from a single product coupled with large production runs made it financially successful, McMillan says.