Expertise at the Speed of Need -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 1/7/2003
Last Visited: 1/7/2003
The company's CEO, Connie S. Cook, became the first Kansas City-area business owner to receive the National Minority Small Business Person of the Year Award.A Native-American, Cook was selected to receive the honor in 2002 because of her achievements and the role she plays in furthering the progress of minority business development.
Cook and her husband, Mike, traveled to Washington D.C. in September to take part in a ceremony honoring her as the nation's top minority business owner.
"Everyone at EMR works extremely hard, and while we don't work with the goal of winning awards, it certainly feels nice to be recognized," said Cook.Cook was chosen from 11 finalists.
"Connie won at the district level, then tied for the regional award before going on to win the national award," said Rhonda Hardin, Cook's business opportunity specialist with the SBA."Connie won at the district level, then tied for the regional award before going on to win the national award," said Rhonda Hardin, Cook's business opportunity specialist with the SBA.
...
Cook said she expects the company to set another revenue record in the coming year.
To date, EMR has completed more than 5,600 environmental and construction projects at sites located in 34 states.Approximately one-third of the company's business involves industrial hygiene, one-third is involved in field services including remediation and construction, and the remaining third concentrates on investigations, risk assessments and database management.
EMR was initially started to provide environmental services to the railroad industry."I think every small business needs a niche and ours initially was the railroad," she said."We currently serve all class one railroad companies west of the Mississippi, as well as a number of short lines."
...
As the second largest property owners and fuel users in the nation, the railroads were a perfect target for environmental services, Cook added."We could provide them with everything from environmental clean-up to groundwater, soil site assessment, sampling and analysis," she said."There are a lot of compliance issues that are applicable to that industry that we've gotten involved with."
And although EMR has branched into many other areas, railroads remains 65 percent of the company's business."One of our future goals is to further expand our services into the railroad industry," Cook said.
Turnkey Solutions
...
A relationship-based company, Cook said clients often turn to them when faced with a variety of challenges.
"One example of that was written up recently in USA Today," she said."There was a hauntivirus fatality at one of Union Pacific's rail yards and the company turned to us for help."
EMR decontaminated 26 buildings in Union Pacific's rail yard in western Nebraska."There was no proof that the virus was actually there, but the company was so concerned that they cleaned up the yard anyway," she said."They wanted to do the right thing."
...
The Tulsa Corp has been working with Cook for about four years.
Cook said the company works on projects that range from $500 up to $35 million each year, "Our projects are extremely diverse because we do a lot of things the big boys won't do," she said."We really listen to our clients and provide them with options.There's not just one way of doing things and we let them know about that.We give clients a wide range of options to solve problems, which often saves money.We like to be innovative."
Outside the Box
...
A natural leader, Cook has an education, not a business degree."I always ended up being the leader of every group I belonged to," she said."When it came to starting a business I was told to be the best at what we do.That's the advice I've followed."
Because few employees at EMR have business degrees, the company is free to follow its own rules, Cook said.
"We don't follow the textbook way of doing things, which has enabled us to be more creative with our customers," she said.
For example, EMR has been a pioneer in the development and acceptance of railroad tie derived fuel (RTDF).Once considered a troublesome waste stream for the rail industry, RTDF is now considered an acceptable alternative for fuel.
EMR established a facility in Superior, Wisconsin, for the purpose of receiving used creosote ties and timbers by rail and processing them into a useable fuel.
EMR also used an innovative, safe and fast-acting oxidation technology to clean up petroleum-contaminated soil and groundwater at the Coose Head Air National Guard Station in Oregon.
...
Growth areas include homeland security and construction, Cook said."I think next year will be another breakout year for our company," she said."We're poised on the brink of some enormous growth."
From a three-employee office, the company has grown to 100 employees with eight primary service locations.An additional 12 project offices provide specialized services associated with a specific project or client.The company has plans to add two additional offices next year.
...
Entrepreneur: Connie S. Cook
...
- Connie S. Cook
17 online sources [ view sources ]
