THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 26, 1995 TAG: 9505240193
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 118 lines
EARL INDUSTRIES in Portsmouth has merged with Digital Systems Research in Arlington, creating a company twice as strong as either was alone, the Portsmouth company's president said Tuesday.
Jerrold Miller said each company had an average of $35 million in sales over the past two years and each company had more than 300 employees.
Earl Industries is a down-river ship repair business. DGR is a computer systems integration company.
``The merger puts us in a stronger position to continue this company into the next century,'' he said. ``People look at size and assets when you're going after bigger jobs.''
DSR was an Inc. 500 choice this year and the top Virginia pick among the Inc. 500 companies represented during a conference here last week.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the merger activities, Miller took time last week to receive a Blue Chip Enterprise Initiative award, sponsored by Nation's Business magazine, Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co. and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The company will be featured in a book, ``Real-World Lessons for America's Small Businesses,'' published annually by Nation's Business.
``The award recognizes companies that survive and prosper during times of adversity,'' Miller said.
The ship repair business has been considered rough in recent years, he said.
``But more important than awards to me is the way this company has grown in a very tough business,'' Miller said. ``We are doing a lot of work all over the world now.''
The bottom line, he said, is positive.
Earl Industries takes repair services to ships, rather than have ships come to a repair yard. In recent years, Miller said, the company has expanded to work on off-shore facilities as well as ships in port.
``We have a crew right now working on an oil rig off the Gulf Coast, another working in Singapore on off-shore generators, and another in Malaysia working on an oil rig,'' he said. ``You got to go where the work is.''
Miller said his company has been innovative to come up with solutions to do successful ``down river'' work.
``A customer can pay us to travel halfway around the world to do the work and save themselves money,'' he said. ``We do the job in place while others remove the equipment to work on it.''
Earl Industries was started in 1984 by Jim Earl, a Native American, and his son, Frank Wagner. Miller and Wagner had been classmates at the U.S. Naval Academy, and when Miller got out of the Navy in 1984, he joined the company.
Miller, an engineer, bought Earl Industries in 1989.
``We had 60 employees at that time,'' he said. ``As of May 1, we had 330 employees.''
Miller, who just celebrated his 40th birthday, is a quiet, unassuming guy who admits that ``white collar was never my style.'' He comes to work at 7:30 every morning to chair a staff meeting.
``I never miss a day,'' he said. ``I want to be here. I enjoy getting up and coming to work.''
He attributes his attitude to the fact that he ``grew up in a small business'' in Amsterdam, N.Y., where his father operated a used car parts business. An aerial photograph of his parents' home surrounded by acres of junk cars hangs on his office wall.
Since the merger with Digital Systems Research, he has ordered himself a computer to facilitate integration of the two businesses.
In effect, Miller sold his assets to Willie Woods, owner of DSR, and will serve as president of the new company's Marine and Industrial Group.
The group includes not only the original Earl Industries but also United Coatings and Hampton Roads Metal, two subsidiaries started last year by Miller in the building that formerly housed Volvo in Port Norfolk.
Earl Industries is headquartered in Port Norfolk by fate.
``We had started up in an office in Virginia Beach and were doing a lot of work here at the Coast Guard Base and across the river in Norfolk,'' Miller said. ``So we rented the old roller skating rink in this block (Mount Vernon Avenue). We had four people then and we thought we'd never use all the space.''
As it turned out, the company did expand and Miller bought the building when he bought the company. Over the past six years, he's constructed more buildings and bought more property.
``I own the whole block except for one home,'' he said. ``We're not going anywhere.''
When the two new companies were started up, he expanded to the former Volvo building.
``Actually I don't want to talk about it, but I feel some expansion coming on right now,'' Miller said, breaking into a grin.
Although he keeps expanding the company here, Miller has lived in Virginia Beach since he came here with the Navy.
``A lot of people get scared off of Portsmouth by the tunnels, but I don't find that's a problem,'' he said. ``Portsmouth is a great place.''
Miller said he has been able to get ``the right people'' for the Portsmouth-based operation.
``My goal is to gather the best people to do the best job,'' he said. ``People always are my priority and we've never had a substantial layoff.''
Miller said he'll call Moon Engineering, a Portsmouth shipyard, to see if they need certain workers and if they do, he'll lease his workers to them.
``They call us when they have workers available,'' he said. ``We do this with other companies too but you have to get with people who have values similar to your own.''
Miller said he and Willie Woods at DSR hit it off because they have similar values and work habits even though the Arlington company is mostly white collar and Earl is mostly blue collar.
``The merger is good because it will combine the blue and white,'' Miller said. ``But the companies are about the same size and we do different work for the same customer base.''
Woods is the major owner but Miller still owns part of the company.
``I don't want to get out of the business,'' Miller said. ``But this merger was a good move for Jerry Miller and his companies. It was the right thing to do for all the employees. We'll go after bigger jobs and offer more opportunities for the employees over the next 10 years.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Jerrold Miller, president of Earl Industries, has received a Blue
Chip Enterprise Initiative award for prospering ``during a time of
adversity.''
by CNB