Team:
Happy new year! As we get through the final days of January, we are completing our 2007 individual performance evaluations, our individual and company goal forecast for 2008, as well as our 5 top general organization goals.
We will have a company-wide meeting the second week in February to address our 2007 results as well as our company plans and objectives for 2008. The good news is we have continued to increase our year over year revenue during 2007. We were not quite at the goal we established for the year; however, we continued to increase our revenue, market share and contribution by over 15%.
This year, our outlook will be explosive as our company goal will be to more than double our sales. So far, we are off to a great start and many of our new business initiatives are continuing to move forward daily.
We are now seeing outstanding detail from a “cost allocation” standpoint, and this information is assisting us with the proper costs associated to service each of our clients. As we continue to adapt to the marketplace as well as our unique customer requirements, we are making the changes necessary to insure our service levels are second to none in our industry. Providing the best solutions in our industry costs money, but the benefits our customers receive from partnering with Apto will assure our continued success as a team.
Our facility and numerous production lines are continuing to take shape every day. To this day, one of our best methods of acquiring business is to simply present our facility organization, our back-end systems and how we integrate our solutions to exceed our customer’s requirements, and most importantly each of you – the world class team we have in place to solve their issues.
That gets us to another point of what we are doing and what I love about Apto. Many of us have worked for large organizations within industries that were considered mature. The opportunity we have is in the creation of a new industry – an industry that is burgeoning – we are one of the thought leaders, and our methodology and team is among the best already, and yet we are still a young company!
One of the past organizations I worked for in 1993 was the first company to provide their field sales representatives with laptops. They were IBM ThinkPads and there were over 5000 reps in the organization. It was a great win for IBM and an excellent tool for us to use in the field. Now, one of the questions the world is concerned about is what happens to the data on that device and what do we do when a newer, faster, and better device becomes available?
Since that time, I alone have had 20 + different computers and laptops. We live in a world of innovation and consumption, and I haven’t even mentioned the number of cell phones I’ve used on an individual level. At the end of this quarter, there will be a major Executive Conference sponsored by the Wall Street Journal, ECO:nomics, and its focus is “Where Business Meets The Environment”, whereas many of our world’s top leaders including Schwarzenegger and Immelt (General Electric) will be participating.
The focus of this summit will be around “New business opportunities materializing thanks to regulation, new technologies, and a growing sense that a world reliant on finite resources must adapt.” Our mission everyday to assist the business world with the aforementioned realities, and we have been addressing these concerns for years. Our mission is relevant and our solutions among the best.
Our world must evolve and work to address the lifecycle of IT and Telecommunications equipment. We are all a part of these needed solutions in the development of compliant Re-use and Recycling programs for the world’s largest companies.
It is a fantastic time in the history of Apto, and 2008 is going to be a break out year. It is a great opportunity to be a leader in the creation of an industry focused on improving the environment while allowing our civilization to take advantage of our continuing technological innovation.
Most importantly, it is an honor for Jeff and I to be a part of a world class organization with such an outstanding team. Thank you for your contribution and get ready for an exciting 2008!
James Kilkelly
