Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephania Holland.
Stephania, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In 1996, I was working for an executive search firm, Kennedy and Company, in the Civic Opera Building in Downtown, Chicago. I had worked and interned at various jobs throughout college, and had graduated from DePaul University with a Communications Degree. Something that I’m pretty sure my parents thought was akin to basket weaving, but I always had a job, so they didn’t complain. My role at Kennedy and Company quickly evolved, and my first business mentor, Tom Moran had a big impact on dealing with negotiations and working with all different personalities. I was always up for a challenge. As fate would have it, he was involved in a start-up. He presented it like this, “He’s a real good guy, it will definitely be a challenge”. It was a one-man show. This other guy was a “Tom”, Tom Howland, he was selling industrial components. He had been sharing our office space, basically a closet at the end of the hall, for some time. He was moving to another office suite in the building, and had just hired his first employee.
It was just the opportunity I was looking for, direct impact to the viability of a business, hard work, and in a field I had absolutely no knowledge. I officially joined the start up in 1999, it was at that time called Global Industrial Products. The name was strategic to make us sound bigger. As we became bigger, we changed from this ‘generic’ name to celebrating our 20 year anniversary in by announcing we are now Howland Technology.
We have come a long way from selling basic hour meters and timers, to having a team skilled in multiple facets of industrial integration, focused on electric drive systems. We are partnered with top manufacturers, and we are the exclusive North American dealer to CFR Italy Electric Motors, Modena, Italy, the only certified integrator of Curtis Instruments, Mt. Kisco, NY, partnership with Auburn Gear E-Trac systems, and a gold level distributor for Kuebler Encoders and process indicators, World Magnetics Switches, Delta-Q Chargers, Canadian Shunt and Hoyt Electrical Instrument Works.
We will be exhibiting in Novi, MI Sept 12-14 at the Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology Expo. We continue to promote, understand, and advance technological innovations in electric drive systems with our manufacturers. Today my role is Vice President of Sales/GM. I still enjoy the challenge, am blessed to work with a talented group of people, and continue to grow with the leadership with Tom Howland, President.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not always been a smooth road. We definitely have some war stories from the road. If ever thing is smooth sailing, you’ve probably charted the wrong course. As a small business, absolutely everything you do has an impact. There were no deep pockets, or corporate write-offs, for us to stay in business. We had to build our reputation and our stand behind our products. If you’re selling a quality product, you stand behind it.
We had an issue in the early years with meters ‘sticking’. Literally the needle on these meters would stick from the condensation built up in the case. One or two failures can be attributed to environment, but we had just shipped 5k meters, and the customer was not happy. We figured out the issue, and a small vent hole in the back of the meter would solve the problem on future shipments, but what about those 5k meters sitting in the customers warehouse in quarantine. It would have devastated the company. So, Tom said we will go down to Georgia and test every single meter, one at a time. That’s exactly what we did. He and I stood in a warehouse, for 3 days, with alligator clips and a power source to make sure none of the meters needle stuck. It was one of the most valuable lessons, as we did what needed to be done. The customer continued with us, and we built the reputation. Our products, we stand behind, and we demand quality from our manufacturers. The additional benefit was at the end of the 3 days, it was Cinco de Mayo, and I could wrap my hands around a very large margarita.
Please tell us about Howland Technology.
Howland Technology is a systems integrator and sales channel for electric vehicle applications. That sales channel part is really helpful for the customers. We have distribution in Morton Grove, IL of our manufacturers components. We are an engineering integrator of the technology used in electric drive systems. We can help you specify the parts, integrate them into your product, and support your development.
When the little guy becomes the big guy you still enjoy our service, and know the level of professionalism that we provide. We are often called upon to ‘help the little guy’, and any more that means that you have a small to mid-size OEM (original equipment manufacturer) who is adept in their market, but simply might not have the engineering resources to fully understand the many levels of technology used in electric vehicles.
There is also a misunderstanding we experience with the term ‘electric vehicles’. When I say we work with electric vehicles, I really am NOT talking about automobiles. We have worked on applications related to automobiles, but, we say ABC, Anything But Cars. We work in material handling, automatic guide vehicles (agv), ground support equipment (think airport), floor care, aerial platforms, turf care, agricultural equipment and many other industrial applications requiring fully electric or hybrid power systems.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over, I would not have done a single thing differently. Every tough situation was a learning lesson. Every success was enjoyed. The only thing I might have tweaked was my wardrobe, I was not as professional in style starting out. I learned some ‘obvious to me now’ lessons. Here’s my favorite, don’t wear heels to a trade show. Get a good pair of ‘trade show shoes’, and save the heels for dinner.
Contact Info:
- Address: 8129 North Austin Avenue
- Website: www.howlandtechnology.com
- Phone: 847-965-9808
- Email: stephania@howlandtechnology.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Howland-Technology-Inc-238570683187366/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/HowlandTechInc
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephania-holland-b43047b/
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