Far-flung business, small town roots

Mike Ehman, founder and president of Ehman Engineering, is an animated guy loaded with nervous energy who's built like a PAC 10 nose guard.

His company makes hard-disk drives, enhanced keyboards and monitors for Apple Macintosh computers. Ehman Engineering is Wyoming's fastest growing company and one of the state's best high-tech success stories.

Two years ago Ehman Engineering had five employees. Today it has more than 125. Revenues have grown to nearly $40 million annually.

Ehman is a typical new economy entrepreneur, and Ehman Engineering is a case study of how a company succeeds in the new economy.

Ehman, 33, came to Evanston as a Chevron petroleum engineer during the energy boom. In 1985, after the bottom dropped out of the energy exploration business, Ehman started his company in his basement.

As the company grew, Ehman decided to stay in Evanston (pop. 12,000) in the remote high country of western Wyoming in the middle of the Overthrust Belt oil and gas field.

He likes Wyoming's favorable business climate, the high quality of the workforce and the low-key lifestyle.

But Ehman also understands that the new economy requires new approaches to corporate operations.

Ehman's assembly operations are in Evanston. His marketing vice president is in Seattle. His international sales manager is based in San Diego.

Ehman's farflung operations are held together by faxes, Federal Express, United Parcel Service, teleconferences and airplane tickets.

From tiny Evanston, Ehman operates in the global marketplace. He purchases parts primarily from U.S. suppliers but also from Taiwanese and other foreign sources. Ehman sells his products all over the world.

Rapid technological changes make it tough for Ehman to say ahead of his competition. He needs constant access to the brainpower and technological research in Salt Lake City and the University of Utah, 80 miles down the road.

So Ehman is turning his day-to-day operations in Evanston over to others and moving his research and product development operation to Salt Lake City, where he can focus on tomorrow's growth.

Ehman also has learned that the key to winning in the new economy is people.

"We have to beat our competition on price, quality and service," he says, "and we can do it because of our employees."

"They are well-educated and have a strong work ethic. That's what keeps us here."

Ehman adds that the cost of living and doing business in Evanston is a fraction of what it would be in a big city.

"The clean air, open vistas and lack of traffic jams make this a good place to live and work."

So Ehman, always thinking ahead, will grow his new ideas in Salt Lake City so he can grow his operations in Evanston.

Sometimes Mike Ehman feels like he has a tiger by the tail. But he is making it work in the new economy.