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AIT’s tagline, “A Higher Standard of Service,” reflects the values that have guided the company’s operations since its 1990 start-up. After twenty years in academia, Founder, President, and CEO Michael A. Evans, Ph.D. emptied his life savings to start a business that would take his expert knowledge of toxicology to the next level. His new career goal was to provide clients with superior testing on cutting-edge equipment handled by skilled workers trained to manage the process.
“I was very successful in my career as a professor. But the whole reason for starting AIT was to create something of value—to clients, my employees, and the community—and say I played a role in its development,” Evans explained. “I wanted a company that reflected my values and vice versa.”
Evans’s corporate success was gained by overcoming an initial lack of business savvy and slow expansion of clientele. In the transition from professor to entrepreneur, Evans had much to learn about business, and in the early nineties, AIT lost its most profitable client along with 85 percent of its revenue. Evans was urged to close the lab and file for bankruptcy. But quitting was not an option. “I have to be the best in everything I do, so when it came to starting a company, I wanted the best toxicology lab there was,” he said. “It’s not in my nature to give up.” To stay afloat, Evans asked each member of his staff to take a 25 percent pay cut, a bold move that didn’t cost him a single employee.
AIT has come a long way since those early days. Today, the company is a leading forensics lab in the nation also specializing in pain management, clinical, and pharmaceutical testing. This business model has resulted in record-breaking growth that generated a 75% increase in revenues in 2009, making this the sixth consecutive year that the company has reported at least double-digit increases in revenues. AIT is proud of its national reputation as a premiere testing and research institution recognized for superior customer service and quality in testing.
No longer the naïve businessman, Evans has declined various job offers with larger organizations and countless propositions to sell the company for double its value. But he’s not going anywhere. “For me, AIT is a legacy company; there are no plans to sell it off or go public,” he said. “I wanted to build something that will live long after I’m gone, something founded on my values and purpose.” In July 2009, Dr. Evans transferred ownership of the company to his employees in an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
Those values are evident in AIT’s culture, where employees receive $5,000 a year in continuing education assistance, encouragement to participate in local charities, and time off from work to volunteer.
What more could you expect from a company whose mission statement includes words like “integrity,” “quality,” and “gratitude”?