Reliable Water Services: Flexo-Graphics receives top award in Wisconsin business challenge

For More Information, Contact:

Christel Henke, 414-332-2933

chenke@prworks.biz

June 23, 2010 –Flexo-Graphics located in Butler, Wisconsin is the $2,500 grand prize-winner of the “How I Got My Business Out Of Hot Water” Challenge sponsored by Reliable Water Services, a local provider of commercial water heaters, boilers and water softeners. J.W. Winco from New Berlin was awarded a second prize of $500 cash and the Two Men & a Truck franchise located in Madison, Wisconsin won a third prize of $300 cash.

Wisconsin businesses were invited to submit a short essay to share their compelling stories about how they got out of a ‘hot water’ situation and made their business even stronger. Winners were announced at an awards breakfast meeting on Friday, June 18th sponsored by Reliable Water Services and the Independent Business Association of Wisconsin.

Flexo-Graphics / Butler – Losing 53% of your business can be devastating to any business, especially during a recession. Flexo-Graphics President Tim McDonough pulled his employees together to find ways to drastically cut costs and then they bootstrapped themselves to learn lean management. Not only did they keep their doors open by replacing the lost business, they have achieved double-digit sales growth year over year for the past four years in a more productive environment. But Flexo is now doing more of it then before and doing it more efficiently.

J.W. Winco / New Berlin – Like many companies during the past few years, J.W. Winco found themselves in hot water from the tepid economy. Company CEO John Winkler refocused his employees from a growth mode to a survival mentality, using innovative cost-cutting methods aimed at keeping their valued workforce. As the tide rose their efforts paid off and now they have an organization that is more efficient, enthusiastic and close-knit.

Two Men and a Truck / Madison – They experienced a challenging and tragic loss when one of their top managers suffered a sudden and fatal heart attack at age 43. Owner Tim Lightner and his team worked up a strategic plan to maintain the flow of operations should something like this happen again, investing time in cross training and documenting tasks. As a result, customer service remains strong and employees are closer than ever.

Headquartered in Milwaukee, Reliable Water Services provides water heaters, boilers and water softeners to apartment building owners, restaurants and commercial enterprises where a steady supply of hot water is essential to business operations. The company currently has 3,500 customers in seven states and offices in Milwaukee and Indianapolis. More information is available at http://www.HotWater247.com