A new CEO and a teamwork approach:
PAMI helps entrepreneurs get new products to market faster By Karen Sample and Janet Morley Paul Buczkowski, the relatively new PAMI CEO, says teamwork defines the institute under his leadership and seeing the success of clients’ projects is what drives PAMI’s success. His goal is to make sure clients have “an amazing experience” working with PAMI.
Agricultural Roots on the Prairies
Buczkowski joined the company in May of 2023 as Director of Finance and moved to his current role as CEO in March of this year. With a background in professional hockey, Buczkowski is familiar with the benefits of teamwork and knows that a team that works together, using all members to reach a common goal, will achieve targets and create success for clients.
Today, the organization prefers to be known by its acronym, PAMI, since its scope of work and geography now extends beyond agriculture and the prairies. The company has branched out into the mining and transportation sectors; however, true to its roots, approximately 75 per cent of PAMI’s work is still agricultural.
Clearly, Buczkowski is up to the challenge. His own recently blended family, with six youths all involved in hockey or other sports, has added to his already significant team-building experience.
Ask for help At PAMI, Buczkowski tells his team that if they “spin their wheels” thinking about a problem for 15 minutes, then they need to go and ask another team member for help.
We love working with start-up companies with fantastic ideas they don’t know how to put into motion. It is no wonder he has achieved a lot in the first few months, from rebuilding the team to preCOVID-19 numbers, to strengthening the culture, to coaching his expanded sales group to bring in new projects from about 15 companies that have never worked with PAMI before. Buczkowski is quick to add, however, that about 80 per cent of PAMI’s work still comes from loyal clients. It is essential for his team to over-communicate to make sure clients are happy and getting exactly what they want at all stages of any project.
14
Implement Success | Fall/Winter 2023
Founded in 1975 as the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute, PAMI offers support to people and companies who have product ideas they need to develop and test to bring them to market successfully.
What does PAMI do exactly? The organization studies, designs, builds, and tests machines, machine components and processes. It has grown to also provide engineering solutions and R&D, focusing on bringing creative solutions to complex problems both nationally and internationally. PAMI does not own intellectual property; their clients do. “We love machines,” says Buczkowski. Their 40-acre location in Humboldt is designed to test machines inside or outdoors. The large processing building onsite can be turned into almost anything based on the needs of the client and the project. For example, PAMI recently helped AGT Soileos (formally Lucent BioSciences) improve its process for pelletizing a fertilizer called Soileos by recreating its manufacturing line in the Humboldt facility. Combined with onsite visits to the AGT Soileos plant, PAMI engineers could see everything from start to end, troubleshoot and adjust the process to get the new product to market 18 months ahead of schedule. “We have a really good relationship with them. It’s one of those long-term relationships we keep building on,” Buczkowski says.
Well-designed facilities PAMI’s facilities and the flexibility of their buildings and acreage allow them to work on several projects simultaneously. With a sizeable
20,000-square-foot building, smaller test rooms and an impressive cold chamber that can accommodate a 50-foot trailer PAMI can cover everything from manufacturing line challenges to electrical issues to testing vehicle rollovers and crush resistance from -50C to 40C. Buczkowski is also excited about the possibility of their Manitoba facility returning online after the COVID-19 pandemic left PAMI no choice but to offer the facility for sale. “There are some amazing pieces of equipment there,” he says.
We changed the culture to teamwork with lots of recognition. To be happy going to work, people need to be recognized for the great job they do. With limited MTS testing and simulation tools in North America, Buczkowski has his sights on a potential new aerospace project that would allow retention of the Manitoba assets and employees. “I don’t want to lay anybody off. I want our team to be successful as a whole. I’m really excited to potentially take that sign down and keep that part of the business. We are currently re-evaluating our options and developing a new business plan and will be presenting that to our Board of Directors soon.”
Powering into the future through teamwork Although PAMI is officially a not-for-profit company, Buczkowski aims to shrink its current deficit and run it closer to a standard business model, with fiscal responsibility being a key goal. Targets for sales and revenue this year are currently being exceeded, and projects are expected to generate approximately $5 million in operating revenue. He cites a solid strategic plan, developed before he became CEO, as another essential component in the current growth and success. www.a-m-c.ca
