When a fire rips through the home of business, that's usually the end of that business. When a fire burned down the home of AIM Computer Solutions last year, the Fraser-based business didn't fold. It used it as an opportunity to become bigger, faster, better and stronger.
The fire started in the early morning hours before the sun came up. BY the time it was over, it had burned everything down to the walls, except for the fire-protected server room of the firm that builds business software solutions for manufacturers. The 30-year-old company's team didn't waste a second putting it all back together.
"By the time we hit 7 a.m. we were up and running and supporting all of our customers," says Jerry Czernel, vice president of
AIM Computer Solutions. "In most cases, the customers didn't even know we had a fire."
AIM Computer Solutions moved its operations to a temporary facility while it started to rebuild. It took the company about a year to design and rebuild its home, holding a grand opening one year after the fire to the day. The firm took the opportunity to reconfigure its space to make it more open and collaborative. It raised the ceilings and added LED lighting.
In that year the company has grown its revenue by 50 percent by adding new customers in manufacturing. It also hired four people in the last year, expanding its staff to 20 people. Czernel expects that winning streak to continue for the foreseeable future, now that the business can focus on the building the business instead of rebuilding it.
"We wonder how things would be if we didn't have a fire," Czernel says. "We had the support things in place, but there are a ton of things you take for granted."
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.