Albany’s Tec Labs Ranks #4 in Oregon Business Magazine’s "100 Best Companies to Work For"

Albany, Ore.—A world class work environment, self-directed work teams and a healthy corporate bonus program helped Tec Labs reach their highest ranking ever, in Oregon Business magazine’s prestigious survey, "The 100 Best Companies to Work For." Twenty of the company’s employees were in attendance at the awards ceremony held at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland on March 4th. Tec Labs ranked #4, the highest ranking for the company in eight consecutive years of being in the top 100. The highest previous ranking for the company was #6 in 2002.

"This is a wonderful form of recognition for our employees," said Steve Smith, Tec Labs president. "We’ve worked our tails off over the years to create and protect a wonderful work environment. It is so rewarding to have an objective source recognize us in this way. It’s a tremendous honor." Smith and his company have received mentions in a recent book on business, as well as The Wall Street Journal, Inc., Business Week, Fortune, and other national publications.

The company has been very progressive in putting together a culture that nurtures employees and allows them to grow to their full potential. "I started working here in high school, as an intern," said Natalie Walker, who is part of the customer service team. "I used to answer phones, file—things like that. Tec Labs gladly worked around my schedule to make it possible for me to get my four year degree and now I am doing national sales support. It's great. I really love it here." Ms. Walker is not the only Tec employee feeling thankful to work at such a great company.

"When I first started working here, my family was still in Colorado and couldn’t be with me in Oregon for two months. It was very hard for me," said Mike Burner, a production line captain for the company. "Our sales manager, Larry Burris, worked out a way for me to go see my family after the first few weeks. I couldn’t believe that someone I had known for such a short amount of time would do something like that for me and my family."

Mike works with Scott Lebengood, another production line captain. The two have become terrific friends and coach a state champion baseball team together. "Last year when our team was trying to get to Los Angeles for a tournament," said Scott. "A couple employees used their personal air miles to get us some tickets so we could make the trip. I’ve developed many friendships here to take outside of work. We even get to play basketball at lunch. It doesn’t get much better than that."

The company has monthly employee picnics, with food provided, in which an hour is spent on employees giving each other compliments for great work done. The bonus program has become legendary in the local area. The bonus is in addition to the other benefits the company offers. Full time employees split a portion of the net profits each year. How big has the bonus gotten? A few years ago every eligible employee got over $12,000. "I needed a crow bar to get the smile off my face," said Jim Landtroop, plant maintenance. "I think we figured it was like getting about a six dollar an hour retroactive raise for the year."

No problem attitudes and a true team spirit keep the wind in the sails at Tec Labs. Last month, when an expensive piece of machinery went down, employees were desperate to meet shipping deadlines for a new product launch. The production team gathered and decided to adapt an existing machine to work in conjunction with the new machine to produce the needed product. That system worked well until the new machine could be repaired.

About "The 100 Best Companies to Work For" Award

Since 1995, Oregon Business magazine has surveyed companies across Oregon to find the 50 best small (less than 250 employees worldwide) and 50 best large companies to work for. The aim of the project, which is conducted in the fall and the results published in March, is to recognize and celebrate Oregon companies for their commitment to creating great places for their employees to work. The employees are given codes to access the surveys and complete them anonymously. Companies have no idea what their employees are truly saying about them. The results are published in the March issue of the magazine. The list of winners can be downloaded and viewed at the magazine’s Web site at www.mediaamerica.net.

About Tec Labs

Tec Laboratories is an innovator of over-the-counter dermaceutical products. The company manufactures topical skin protection products that have been protecting outdoor workers and consumers for 27 years. The company's brand names include Oak-n-Ivy Brand® Tecnu® Outdoor Skin Cleanser, CalaGel®, IvyStat! ™, CortiCool®, Licefreee!® and The 10-Hour Insect Repellent™ with 100% DEET. Tec Labs has been named to Oregon Business magazine's annual "The 100 Best Companies to Work For" list for six of the last seven years. For more information on Tec Labs and its product line, call 1-800-ITCHING or visit www.teclabsinc.com.

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