Honored
Leader: Greg Wittstock, CEO and President
Company Name: Aquascape Designs, Inc.
Location: Batavia, Ill.
Nature of Business: Water gardening systems
Founded: 1993
Revenue: $48 million
Growth Rate (2004): 14 percent
Number of Employees: 130
Average Tenure: 4 years
Aquascape Designs, a 12-year-old company with 130 employees, has positioned
itself as the leading provider of water gardening products and services,
with an estimated 50 percent of market share for the contractor segment
of the industry. CEO and President Greg Wittstock has built a values-based
culture that is reinforced through a weekly internal newsletter, The Froggy
Chronicles, and KOI (Kontinuous Operational Improvements), an employee committee
dedicated to improving processes, procedures, and communications. The company
is now building "Aqualand," a workplace utopia that employees have helped
design. Employee benefits far exceed industry averages, for example, employees
are encouraged to relieve stress and build camaraderie using the company
gym, sport court, pool tables, and other games. Wittstock believes it is
important to create an environment that promotes laughter, innovation, honesty,
harmony, and healthy lifestyles.
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