During a recent discussion regarding the economy, which admittedly is severely stressed, one individual referred to me as being a "radical optimist." We all know that an optimist is someone who always looks at the bright side of things. But, having never heard the term radical attached to optimist, I decided to look up the definition of radical and found words such as essential, basic, and extreme as descriptive of the term. So perhaps, being an extreme optimist is the perfect description of my viewpoint concerning the future.

During this past year, MGA has felt the effects of the economy just like most other organizations. However, the year has been not only challenging, but indeed, it has also made us a better organization.

About a year ago, as the economy began its downward slide, we convened our leaders for a two-day conference. The position was clear, should we retrench to "ride out the storm" or should we review all the opportunities that were now available and pursue them. The famous New York Yankees baseball player, Yogi Berra said, "If you come to a fork in the road, take it." We spent a little time discussing how we could reduce costs but mostly on listing the many opportunities that were present. The opportunity branch of the fork in the road was then taken.

After listing the opportunities, plans were laid out to pursue those that seemed most promising. The meeting ended with the conclusion that with all these opportunities, why would we want to reduce our work force. Over time this attitude grew throughout the company.

Comparing our current year to the previous year, the performance has been outstanding. Except for the summer months, when much of the auto industry was in a shut-down mode, our sales exceeded those of the previous year.  

As a result of the effort put into pursuing our opportunities, we have gained substantial new customers, many in fields other than automotive. Notable industries for increasing our customer base have been battery manufacturers and military industrial contractors. 

Major efforts were put into expanding our geographical footprint. The South Carolina laboratory, which opened one year ago, continues to make progress. This operation provides a much better understanding of the needs of auto manufacturers and their suppliers located throughout the southeastern part of the country.

As many know, a test laboratory was recently opened in northern Virginia. The expansion was driven primarily by a need to satisfy an expanding customer base. Somewhat related to these customer needs is the opening of a ballistics test laboratory at the New York location.

These expansions have occurred as a result of the attitude, dedication and spirit of MGA associates. We surely are a group of radical optimists. Maybe we all need to be a little more "radical" in our outlook concerning the future and its promises.