TWR Lighting, the industry leader in obstruction lighting, is pleased to announce Jim Jacoby as President. Jim will guide TWR Lighting in its mission to continue its long history of keeping the world’s airways safe by delivering the highest quality products with award winning design, service and monitoring capabilities. With over 30 years of experience, Jim has a long history of fostering company growth, spearheading new product development, strategic planning, and market penetration. Jim’s exceptional expertise in customer acquisition, organizational design, marketing and commercial strategy, makes him key for TWR to achieve it’s growth goals.
TWR’s marketing team sat down with newly appointed president, Jim Jacoby to learn more about his plans, leadership and projections for TWR Lighting.
Jim, TWR Lighting is so pleased to welcome you as its new leadership, we are eager to know what led you to become TWR’s president?
I have always wanted the opportunity to lead an organization and when I was alerted about the position at TWR, I was very interested. After spending some time with the owners as well as some of the key individuals, I knew if given the chance I could make a positive impact on the growth and profitability of the company.
As the new president of TWR, what are your goals for the company?
In order to grow the business, we needed to improve the culture and working environment of the employees. Simple things like recognition for a job well done were being neglected causing the employees to question their value or reason to excel. One of my goals is to create an environment where we hold everyone accountable while recognizing accomplishments. This, accompanied by realistic individual goals, allows our employees to work together toward a common set of goals (i.e. top line sales, increased profitability, cost reductions, etc.).
"Recognition allows everyone to understand how their role aids in the company's success, and builds a sense of pride in what they do each day" - Jim Jacoby
During the last couple of years, we have seen virtually every company in the U.S face obstacles and challenges, in your opinion, what are the biggest challenges TWR has to overcome?
One of the biggest challenges to overcome has been the belief that change is impossible or “that’s how we always do it” thought process. Change is a necessity of growth and improvement. To overcome this challenge, our team makes it a point to communicate the reasons for the change and the expected outcome. By doing so, we create the needed alignment of those who are part of the change.
How would you describe TWR’s executive team?
TWR’s Executive team is a strong, technical, and experienced team. They are willing to support each other in order to meet/exceed the task at hand, and are very supportive and encouraging of our teammates.
What would you say is TWR’s biggest strength?
Our relatively newly designed Lonestar & Redstar. These products are highly regarded in the industry, robust and very durable. We have some of the brightest design and software engineers that have allowed us to create a “best in class” product. We’re excited to leverage their expertise to develop new products coming soon!
Being a company leader can be challenging, what would you say has helped you be a better leader?
There are several factors that I lean on including my family and my religion for support. I’ve learned a lot from my previous leaders, both good and bad, which have challenged me to succeed even when failure seemed like the only option.
What level of growth do you hope to see in the next five years?
We have set some pretty aggressive, yet realistic growth targets for next year, with a goal to increase the company’s overall revenue by 50% in 5 years. We are positive that our resilient team will get us to our goal.
With the Clean Energy Bill coming up, what would you say will be the biggest impact in the industry and especially for your company?
I think the growth of Wind power will receive the biggest benefit from the Clean Energy Bill, which will result in more states approving capital for large wind farms. This increase will be monumental to our industry, possibly positioning TWR Lighting as a prime choice provider of all wind turbine lighting in the United States.
How is TWR dealing with the supply chain issues affecting most electronics companies around the world?
Like most companies in need of electronics, we are dependent on certain oversea supply lines that have been negatively affected, ranging from labor shortages at the ports to limited raw materials to build the components. To overcome this roadblock, we are constantly leveraging our R&D team to re-design our product when certain components become unavailable. It has been a daily fight to keep the necessary inventory levels with the current demand, however our team is constantly monitoring our inventory and exploring options to overcome supply chain roadblocks.
We have seen a lot of changes on social media regarding TWR, why so much change?
When I arrived at TWR, our social media was non-existent
and I felt our brand was a little tired. We had less than 50 followers on LinkedIn, and our accounts on Twitter, Facebook, etc. were shut down due to lack of activity.
I knew we needed a lot of focus on Marketing and our brand image, so one of our first hires was someone with the exact skill set and passion we needed to support our effort. With an estimated 4.5 Billion people using the internet daily, I felt the best way to reach a large percentage of that untapped market is through social media. Additionally, with all the great changes we are making at TWR, social media allows us the opportunity and ability to reach a much larger audience than we can through traditional advertising means.
"As we continue to upgrade our company, products and capabilities, I continue to be impressed by the resiliency of my team and their dedication to improving." - Jim Jacoby
What are your growth projections outside of the states?
Prior to my arrival at TWR, the company had some international sales, less than 2%, but never through any direct sales campaigns or targeted markets. We are now looking to expand our sales capabilities beyond North America and begin to promote our product in the Caribbean, South America and Europe through targeted marketing campaigns, partnerships with key distributors and more. With focus, I believe we can grow our international sales to be 10%+ of our total sales.
TWR Lighting congratulates Jim Jacoby on his selection as President.
Jim has been highly regarded by his team members, " Jim's incredible sense of humor, determination and drive, make TWR an enjoyable work place! " Said Regional Sales Representative Milana Kazmer. In his short time as President, Jim has implemented various initiatives to boost employee engagement within TWR and foster teamwork. "Jim is a shining example of what great leadership should be! He recognizes accomplishments, encourages continuous learning, and is always a listening ear, making TWR a place where everyone is given an opportunity to make a difference!" explained Marketing Manager, Nataly Florez. With his leadership and business growth experience, TWR Lighting is confident Jim will move the company forward in continuing our long history of providing top of the line, FAA certified, obstruction lighting products to the telecommunications and wind industry.