Testimonials
When the time came to buy out her partner, Jacquelin Eby, President and CEO of Versatek, turned to PeoplesBank.
For 22 years, Jacquie Eby and her business partner Earl Furman manufactured custom engineered displays and store fixtures for businesses throughout the country from their Versatek plant in Lititz.
The COVID-19 state shutdown mandate forced the business to halt production in 2020 for six weeks. With an unknown reopen date, many contracts were given to competitors. Due to the pandemic, many of their customers were also temporarily shut down or retracting growth, material costs were skyrocketing, and the future was looking challenging for Versatek.
“Due to the Pandemic, 2020 was the worst year in the history of our business,” Jacquie says.
Amid the struggle, Jacquie kept pressing on and presented to PeoplesBank a proposal to buyout her partner.
The buyout process helped her take full ownership of the company in early 2021. Within nine months from the buyout, with her dedicated team, she was able to turn the business around, buy three new machines, and hire several new employees.
“I have found PeoplesBank to be the right partner,” Jacquie says. “They understand my vision and have been supportive throughout the process. Without them, Versatek wouldn’t have been able to achieve this.”
A Family-Focused Company Culture
Since taking over Versatek, Jacquie continues to focus on building a company culture where people enjoy coming to work. Versatek has long had an environment that helped people feel comfortable. Of the original 28 employees hired on to the company, 22 were still there pre-pandemic or retired. After the lockdown, everyone asked back returned, and the team has grown to over 40 employees.
“It’s about building a company culture that’s like a family, that’s fun,” Jacquie says. “Our culture and our work life balance set us apart. We expect people to work hard while they’re here, but we respect that people have families and lives.”
While the business has been growing, supply chain issues and pricing volatility have continued to be a major struggle for Jacquie. She’s had to adjust customer expectations to allow for longer turnaround times. Her team has worked to cushion the company from the volatility through bulk purchasing materials and anticipating customer needs.
“There are days when I wake up, and I’m like, ‘What have I done?’ Jacquie says. “Then I come in, and I walk through the plant and see 40 of my employees, and I say, ‘This is exactly why I did this.”
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