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2003 SPIRIT
OF ST. LOUIS TECHNOLOGY AWARD WINNER
 DAVID
FARR, CEO, Emerson
A 113-year-old company that has always been on the cutting edge
of innovation has won this year’s Spirit of St. Louis Technology
Award for advancing technology. Emerson takes home the honors for
its worldwide reach and range of consumer and commercial products,
as well as its long-term commitment to regional betterment.
“Like its Spirit of St. Louis Technology Award predecessors, Sigma-Aldrich
and Monsanto, Emerson is a familiar name in the region for all the
right reasons,” says Mike Zychinski, managing partner–St. Louis,
Deloitte & Touche. “The company’s staying power and growth are proof
of its leadership in technology around the globe and of its dedication
to excellence throughout the region.”
FOCUS ON TECHNOLOGY
Emerson’s CEO David Farr explains within each of Emerson’s eight
business platforms, “our strategy is to be the leading technology
player. Number one on the list of what I focus on is industry transforming
technology—what we need to invest in to make sure we have a leading
technology position in that particular industry. We want to lead
the change or be closely associated with the technology that changes
an industry and that’s how we’ve stayed strong in the world market.”
Emerson operates about 60 divisions with its business platforms,
which include networking, process management, climate technology,
storage, tools, motors, industrial automation and appliances. Sales
in fiscal 2002 were $13.8 billion; international sales in 150 countries
accounts for 45 percent of that total.
Despite the recent challenges presented by the economy, Farr says
“we have not cut our investment in Engineering and Development.
If we’re not investing in technology we won’t lead and eventually
will fall by the wayside. That’s been a fundamental premise in our
planning process.” Emerson invested more than $500 million in E&D
in 2002, primarily in communications, software and electronics.
More than 30 percent of sales are in new products and Farr says
the goal is to reach 40 percent.
RANDALL
LEDFORD, senior vice president & chief technology officer,
Emerson
Emerson’s international expansion has been fueled by investment
in technology as well. The company has built, for example, state-of-the-art
engineering centers to support growth in “high-potential” markets,
says Randall Ledford, Emerson’s chief technology officer. “We’ve
found our internal technology initiatives are vital to helping Emerson’s
business groups and divisions and collaborate together and speed
our time to market. Our ultimate goal, of course, is to be more
responsive to the customer and tailor our products and solutions
to meet their needs,” Ledford says.
EMPHASIS ON SERVICE
Technology is just one component of the Spirit of St. Louis Award.
The other is a long-term commitment to the St. Louis region—something
Emerson has long been associated with. In fact, Farr notes, “If
you look at every major institution in the region, you’ll see Emerson
employees on every board of directors.” Emerson employees also are
active as volunteers for hundreds of local charities and service
organizations, and the company annually raises several million dollars
for the United Way (see related article on page 82).
“Why do we do it? Because our headquarters is here and we live here,”
Farr says. He adds, since he joined Emerson in the mid-’80s, he’s
lived in Europe, Asia and eight states. “I rate St. Louis very high.
It offers a great quality of life. In this area we’re blessed with
several great institutions of higher learning and there’s a lot
of important research going on here that we can tap into.” He adds,
“I’m a baseball fanatic and this is one of the best baseball towns
in the whole world.”
MOST ADMIRED
Earlier this year Emerson was recognized as one of the Top 50 global
firms in Fortune magazine’s survey of the “World’s Most Admired”
companies. The company was named a “2003 All Star” by the 10,000
polled directors, executives and managers in 29 industries who cited
Emerson for “…delivering sold products—and financial results.”
In addition, Emerson has been named as one of Industry Week’s
notable 100 Best-Managed Companies for five consecutive years. And
Business Week has previously recognized Emerson as one of
the top 25 best-managed companies.
“Our global presence in manufacturing and sales is critical to our
success,” Farr says. “We plan to continue to generate revenues and
to invest in our future and pay dividends to our shareholders.”
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