Skuli
Gudmundsson proudly admits he's living the American dream.
The native of Iceland came to the United States in 1965 as an employee
of the international airline TWA.
"As many other immigrants have done, I quickly discovered that America
is the land of opportunity and I decided that one day I would have
my own business," says Gudmundsson. In 1983, having climbed the ladder
at TWA to direct the airline's office of safety and environmental
protection, the plucky American immigrant converted his dream into
reality. He co-founded OCCU-TEC, Inc., a Kansas City consulting firm
devoted to advising and training clients about his areas of expertise:
occupational safety and health, industrial hygiene and environmental
protection.
"It is a field I thoroughly enjoy and therefore the one in which
I chose to start my business," explains Gudmundsson.
By 1985 he left TWA to devote his full attention to OCCU-TEC. Since
then the firm has evolved from a one-man operation to a full-time
staff of more than 20 people serving national and international clients
in the private and public sectors.
However, along the way OCCU-TEC's business plateaued. Gudmundsson
decided to expand his company's horizons, but he needed advice on
adopting the best approaches to developing more business.
To find that advice he turned to the specialists with the Missouri
Small Business Development Center at the University of Missouri-Kansas
City.
Larry Lee, SBDC business consultant, currently spearheads the advisory
team OCCU-TEC utilizes. Lee's analysis and advice has focused Gudmundsson's
business development efforts on two of OCCU-TEC's ongoing programs.
Outsource Safety Professional (OSP) targets private companies ranging
from 100 to 300 employees. Such firms typically find themselves at
a safety-program crossroads: they either add full-time staff or they
engage safety experts from outside to address employee safety issues.
"When using the OSP program with one of its clients, OCCU-TEC functions
as an in-house safety professional on an outsource basis," says Lee.
"The engagement typically begins with a baseline survey to determine
current levels of risk, injury and financial impact. OCCU-TEC then
develops an action plan and determines how much time is needed to
implement and manage the program."
A second OCCU-TEC business development effort, Reclaim™, is
aimed at the public sector. Reclaim™ is an outgrowth of OCCU-TEC's
ongoing eight-year employee safety program with the state of Missouri.
Lee and Gudmundsson saw the potential of repackaging this effort and
targeting potential state, county and municipal government clients.
In addition to business development advice Lee and SBDC has offered
other services to OCCU-TEC such as financial analysis, market planning
and business valuation. "I truly appreciate Larry's sincere interest
in helping me grow my company," says Gudmundsson. "Through his guidance,
my small business has been able to access tools and services that
would otherwise be out of our reach."
"Because of the assistance Larry and the SBDC provide, my company
can in turn help our clients focus on issues pertaining to their most
valued resource ... their employees."
And because of the success demonstrated by Gudmundsson's company,
OCCU-TEC received an award and a legislative resolution at a Feb.
10, event in the State Capitol in Jefferson City. At the event —
the Missouri SBDC-hosted Client Showcase
— OCCU-TEC and 24 other outstanding Missouri companies met with
legislators to discuss their products and services, and to receive
recognition for their contributions to the economic development of
the state of Missouri.
For more information on the services of the MO SBDC program, call
Lee at 816/235-6429 or e-mail him at leela@umkc.edu.
Contact Gudmundsson for additional information on the services of
OCCU-TEC at 816/231-5641 or e-mail him at sgudmundsson@occutec.com.
Starred clients were a part of the 2005 Client Showcase [more] 
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