Finalist
Construction & Industrial Services
When Kenneth D. Meador took the reins of TWR Lighting in 1994 after a decade of success as a an advertising executive, he had just finished helping the leadership team beef up its marketing to better drive sales and increase visibility.
TWR was a subsidiary of a large, privately held tower erection, maintenance and communications service company, supplying specialized lighting systems — red light and strobe — used to mark communications towers. It had relied on existing customer relationships passed along by sister companies since its inception in 1981 and done well for itself.
But the company’s leadership thought it could do better. In 1991, Meador was given the opportunity to forge a separate brand identity for TWR. His success with that project led ownership to hand him the captain’s chair three years later.
Over the past 15 years, Meador has led TWR through good and bad times. He’s helped expand the company to more than 50 employees and successfully navigated its purchase and sale to three different owners as well as coordinating a complete facility move.
Where other presidents might have allowed the transitions to distract them from focusing on developing new products and services, improving service and satisfying the customer, Meador never took his eye off of the ball.
His vision was to create a company that would think creatively and be more nimble than its competitors. He knew that to succeed his team had to provide better products and services to customers than they were already receiving in order to forge long-term relationships. And he’s always remembered the golden rule in business — put the customer first.
How to reach: TWR Lighting Inc., (713) 973-6905 or www.twrlighting.com
