Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Kay.

Hi Robert, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

As a young boy in elementary school, my grandfather gave me a crystal radio kit. Basically the kit had a coil (to be hand wound), a few parts, a single knob for tuning and a set of headphones. Unlike today’s headphones, these had zero padding and were one of the most uncomfortable things on the planet. As I assembled the kit I kept wondering where the batteries went. After assembling the kit and adding a long wire for my antenna, I slipped on the headphones and started adjusting the knob.

To my total astonishment I could hear the local AM radio station, KGIL. Without any batteries and certainly with no plug to the wall socket. There was no volume knob. So I went to the local library (remember those?) and read up on how radios worked. It wasn’t long before I discovered that the longer my antenna wire was, the louder the music.

Can’t tell you how much crap I got from my mother for stringing wires outside the house all over the yard.

That kind of hands on experience became the pattern that made me an engineer. Going to college only served to help me learn the math and physics so that I didn’t have to guess at part values and such any more.

That combination of hands on experience (and failures) in concert with math and physics enabled me to accelerate my career. Tied to a good imagination, these things enabled me to tackle projects others thought too difficult to try.

That and a stubborn attitude of hating to be told that I could not do a thing. Even back then I pushed the high bar of accomplishment up as high as I could stand. Yes, at times I failed. But each time I learned something new and a new way to look at the work around me.

School and College did not make me nor teach me engineering. Those degrees are just paper bits that people use when they don’t know how to do a real interview and find out what you actually know. Right from the start this made me realize that I had to own my personal high bar. I had to be the one to push it just beyond reach and then revel in jumping up and grabbing it.

And then one day I found the woman of my dreams. We married when she was 18 and I was 20. I married no wuss. I married a woman who challenged me and I equally her. She taught me business and marketing. Together we pushed that high bar up. By 1988 we were inspired to create our first company: Elite Engineering. For 33 years we cross trained each other and loved it.

During those years we worked on ejection seat electronics, cancer detection and treatment machines, a bunch of blood analyzers, DNA sequences, robots, 3D cameras, and way more than I have space to list.

And then, on our 45th anniversary she showed me her latest medical test results. Despite all the useless mammograms, she had developed Stage IV breast cancer and needed to start chemo asap. Within 6 months the love of life was to pass away.

I was left like a ship adrift at sea in an endless storm.

And then covid lock down hit and all of our business Clients hit the brakes. Stuck home with no work……I was depressed and bored. Yet, it’s a classic thing for a bored engineer to invent things. Which is what I did during lockdown. I invented something that Pat needed: a gadget to help see what is in food that you can’t see (think gluten, germs, plastics, etc). Something to help you avoid cancer causing things. I quickly realized that Pat wasn’t the only one that could use such a thing.

We call that our Analyzer. And that became my life’s mission. And it saved my life. Along with the support of my family and the Team at work (who are now my extended family). Have no doubt, I shall be leveraging every single thing Pat taught me to bring this Analyzer to market

And yes, I am yet again pushing that high bar up even more.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

As a privately owned, self funded entity, the road to building Elite wasn’t just bumpy. At least four near death experiences and two criminal Clients made for difficult times. The worst was during covid. We got sued (for the 1st time ever) by a group that was consistently late in paying our invoices (think $100K). At the start of covid we gave them notice that we finally were stopping work due to non-payment. They then sued us for non-delivery on what was a time and materials project.

Try getting your car back from the mechanic if you don’t pay for the work done. To this day I still can’t wrap my head around their logic. Because of covid the court case just this year finally got settled (in our favor!). But 4 years of angst and over $100K in legal bills later I have learned a hard lesson: 98 our of 100 Clients are basically good folks. But those 2 could, would and will kill you if you don’t protect your Team and yourself.

The challenge now is how not to alienate the 98 good folks while protecting yourself against the 2 snakes in that pile. Our business model is based on a relationship sell. Learning how to balance that has involved some new sales skills and more strict contract structures (and how to pleasantly sell them).

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

Our engineering business is built around really being high quality problem solvers for our Clients. Sometimes this means tactfully telling them what they don’t want to hear (as in, you’re trying to break a couple laws of physics). Other times it means solving the problem by turning it upside down and looking at it in ways the client doesn’t.

It’s a mix of executing with technical competence and building a relationship of trust. This enables you to tell the truth, good, bad or ugly. And when it is the latter, you present alternatives. Giving the Client options instead of a cliff.

There are many consulting firms like ours. What sets us apart is how we strive to build and maintain solid relationships. Unlike others, the Team is not a bunch of hired mercenaries. They want to become part of the Client’s Team. This means they care in ways that not only get the job at hand done, but they look for and make other recommendations to help make our Client successful.

It can be very stressful at times to do this. It takes dedication. It takes using both halves of your brain to do well. When I played a bit of football, we called this playing with heart.

Why do this? Because we measure our success by repeat business.

What am I most proud of? It’s not the string of patents that have my name on them. I am proud to say that the Team now pushes me to learn new things and to be a better leader. They are pushing the high bar along with me and in many cases, ahead of me. The name on the building means something because of them.

In my leadership role it just doesn’t get better than that.

Any big plans?

With my wife’s passing, we have launched a separate venture. This is the venture that will manufacture and sell a productized version of the Analyzer mentioned earlier. If we are right about the pain points in the markets we are targeting, the Team will leave their mark upon the world.

They will do so by helping people see the hidden bad things in their food and more. The Team will give the average person access to a high end technology without all the techno babble. Like a glucose meter that tells you what your sugar level is without you having to know the science and math behind it. It just works.

The Team and I are pushing the high bar again.

Atop that, key members of the Team have started the process of succession. I have no plans to retire but I am excited that they want to continue and maintain the company culture we have created.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eliteeng.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-l-kay-a141ba10/
• Other: https://www.prismalusa.com

Image Credits

All Images Courtesy Of Elite Engineering Corp