Will The Townsend Tradition Continue?

Recently, Townsend Engineering, a relatively small company located in Des Moines, IA, was acquired by Stork Food Systems. Together, the two companies form the world’s largest provider of innovative and reliable meat processing systems for their customers.

For the most part, this acquistion went unnoticed by most people who didn’t have a stake in the venture.

But Townsend’s acquisition is news in the worksite wellness community.

Here’s why.

For years, Townsend Engineering offered it’s employees a world-class wellness program. Under the leadership of CEO Ted Townsend, this company’s wellness program gained an almost mythical reputation for how well they treated their employees and how much they cared about preserving and enhancing employee health status.

With just 250 employees, Townsend’s wellness program was generous–even by the most liberal of standards. Here’s a quick overview of the program:

• A 30,000 square foot fitness facility housed the program. It included an aerobic studio, a weight room, a gymnasium with two basketball courts, a fitness testing room, two racquetball courts, a child care facility, a gameroom, a running trail, and a four lane bowling alley.
• The locker rooms were stocked with toiletries and towels.
• Men’s and women’s saunas were available.
• The facility was open to all employees and spouses.
• Children over 14 could use the facility whenever they choose–and they could bring friends.
• Townsend Engineering also offerered generous incentives including cash and travel which secured 80+ percent particpation.

Pretty amazing huh? Hold on, there’s more.

• Townsend also offered a compressed workweek. Plant workers worked four 10-hour days and took Fridays off.
• Townsend sponsored a diplomat exchange program in which company employees (and spouses) had the opportunity to visit their site in Amsterdam.
• Employees received flowers on their anninversary. Each employee also had an annual $80 account to send flowers to whomever they chose.
• Company trips for all spouses and employees were a regular funtion at Townsend–Hawaii, the Bahamas and Puerto Rico were just a few of the destinations.
• Free screenings kept Townsend employees in the know with respect to their health status.

This is pretty impressive stuff. Remember, this is a company of 250 employees–not to mention the fact that the program was initiated almost three decades ago.

Having had the opportunity to see Townsend’s program in it’s full glory, I can tell you firsthand this was something very special.

But will the tradition continue?

Several years ago, I had the good fortune of interviewing the company’s CEO, Ted Townsend. In the interview, Mr Townsend revealed the passion he had for his people and his desire to preserve the company’s culture–even after acquisition or retirement.

In the interview, Mr. Townsend also prophetically stated, “…there’s going to come a time someday when I sign my name on a line and from that moment forward I will have no influence whatsoever. I’m not comfortable with that fact. I just know it is one and we’re doing our best to find a way that the day after I sign my name, Townsend stays what Townsend has become.”

For better or worse, that time has come.

One can only hope that the culture at Townsend will be preserved. It was one of the best case studies of exemplary leadership, corporate culture, and health promotion that I’ve seen. And knowing Ted Townsend’s commitment to his people, he’ll find a way to make it happen.

To download the entire interview with Ted Townsend, please visit this link, A CEO Interview With Ted Townsend

Copyright 2006, David Hunnicutt.com

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The views and perspectives presented by Dr. Hunnicutt do not necessarily represent those of WELCOA.