Join Epitec for a Virtual Town Hall Gathering to hear about the recent purchase of MSXI Staffing LLC.
When: Thursday, June 13
Time: 12:00PM-12:30PM
[Graphic 1] Welcome to Epitec
Hello Everyone, my name is Mark Ruma, and I am the Chief Operating Officer with Epitec.
I’ve been with Epitec for the past 22 years.
I do have a few slides prepared. But if you joined over the phone, you’ll be fine. For those that joined through application – we wanted to give you something to look at and something to follow along with.
I am genuinely excited to be talking to you today about the purchase of MSX International’s staffing business.
My hope is to fill in some of the blanks and to address some of the frequently asked questions as we talk about this transaction and the impact it will have on many of us.
This is an informative call.
First and foremost, I know this is a big change.
It’s a big change for our team internally as well.
However, it is also a big opportunity for many of us.
It is our sincerest intention to show you that you are valued and to provide you all with a favorite employee experience.
This is really the reason why we set up this call — to talk to you in a way that could help you understand what has transpired for you over the past 10 days and to tell what you can expect in the coming months.
In the next 15 minutes or so, I will tell you a little bit about Epitec and who we are, and why Epitec was interested in buying MSXI’s staffing business, and finally will speak a little bit about what happens next.
[Graphic 2] 101 BEST AND BRIGHTEST
Who is Epitec?
At the beginning of the call I put a poll to see how many of you are familiar with Epitec. 49% are familiar with Epitec.
Simply put, Epitec is Staffing company that started in 1978. We provide IT, Engineering, and professional staffing services.
When asked why people want to work for Epitec or why people choose Epitec:
We point to our Employee Experience,
We point to people, our processes and our tools.
Our employees tell us they like it here in comparison to other companies they have worked for.
Epitec is proud to be voted by our people to be a 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work for in Michigan and Nationally for the past 12 years in a row.
When asked why Customers want to do business with us or choose Epitec:
We point to our proven track record of high performance as a top-ranked supplier.
We point to the long-standing tenure with our diverse portfolio of Customers.
Epitec has been doing business with Ford for the past 32 years. This relationship is important to note and I will speak more on it a bit later.
[Graphic 3] MSXI ANNOUNCMENT
Why did this transaction take place?
Well, first a little background on MSXI from Epitec’s perspective. When I say MSXI, I am referring to MSX International the Global company. When I say MSX Staffing, I am referring to MSXI’s staffing business unit, a smaller business unit of MSX International which is a smaller piece of the Global company.
[Graphic 4] BAIN CAPITAL STRATEGY
Now, it’s not widely known that MSX International, the Global company, was bought by Bain Capital, a private equity company, in January of 2017.
Although staffing was a longtime service MSXI had provided to their clients, the strategy that was shaped by Bain Capital had MSXI focusing on their 2 other business units: Retail Network Solutions and their MSP business.
In the world of private equity companies, this is called an exit strategy or a liquidity event for the staffing business unit. And so, the MSX Staffing business unit was up for sale.
[Graphic 5] EPITEC STRATEGY
Background on Epitec as it pertains to this transaction: We are a privately held company. We are heavily focused in Staffing. In fact, the purchase of this business signifies our dedication and commitment to Staffing.
Staffing is a core service for Epitec.
For the past 41 years, Epitec has grown organically, and we will continue to grow organically. Epitec’s strategy over next 5 years is to double the size of our company.
However, in order to double the size of Epitec, we knew we would have to lever an acquisition.
And so, Epitec was interested to buy a staffing company, our relationship with MSX was there, a strong relationship with Ford Motor company was there, and so you can see how all of the pieces start to fit together.
This is not our first acquisition. This is not or first deal, but this is our largest purchase.
Why was Epitec interested in buying MSX Staffing Business?
Like I said previously, Staffing is core to Epitec.
Epitec and MSXI have a very good relationship. In fact, Tony Hollamon, our Executive VP, and I meet with Fred Minturn, the CEO for MSXI, each year to discuss Epitec’s strategy and to align our objectives.
[Graphic 6] TOP 1% OF STAFFING FIRMS
An important distinction, the purchase of MSX Staffing puts Epitec squarely on the map and in the Top 1% of Staffing companies in the United States. Only 1% of staffing firms are larger than 100M in size.
[Graphic 7] EPITEC INDUSTRY AND CUSTOMER FOOTPRINT
When you look at the Customers and the Industries and our footprint out in the marketplace Epitec knows Automotive and Global Manufacturing.
We service the OEM’s Ford, GM, Nissan, and BMW for example.
Now, MSX Staffing has a very strong Engineering Staffing capability and respected reputation for delivering to their customers which complements Epitec’s strong IT Staffing capability and reputation.
Epitec is a top tier supplier to MSXI’s MSP program at Ford Motor Company as well as we engage many other MSPs throughout the United States.
We know the Staffing Industry
We know the Automotive industry
We know the customer base
We know the Workforce
In fact, we know many of you, because we have already worked with many of you over the years.
So you can see it just makes sense. It really was and is a logical fit and really is a good fit for both Epitec and MSXI.
[Graphic 8] WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
What happens to MSX Staffing?
To be crystal clear, Epitec bought this business. This was a stock purchase.
This is not supplier that is desourced and an opportunity to select another Supplier – the Employer Tax ID is not changing for you. The entity that employs is not changing.
So your employment is not terminating with MSX and beginning with Epitec.
Epitec bought the company that employs you and changed the name of the company to Epitec. That’s exactly what happened.
Epitec essentially steps into the shoes of the previous owner, which is really Bain Capital, and is carrying on this business with a renewed focus on the employee experience and delivery to the customer.
Because Epitec bought this business, we can maintain things like employee tenure, employment status, immigration status, which was essential to this transaction, and other important employee-related matters.
The MSX Staffing team is now working in the Epitec office here in Southfield.
There is new ownership, new management and many new processes centric to Epitec that are part of this transaction.
What happens next for each of you?
As far as delivery to the customer – keep doing the great job that you have been doing.
As far as getting to know us and us getting to know you we need to be diligent and work together over these next 60 days.
We need to work together to make this seamless and as minimally disruptive as possible for you and as well as for our Clients.
What is top of mind or what are we thinking of these next 60 days? Getting to know each one of you is at the top.
We have and Employee care team, Sales and Recruiting teams, Finance and Payroll team, HR team, and our technical support team.
We are thinking about client integration and working on client integration, meeting with your managers, understanding the group that you work in, and understanding your role and your responsibilities
We are thinking about benefits.
An important communication will be going out later this afternoon or early tomorrow morning that pertains to your benefits.
As we put these communications out, we ask that you read them diligently and respond to them appropriately.
We are ensuring that time and expense is not disrupted, that your payroll is paid in a timely and accurate manner. And pushing out new policies and procedures such as travel and the impacts on immigration. Responding to employee feedback.
We are going to address these issues one at a time. We did our level best to honor and maintain everything that was in place. Just like any purchase, we need time to address issues one at a time.
What we need from you?
Please be patient. Please be matter of fact a direct with your requests so we can provide you with a Yes or a No answer. Take the time to get to each other. You to get to know us, and we to get to know you.
Tell us, we are here to help you. We promise to make this a good employee experience for you.
Contact us:
- Navigate to Portal.epitec.com
- Email employeecare@epitec.com
- Mark Ruma mark@epitec.com
- I am your executive sponsor.
It’s important that we get this right. Our ownership and our Executive team is fully engaged, and fully participating to resolve issues.
Thank you for this opportunity.
On behalf of Epitec, we promise to do everything in our power to make this a good employee experience for each one of you. I think you are going to like our engagement and our processes. Epitec is employee focused, customer driven, and process orientated.
Where we do not get it right, we will work very hard to make it right.
And although there will be many changes, with change comes improvement. We look to learn a lot through this transaction and from you as well as to improve as a company and to grow as company.
Thanks everyone for your time today. I look forward to working with you all. Please keep those questions and inquires coming and we will be working very hard to respond timely and accurately.
Thank you.