Alderon Industries

The challenge

Bob Klabunde, President of Alderon Industries, struggled to keep up with human resources administration while growing his business. Alderon, founded in 1999, is a local Minnesota manufacturing company focused on creating control panels and float switches for the wastewater, HVAC, and elevator industries.

In 2007, although the company only had 5-6 employees, Bob’s business partner Dan Scherping was overwhelmed with the HR tasks. Frustrated, Dan introduced partnering with a PEO to reduce the crushing weight of administrative tasks inhibiting his ability to run the business. Bob was skeptical, thinking HR couldn’t possibly take that much time. Plus, he was worried about the extra expense. “We had 5 or 6 employees at the time, Dan was doing all the paperwork, and I thought – it can’t take that much time, plus it was going to cost us more money,” said Bob.

The solution

However, after the business partners discussed finding a PEO, they decided to partner with PRO Resources. PRO Resources went to work to improve Alderon’s operations. By taking over the administrative duties of the business, the two partners were able to focus on production and growth. Dan was no longer responsible for time-consuming workers’ comp claims, safety issues, onboarding, training, payroll, and other administrative tasks. Now, the two could bring their attention to growing the business.

PRO eliminated Bob’s initial skepticism shortly after the partnership began.“It has exceeded my expectations...They help us in the hiring and selection process by screening applicants, going through the interview process, and they do the background checks to get us the best employees.”

The success

Partnering with PRO freed up Bob and Dan and allowed them to direct their attention to production and customer service. “It really makes sense. We’re a growing business, and to do well in this competitive environment that we’re in, we need to focus on what we do best...and that is to design products, sell products and deal with customers.”

By 2012, Alderon grew to 35 employees and expanded to a 38,000-square- foot facility. Bob attributes his success to a partnership with PRO Resources.

“Even though it may appear that it’s costing you money...it’s not. The time you would spend dealing with all the issues...if you have a workers’ comp claim, or have a safety issue, just to solve those problems, it would cost you a lot more not having someone like PRO.”

In 2021, Alderon Industries employed over 70 employees and is still growing. Once a true skeptic about HR outsourcing with a PEO, Bob now recognizes that he achieved business growth by having PRO by his side. “Without a doubt, I would recommend PRO.”