Article

Who's Who: Greg Swistak

The man behind thousands of kiosk enclosures manufactured by Factura Corp. was himself molded by tough business decisions.

March 20, 2002

Greg Swistak wasn't always the president of Factura Corp., the kiosk design and enclosure company he founded in 1986. Once, he ended up as an employee at his own company.

Swistak's pride and fortitude were tested in 1995. Factura had a contract with the U.S.

Factura president Greg Swistak.

Postal Service, but funding fell through, leaving the Postal Service "millions of dollars" of debt to Factura, he said. The Postal Service agreed to pay the debt during a three-year period, but the agreement placed Factura in a financial bind, and Swistak had to seek outside funding.

So Swistak sold the company to touchscreen maker Microtouch Systems Inc. He was kept on as general manager.

Last year, Swistak said, Microtouch decided to spin off the company and assigned him the task of finding a buyer. It wasn't much of a search.

He bought his old company back, now owning 90 percent of the firm.

It's this kind of dedication that makes Swistak a key factor in Factura's success.

A straight shooter

Factura's focus, and what Swistak believes makes the company successful, is its customer responsiveness. Since its beginning, Factura has produced more than 50,000 kiosks. The 65-employee firm's clients include Target Corp., JCPenney Company Inc., and Eastman Kodak Company.

"Our philosophy over the years is to react to what the customer wants," he said.

As an example, he said that last year Factura produced 100 outdoor enclosures for Universal Studios in just three months. The start-to-finish project could have taken more than a year to complete.

He also puts a great emphasis on personally contacting his customers, spending up to 40 percent of his time visiting them.

"I try to spend as much of my time as possible talking to other executives of companies who are interested in kiosk marketing," he said.

Swistak said he focuses on keeping his employees happy by promoting from within and giving them responsibility for projects.

"I enjoy spending time with people and helping them be successful," he said.

His caretaking attitude and interest in people may be why Swistak was able to convince a number of sales representatives who had left when he sold the company to return.

"They thought he was a really honest, straight shooter," said longtime friend and business associate Jim Odorczyk.

From garage to business

Swistak, who holds a degree in mechanical engineering, founded Factura after Odorczyk complained that his suppliers couldn't build a kiosk enclosure that satisfied him.

Odorczyk, a co-worker from their days as a designer of laser printers at Xerox, was then president of Inter-ad, a company that supplied store directory kiosks to retail outlets.

When he mentioned his dilemma, Swistak was running a company making fiberglass products. Swistak's curiosity took over.

"He asked me a whole bunch of questions, like what they were doing for ventilation," Odorczyk said.

The future president of Factura built a prototype, using fiberglass to mold a cabinet.

"I think he basically put it together in his garage or basement," Odorczyk said, describing the enclosure as "far superior" to those he was using at the time.

That experience revealed a good business opportunity. Swistak shut down his fiberglass company to focus his attention on kiosks.

He said Factura, which comes from a Latin word meaning to work with your hands, is a business right up his alley.

"I just understand mechanical engineering, how to build things," he said.

An attitude for business

Swistak is a good man with whom to do business, Odorczyk said. His success may in part come from his abilities to view problems from different aspects.

"He can look at the big picture, but he can also handle the details," Odorczyk said. "He can look at a problem and just bring a whole lot of new ideas to the table."