Industry News, Trends and Technology, and Standards Updates

By Jodi Juretich,
Chief Financial Officer

You might be thinking, “What does healthcare costs have to do with a factory automation and equipment control software solutions company?” Well, directly, not much but indirectly, it’s one of many benefits that play a role in retaining and attracting talented employees.

Gone are the good old days where 100% employer paid benefits were the norm. The average health-care cost for a family plan now costs roughly $13,000 a year and employees are paying anywhere from 25% to 50% of that cost. Multiply that times the number of employees in your company and, well, you get the idea. And that’s only health care. There are other benefits such as life, disability, dental, vision and workman’s comp, to mention a few. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2009 Employer Benefits Survey, health insurance premiums have increased by 138% over the last decade. With increases like that, an employer has to be smart on designing health plans to keep their employees focused on their jobs and not stressing about how they are going to pay for health care.

Your typical health care plans have co-pays, out of pocket maximums and life time maximums and all of these options, depending on how they are designed, can drive the premiums way up. If your company is paying attention to these options, they can manage the cost by implementing a Health Reimbursement Account Plan (“HRA”) to supplement, for example, higher out of pocket maximums. A strategy like this is designed so the employee does not feel the financial burden if they fall in to that very small population of hitting their out of pocket maximum in a plan year. Why pay a higher premium that caters to the whole population when only a very small percentage will use that part of the benefit.This approach saves the employee money by reducing employee share of the monthly premiums. It saves the company money by reducing its overall expenses which directly impacts a company’s ability to maintain competitive pricing to its customers and ultimately drives the company’s EPS and shareholder value.

At Cimetrix, we take very seriously the retention of our key employees and understand that a competitive benefits package plays an important role in that process. Our team is our most valuable asset, providing you – the customer – with the highest quality support, services and solutions. With sound financial planning, we can create a program in which both the company and the employees win.

Next time your benefits are up for renewal, ask your employer if they have a financially smart plan design for healthcare costs.

By Jentry Norse
AP/ AR Coordinator

As the Accounts Receivable Coordinator, people are not typically excited to hear from me. I’m a really nice guy and all… but usually, if you receive a call from me it’s about a past due invoice. And who likes receiving those calls?

Fortunately, we have very few past due accounts…and haven’t had to use a collection agency (although I get about 2 calls a month soliciting their services). With the industry slowly coming out of this slump, I myself have been pretty amazed at how open the lines of communication have been with the accounts payable departments of many of our customers.

In my opinion, communication is KEY. I rarely have to wait more than a day for a response to my collection efforts and feel like everyone is a little more aware of the need to know when payments can be expected especially during this difficult economy.

As much as I love talking to people, I feel the need to provide you (our customers) with some tips on how NOT to get a call from me (or how to not to continue to get calls from me):

1. Note your terms on each invoice and submit payment as soon as possible.
2. Make sure that you are sending your electronic payments to our new bank account (effective May 21, 2008). A memo was sent out last year; however, bank account information can be provided if you do not have it already.
3. We review our accounts receivables weekly and send out inquiries requesting payment status updates. If you receive one of these requests, please send a simple response letting us know when the invoice in question is scheduled for payment.
4. If we do not hear from you……..we will keep inquiring until we do.
5. We understand that many of you have to check with your purchasing departments and/or Project Coordinators and need a day or two to get back with us. We also realize your time is valuable and want you to know we appreciate your efforts and look forward to your correspondence.

If you have any questions (and would like to contact ME), please contact me directly at 801-256-6617 or jentry.nourse@cimetrix.com.

THANKS to the Accounts Payable / Purchasing departments of our many customers for their AWESOME communication! Your quick and friendly responses make my collection calls much easier.

Forbes magazine declared Utah the 2nd best state in America for business in 2008. The State New Economy Index - performed by the Ewing Marion Kaufman Foundation - gave Utah the number one spot in "economic dynamism" that same year.

2008 was a good year for Utah.  And Cimetrix received a very nice honor when compared to other companies in Utah.  Utah Business magazine recently published their "Top 40 Public Companies in Utah" for 2008 and Cimetrix was included in that list at #32. Being named one of Utah's top companies is an honor in itself, but the fact that we made the list in one of the stronger economies in the nation... makes it even sweeter.

Cimetrix was also included in the magazine's annual "Book of Lists" in 2008 which includes comprehensive information and rankings about the state's businesses and industries. We were ranked as one of the top 25 software developers for 2007.

At Cimetrix, we thrive on customer interaction, continous improvement, and a passionate dedication to providing an elevated level of quality in both our products and services.  In an effort to solicit more feedback from our customers and colleagues, we will be launching a blog in the coming weeks. 

Readers can expect to see posts regarding industry trends and updates, product  & company announcements, tips for smooth implementation of the SEMI standards (SECS/GEM, GEM300, and EDA), and common incidents and how to avoid them.

Check back soon!