Stanley succeeds in smooth acquisition

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

By DONNA FORK

For the Times dfork@knology.net

Morgan Research blended into company named one of the 100 best to work for

A year ago, Virginia-based Stanley Associates acquired Huntsville's Morgan Research. From early indications, both companies have benefited from the purchase.

"Morgan was a very exciting acquisition for us," said Chris Torti, senior vice president at Stanley, who was a key player in the Morgan acquisition.

Stanley is a provider of information technology services and solutions to U.S. defense and federal civilian government agencies. It was named last month to Fortune magazine's list of the "100 Best Companies to Work for.''

Before the acquisition, Stanley had just two employees in Huntsville. Now Stanley has about 300 former Morgan employees in Huntsville. Stanley's total work force stands at 2300, Torti said. The Huntsville division is becoming the Applied Engineering and Technology Division of Stanley, Inc., Torti said.

Torti is especially proud Stanley made the top 100 because the evaluations occurred during two big steps for the company: Stanley went public last year, and it also acquired Morgan. Torti said Morgan employees were among those interviewed by Fortune during the award process.

During an acquisition, a buyer must be careful not to "force change too quickly" on the employees of the company it has purchased. Torti said Stanley has tried to take a thoughtful approach.

"We are methodical. We maintained everything Morgan was doing, and added more." He said another reason for the success of the acquisition was the existing Huntsville team.

"Al (Killen, vice president and general manager at Stanley in Huntsville) and his management team are my best commercial ... Those guys down there deserve a lot of credit."

Killen said he wanted the transition to be seamless, so he was pleased to hear that one employee asked about the transition replied, "I never knew the difference."

Actually, making everything look like it hadn't changed was hard work. An effort was made to make sure "the little things" stayed the same, Killen said.

Founded in 1988

Founded in 1988 in Huntsville, Morgan Research provided high-end science and engineering services to the Department of Defense, NASA and other government agencies. In 2005, Morgan Research's revenues were more than $66 million, and the company employed more than 450 across the United States.

The Base Realignment And Closure (BRAC) decisions moving more military work to Rocket City created "opportunities inherent to Huntsville," Torti said. Stanley was interested in Morgan's "engineering forte" which would be "complementary to our existing customer base."

New Huntsville division

Killen's background is tailored for running the new Huntsville division of Stanley. He was a civil servant working for AMCOM for 15 years, most recently as acting director for missile technology, assistance director for weapons sciences and director for unmanned systems. He came on board at Morgan in 2003 as program manager, becoming business head unit director before the acquisition.

Torti said the acquisition went so well that "I would not hesitate to do another acquisition," but he declined to say whether Stanley has another in the works.

"We're still very interested in Huntsville," he said.



Stanley succeeds in smooth acquisition Tuesday, February 27, 2007 By DONNA FORK For the Times dfork@knology.net Morgan Research blended into company named one of the 100 best to work for A year ago, Virginia-based Stanley Associates acquired Huntsville's Morgan Research. From early indications, both companies have benefited from the purchase. "Morgan was a very exciting acquisition for us," said Chris Torti, senior vice president at Stanley, who was a key player in the Morgan acquisition. Stanley is a provider of information technology services and solutions to U.S. defense and federal civilian government agencies. It was named last month to Fortune magazine's list of the "100 Best Companies to Work for.'' Before the acquisition, Stanley had just two employees in Huntsville. Now Stanley has about 300 former Morgan employees in Huntsville. Stanley's total work force stands at 2300, Torti said. The Huntsville division is becoming the Applied Engineering and Technology Division of Stanley, Inc., Torti said. Torti is especially proud Stanley made the top 100 because the evaluations occurred during two big steps for the company: Stanley went public last year, and it also acquired Morgan. Torti said Morgan employees were among those interviewed by Fortune during the award process. During an acquisition, a buyer must be careful not to "force change too quickly" on the employees of the company it has purchased. Torti said Stanley has tried to take a thoughtful approach. "We are methodical. We maintained everything Morgan was doing, and added more." He said another reason for the success of the acquisition was the existing Huntsville team. "Al (Killen, vice president and general manager at Stanley in Huntsville) and his management team are my best commercial ... Those guys down there deserve a lot of credit." Killen said he wanted the transition to be seamless, so he was pleased to hear that one employee asked about the transition replied, "I never knew the difference." Actually, making everything look like it hadn't changed was hard work. An effort was made to make sure "the little things" stayed the same, Killen said. Founded in 1988 Founded in 1988 in Huntsville, Morgan Research provided high-end science and engineering services to the Department of Defense, NASA and other government agencies. In 2005, Morgan Research's revenues were more than $66 million, and the company employed more than 450 across the United States. The Base Realignment And Closure (BRAC) decisions moving more military work to Rocket City created "opportunities inherent to Huntsville," Torti said. Stanley was interested in Morgan's "engineering forte" which would be "complementary to our existing customer base." New Huntsville division Killen's background is tailored for running the new Huntsville division of Stanley. He was a civil servant working for AMCOM for 15 years, most recently as acting director for missile technology, assistance director for weapons sciences and director for unmanned systems. He came on board at Morgan in 2003 as program manager, becoming business head unit director before the acquisition. Torti said the acquisition went so well that "I would not hesitate to do another acquisition," but he declined to say whether Stanley has another in the works. "We're still very interested in Huntsville," he said. © 2007 The Huntsville Times © 2007 al.com All Rights Reserved.