Camber alert Government contractor's employees 'in charge of own destiny'

During the past 17 years, Camber Corp. has become a successful government contractor while operating under the radar.

Revenue has grown from $500,000 in 1990 to nearly $200 million in 2007. With the recent acquisition of Complex Solutions Inc., a Honolulu-based government contractor, the Huntsville-based firm is on track to becoming a half-billion-dollar-a-year company, company officials say.

That growth leads many people to ask Joe Alexander, Camber's president and chief operating officer, if the company plans to go public or be acquired.

Alexander tells them: That's up to the employees.

In 1998, Camber became an employee-owned company, establishing an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP. Shares were initially valued at $2.25. Those shares are now worth just over $16, a nice nest egg that provides employee motivation, in addition to the company's 401(k) plan.

One employee, a clerk who earns about $30,000 annually, has accrued more than $150,000 in her ESOP account since 1998, Alexander said.

"People are our most important asset," he said. "Instead of our employees working to float some CEO's yacht in the Caribbean, they're working for themselves."

Camber's work includes modeling and simulation, training and information technology and acquisition support. The firm also provides joint technical support for all branches of the military, with an emphasis on interagency cooperation.

"That puts us in a unique position that not many companies are in," Alexander said.

CD-ROM and Web-based courses include training in counter-terrorism, disaster response, language and cultural training.

Arabic is particularly popular right now, Alexander said, as military personnel and contractors prepare to work in the Middle East.

"That will help them be more effective when they get there," he said.

CSI, Camber's recent acquisition, goes in-country to train foreign armed services and rebuild nations, he said.

Camber has also begun working with various state governments, along with the Department of Homeland Security and the National Guard in several states, to provide disaster training. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 "was very much a catalyst to get states interested in developing a joint state-level task force headquarters," Alexander said.

Camber was founded in 1990 by Walter Batson and a silent partner. In 1998, the firm's employees bought out the owners and established the ESOP. Batson is the company's chairman and CEO.

Alexander joined Camber in 1992 after a 22-year career in the Army. He worked in the firm's Washington, D.C., office before moving to Huntsville about 10 years ago to become the company's president.

When Alexander joined Camber, the company had about 50 employees and $5.4 million in revenue. Today, Camber has about 1,400 employees and is projected to have about $214 million in revenue in 2008. The firm has a presence in about 70 locations worldwide.

These days, Camber finds itself in the awkward spot of being too big for small-business set-asides, but too small to be considered a "big company," Alexander said. Competitors include General Dynamics, which has about 83,000 employees, and SAIC, which has more than 44,000 employees.

"But we're doing OK, and we'll continue to be OK," he said.

Camber's goal is to grow by 8 percent a year, by adding customers and acquiring companies, Alexander said.

"How many employees we have, that's the best indicator we have of how well we're doing," he said.

Employee ownership also means that Camber's employees call the shots whether it will ever go public or be acquired.

"People ask 'Is Camber for sale?' We're about the most acquisition-proof there is," he said. "We are absolutely in charge of our own destiny."