February 27, 2007
COURTNEY SHERWOOD, Columbian staff writer

Vancouver company keeps things moving David Madore likes to keep spinning his wheels. He runs a business that specializes in motion. He's obsessed with traffic. And he thinks. A lot.

The paint is barely dry at U.S. Digital's new headquarters, but the business that Madore founded in California in 1980 is already starting to see the latest benefits of those spinning wheels.

The company takes on about 20 new clients each week, is releasing a new product just about every month, and has grown from 57 employees to 78 since late 2005.

Headquartered at 1400 N.E. 136th Ave., once home to Nautilus, U.S. Digital finished 2006 with $12.5 million in revenues despite a sales and marketing staff of zero. All while focusing on a business niche most people have never heard of. One that frequently relies on spinning wheels.

Motion control
"When you turn your radio dial, that mechanical movement has to transfer into an electronic charge," said Rick Campfield, who acts as U.S. Digital's chief operating officer, though employees don't have official titles.

When the radio dial turns, a bar code attached to its turning shaft is read and interpreted by a chip that regulates the audio level or station selection.

When people move dials or levers on the machines and devices in their cars, computers or radios, motion control systems read those movements and tell the devices what to do.

Likewise, when people program machinery to move in certain ways, motion control devices oversee the ways that machines follow those computerized instructions.

Interpreting and directing mechanical movements are U.S. Digital's expertise.

Minds and bodies
About a dozen engineers at the company design and develop products in response to custom orders or market opportunities. The remaining employees include office support and manufacturing and assembly workers. The company does all production in-house, using its motion control expertise to automate much of the process.

No matter what division they work in, U.S. Digital employees get an enviable benefits package: a week of paid vacation at Christmas; use of a free office gym (shampoo is provided in the locker room); a lunch room stocked with free health food including juices, fresh fruit and yogurt. And a pingpong table.

Except for a handful of technical support employees, everyone works four 10-hour days and gets Friday, Saturday and Sunday off every week.

"A healthy employee will be more productive," Campbell said. Treating employees well reduces turnover, he said. And it keeps their minds and bodies in motion.

The traffic obsession
Motion is an obsession at U.S. Digital.

That product focus and a top quality staff have resulted in rapid business growth, Madore believes.

"We don't make everything in the world; we make motion control products," he said.

But in 2003, some of that focus took a detour. It was rush hour. David Madore had traveled two miles in 20 minutes on Vancouver's traffic-snarled Mill Plain Boulevard. Poorly calibrated traffic lights seemed to make the problem worse.

"I am a problem-solver by nature," Madore said, and he decided to get to the bottom of "dumb" traffic lights. He spent months tracking down industry experts, collecting equipment and turning it over to the U.S. Digital engineers to find out what makes signals work.

In 2005, he offered to test his theories for improved traffic signals on Vancouver streets, but city officials rejected the proposal. Eventually, Madore scaled back his focus on traffic.

The company was growing, preparing to move to its new headquarters, there was a lot to tend in the field of motion control. But inefficient traffic signals continued to bother Madore and several engineers on staff. Now that things are settling down in the new work space, Madore said he's ready to spend a bit more time looking in to traffic solutions.

"Intelligent traffic signals are not U.S. Digital's niche, but we'll make another niche," he said. "We make solutions. This is a problem that needs a solution."

Within six months, he predicts, he'll have a workable traffic light model ready to share with the world.

"It will be like nothing you've ever seen," Madore said, a gleam of excitement in his eye. "It's amazing what can be done when you add intelligence to traffic lights."

Until the development is ready for release, however, Madore is not willing to go into detail.

"Stay tuned," he said, smiling.

What's next?
The traffic project, though it excites Madore, continues to be secondary to U.S. Digital's plans going forward.

U.S. Digital moved into a 115,000-square-foot building in June, from 19,000 square feet.

"We're a repotted plant," Madore said. "We have room for our roots to grow here." To fuel that growth, the company plans to launch its first-ever sales and marketing campaign this year.

Campfield recently published the company's first brochure. He's been taking it to trade shows, another company first.

"In mid-2007 we'll ramp up the marketing campaign," with ads in industry-appropriate magazines and increased customer outreach, Campfield said.

With the extra floor space and a little outreach, U.S. Digital expects it can grow 20 percent annually for years go come, Campfield said.

"We can't keep counting on people to find us through the Web," Campfield said. "But we still have a lot of room to grow."

US DIGITAL
• WHAT: Designs and manufactures motion control devices.
• WHERE: 1400 N.E. 136th Ave., Vancouver
• PRESIDENT: David Madore.
• EMPLOYEES: 78.
• REVENUES: $12.5 million.
• LOOKING AHEAD: The company is introducing an average of one new product a month. "Intelligent" traffic signals could be among the company's future devices.

Courtney Sherwood covers the high-tech industry. Reach her at 360-759-8041 or courtney.sherwood@columbian.com