However, a lot has happened since then. A few paragraphs of more recent happenings precede Bob’s story, and you can read them below… followed by the original story.

In the mid-90’s, PIC joined forces with several qualified and experienced representatives who have been important influences on our growth of international business. We can now claim significant presence in Europe, all of North America, the Orient, South America, the Middle East, Africa, Australia… virtually all corners of the earth.

In 1999, PIC acquired 6 acres in the Sussex Corporate Center (Industrial Park) not far from our location at the time. A 12,400 square foot building, tailored to avionic cable production, was occupied in November of that year. The property is park-like, surrounded on three sides by a pond, and large enough to afford expansion to 50,000 square feet as the need arises. PIC became the first avionic cable company to earn ISO 9002 registration, certified by Lloyd’s, in January of 2001 — in effect, ratifying our long-standing quality assurance policies. As of November, 2003, PIC has been certified as an ISO 9001:2000 manufacturer, according to the latest international requirements.

In February, 2002, Jim Griffin, long-time employee and sales engineer, acquired PIC. Charlie Van Hecke stepped down as President but remains with the company in marketing, engineering and management advisory capacities.

In all this time, PIC has initiated numerous innovations in cable and connector designs, keeping in mind the need for continued or improved quality and the time-pressures placed on those who work on installation and upgrades of modern avionics.

We continue to maintain a large inventory in order to provide immediate shipment from stock as well as unusually fast turnaround on custom RF cable assemblies. This product capability is supported by an experienced team of sales and engineering professionals who pride themselves on personal response and attention to every detail.

Through all of PIC’s history, a compelling philosophy of doing business entails always being concerned for the dignity, well-being and opportunity enjoyed by each employee, customer, supplier and the community.

And now, the original story…

Reproduced with permission from Avionic News, December, 1996

PIC Wire & Cable, the Sussex, Wis.-based supplier of avionic cable and cable assemblies, is defined by its president, Charles Van Hecke. And he is defined by his employees. Charlie is employee-centered. He and his staff, to a person, are customer-centered.

The company was founded by John Heider in 1970 to be a distributor of electrical and electronic cable. Heider, who had been a manufacturers' representative, felt there was a need for a stocking distributor of wire and cable for power, industrial and communications needs -hence, the "P.I.C." Heider's original premise was to serve a number of local industries, which to that point, had been buying direct from wire and cable manufacturers. More times than not, it was a long process - as long as 18 to 24 weeks' delivery. The prompt delivery PIC offered quickly proved popular among PIC's customer base. Mills rely on distributors to be the funnel through which smaller-quantity orders are handled and end-users' immediate needs can be met.

A significant downturn in the demand for wire in the late 1970s and early 1980s caused Heider to seek out new markets. With his experience in the design of cable on one hand and his love of flying on the other - he was a private pilot himself - Heider concluded that he could make a contribution by designing cables for special applications in the avionics industry, and in 1978, he designed the first of what has become the PIC family of avionic cables.

In short order avionics would become an important segment of PIC's business. PIC cables were eliminating the need to bundle stock wires into a sleeve in order to run signals from one part of an aircraft to another. People who built airplanes were used to making their own multiconductor cables on-site. PIC cables were specifically designed for given purposes - with proper shielding, color-coding, jacketing, and cable identification. This was downright revolutionary at the time, and the almost immediate result was that PIC was "off the ground" to stay.

By the mid '80s, with avionic cables the dominant part of the business, PIC also picked up a line of data communication products. The company was supplying premise wiring for computer networks. Considering the timing and the proliferation of computer networks, it was not surprising that this would quickly develop into a significant part of the business.

This is what first attracted Van Hecke to PIC. After meeting Heider and seeing the company's overall potential, Van Hecke began what turned out to be a year's negotiations leading to his purchase of PIC and establishing the firm as a division of The Angelus Corp., the name Van Hecke had chosen for his company.

In 1991, PIC began to explore the prospect of making coaxial cable assemblies. "We had the beginnings of a family of coaxial cables we were supplying to the avionics industry, with more designs on the back burner," Van Hecke said, "and we discovered we could play a role in furnishing cable assemblies for TCAS and other RF systems in aircraft. By the end of 1991, we'd launched our cable assembly operation, which has since become a very substantial part of PIC."

In 1993, the company sold off the parts of the business that were serving the industrial and data communications areas to be exclusively avionics-oriented. Every type of cable PIC offers is sold by the foot. PIC also sells connectors to support all of its coaxial cable designs.

The PIC product line divides into coaxial and non-coaxial cable. Van Hecke was obviously proud to point out that "when we started making cables and supporting them by having connectors for our coaxial cables, we decided at the outset to make cable connectors that were weatherproofed, contrary to what was commonly available in the industry." All of PIC's cables, including low-loss coax, are designed to meet the FAA's flammability requirements.

Among the multi-connector cables PIC offers are three kinds of databus cables - two-conductor, shielded, designed for the particular system - ASCB, MIL-STD-1553, and ARINC 429 - plus other multi-conductor cables used for radar display, weather radar, lightning-sensor systems, and other applications.

While PIC dealt heavily with the general aviation industry from the outset, the company's cables and assemblies also meet the requirements of the military, commuter aircraft, and air transport. Therefore, PIC has never had to "change gears" to supply the higher-end aircraft. "In general aviation, our thrust is business aircraft - turbo-props, twin-engine, corporate jets, etc. We are increasingly a supplier to the manufacturers of these aircraft, in addition to the shops, mod centers, and completion centers," Van Hecke said. A large transport aircraft can cost over $100 million, avionics comprising roughly 10 percent of the price.

While many companies see their products and/or services as the "centerpiece," at PIC it's the people. "People are the heart of this business - the heart and the soul, for that matter." Calmly, yet with emotion, Van Hecke continued, "They (the employees) are responsible for doing all the things I cannot do, and that's a lot. Everyone who deals with our customers is keenly aware of the need to be friendly and direct and, in particular, honest as to everything they do. For example, when we are unable to meet a particular requirement, which fortunately is not often, we will see to it that there is an alternative resource for the customer to consider. We respond in terms of shipping materials almost more instantly than I can imagine. We are regularly able to turn on a dime. If a customer needs something today, and places the order this morning, it's not uncommon for us to comply."

Obviously, when something has to be put together, depending on the workload in PIC's assembly operation, it might take a day or two. And no one in the assembly department or anywhere in the company is under any kind of obligation to ship a product if it is not completely correct. "Everyone will take the necessary amount of time to see to it that it is perfect and meets every requirement in every possible way," Van Hecke added. "We will not crank it out the door for the sake of doing so. Shipping something that isn't right, that doesn't meet the strict criteria that we put on everything we sell, does nobody any favors."

It is standard operating procedure at PIC for every person involved in the processing of an order to take the time to examine the details - every purchase order, every sales order, every invoice, every packing list, every quality-control check list - everything that goes into making and supplying as perfect a product as we can make it. We have developed and maintained extensive procedures for everything we do."

PIC has a computer network that is more sophisticated than in many companies. It's not because they were asked to develop it. Rather, it is there because it is clear this company and its people have a drive, a need, to go beyond the ho-hum of doing business. For example, PIC has the ability to trace an order and all of the materials involved right back to the mine, to find out where everything they have supplied to any customer came from and when. Accuracy is never taken for granted at PIC.

When one talks with Van Hecke, the conversation will always come back to the people of PIC. "One of the most prevalent desires on my part is one I feel is equally desirable to our employees, and that is we are always particularly aware of people's dignity and self-respect at all levels. There is a concern for everyone's well-being, without compromise."

PIC's corporate atmosphere is one in which nobody has the privilege to abuse anyone in any way, shape or form - through language or appearance or anything else that would make a person feel as though he or she is not as important as anyone else. Van Hecke makes it clear that no one will ever be asked to do things that are not consistent with the highest possible regard for himself or herself. Van Hecke takes a lot of pride in letting people develop themselves and in guiding them in a coordinated effort to meet all the needs of customers. To the surprise of no one who knows this company, there is very low turnover at PIC.

November 21,1995, was the fifth anniversary of "PIC/Angelus." At a company function marking the occasion, Van Hecke presented to the employees a company mission statement The statement had evolved through a series of meetings, involving all of the employees, to establish corporate and individual goals in ways they might work in concert. Van Hecke invited the employees to sign the statement, and everyone did so without hesitation. PIC's Mission Statement, with all the signatures, is proudly posted in the lobby for all to see.

Van Hecke makes it clear he tries to never lose sight of the "people" side of business. One of his corporate goals is be sure customers are treated with respect as well as professionalism. It's the same with PIC's vendors. "They're to be treated equally as well," Van Hecke said. "We are as dependent on them as we are on our employees as we are on our customers. We are driven to continue this enterprise as a means of livelihood for every employee, as a return of investment made by the shareholders. We look beyond the profit because profit is not the end but rather the means to permit to us to achieve our goals."

As to the company's future, it appears solid. PIC is doing more business with airframe manufacturers at all levels, and there is every reason to suspect this will continue. There are new systems, and the growth of older systems, as TCAS, for example, expands worldwide. Among airframe manufacturers PIC is employing an ongoing-supply-line approach to furnish them with the cables they require in a synergistic relationship - they can plan on PIC's response to their needs, and PIC can plan on their business. The success of new airframe manufacturing is tied in a lot with PIC's success. Coupling industry figures, which suggest a growth in the industry over the next 10 to 20 years, with the increasing acceptance of PIC cable design in these industries, one may conclude that PIC's future looks very good indeed.

Distant horizons also hold interest for PIC in the future. Overseas marketplaces to the east and the west offer other opportunities. Presently, export sales account for about 25 percent of PIC's business - primarily to Europe and to some extent Canada. However, the company also exports to all corners of the earth through others who purchase PIC cables to install on aircraft which fly in the Orient or South America, Africa or Australia, and growth in such sales is also anticipated.

Beyond its quality product line, PIC is also known throughout the industry for its unique series of Cablegram advertisements on topics of interest to the avionics community. Explaining how this series came about, Van Hecke said, "Our advertising had always been pretty typical. It listed the things we do and the areas we supply, and it did so on a repetitive basis, providing a sense of continuity. The 'Cablegram' was designed to take us into another era. One of the things in which we take great pride is our knowledge of and experience in the cable industry. The thought was to share this knowledge and, in part, to also force the expansion of our own understanding of the component ideas and technologies that are part of our industry." (PIC's Cablegrams are short articles, in advertisement form, that discuss the technical aspects of cables - how they are applied, designed, selected, formulated to meet all the requirements. Many "Cablegrams" are application-oriented. Most of the 24 produced to date are supplemented with more expansive technical treatment in papers PIC supplies on request.)

"The educational direction of the Cablegrams is meant to help in training and I suspect that is the case," Van Hecke said. "When customers call us to talk about an application, they can have confidence we know what we're talking about."

There's a lot of "we" at PIC. Van Hecke would have it no other way. It is not surprising to learn that he is a family man, proud of his five sons and one daughter, not to mention the 15 grandchildren. He is a graduate engineer who loves to write. He also loves music and playing golf. He and Sue have been happily married for 38 years. Van Hecke considers himself a religious person. "The serious nature of what a person sees as a mission has to do with his or her own make-up. Mine is directed in no small extent along spiritual lines. I see that it is my responsibility to look after the company I have been privileged to own and work with as the most gratifying, thing, in my life, business-wise. The most important thing, I've done, I think, is to have assembled a team of truly excellent and caring people who are dedicated and diligent and who are at the core of our success. To create and maintain the kind of atmosphere in which such people can feel welcome and challenged as well as rewarded is an important mission in my life."

Regarding those PIC services, Van Hecke feels he is dealing with the most wonderful marketplace in the world. "I have never dealt with customers who are more deeply committed to their own accomplishment of the tasks put before them. This is an industry, quite unlike the vast majority, in which the people are completely concerned with doing things right - always doing things right - because they understand the responsibility that is theirs. But, more than that, it is their inclination."

"They are good and friendly and, interestingly, very close to one another. They are just plain responsible folks, and that's the kind of people you find everywhere in the avionics and aircraft industry."

PIC Wire & Cable is defined by its president, and he is defined by his employees ... and his customers and his vendors and the industry his company serves. Could this kind of thing start a trend in today's carnivorous commercial world? What a nice thought....