Whether you are walking through DisneyWorld® or your own neighborhood, there is a good chance that you passed a Berntsen International, Inc. product on your route.

For over 30 years, Berntsen has been the dominant manufacturer and supplier of survey markers, survey monuments, utility markers, and related accessories. In fact, Berntsen markers are found in all 50 U.S. states and in almost 100 countries worldwide from the Nile River to the Panama Canal, from Antarctica to Saudi Arabia, from Madagascar to Singapore, from the bottom of Death Valley to the top of Mount McKinley.When we visited the Madison, Wisconsin manufacturing facility in May 2005, a shipment of survey markers, with both Arabic and English text, was being prepared for shipment to Iraq where reconstruction is underway by both the U.S. and Iraqi governments.

While initially used only for the mundane, but the highly necessary, task of identifying and marking exact surveying points for surveyors and engineers around the world, times have changed. For decades, surveyors and engineers had been relegated to conducting virtual scavenger hunts throughout the nations’ urban and rural landscape looking for the secret code left behind by the most recent surveyor. In some cases, survey points were marked with a pile of rocks, fence posts, trees, or almost anything that could be sculpted or contain numbers and markings to identify the property line or special boundary point.

Berntsen, which has received multiple patents, uses only the finest metallurgically matched materials to make its products – whether it is made of aluminum, brass, bronze, stainless steel, fiberglass, plastic, or PVC.

Through a process called orbital forming, the only manufacturer of markers to use this precision forming technology, a more durable product with better and more precise detail at an economical price and faster delivery to you. This unique technology, in conjunction with the latest in computer-assisted design, allows Berntsen to reproduce your artwork and logo designs to the most accurate detail. They also have the capability to imprint markers in over 1,000 languages.

Functional and Cosmetic
Berntsen currently offers over 100 different styles of markers, monuments, and field accessories. It furnishes all types of markers including survey (cadastral, construction layout, geodetic, and topographic), utility (both aboveground and underground), and cemetery (for marking plots, lots and blocks).

Obviously, the purpose of survey markers is to provide a easily recognizable and exact point of reference. The company’s dominance in the marketplace reflects that its products meet this objective.

However, with over 20 years experience in producing high-precision, three-dimensional (3D) control monument systems Berntsen virtually revolutionized a new trend. In addition to efficiently producing standard products, the company has virtually perfected the process of creating and delivering hundreds of custom markers and can make almost any type of marker you require.

The result has been a colorful expansion. In many circumstances, survey markers need to be placed in high traffic or very visible and public locations. For instance, many sidewalks at places such as DisneyWorld, the Olympic Villages, and throughout Washington, DC and various state capitals happen to be in locations also needing to be identified by survey markers.

Berntsen has jazzed up the plain metal markers with intricate engravings and even a weather-proof colorization process. As a result, Berntsen has been asked to regularly participate in many special commemorative projects. Some of them include making special "Center of Population" markers to identify the population center based on the U.S. Census every 10 years, the District of Columbia bicentennial celebration, the 200th anniversary of Great Britain's Ordinance Survey, the 100th anniversary of the modern day Olympics, the marking of the Four Corners, and the marking of Pike's Peak to celebrate the anniversary of the composition "America The Beautiful" to name just a few.

Monumental Changes
The production of markers and other commemorative projects has led Berntsen further into the land development industry. As illustrated by the markers shown (page 31), development and engineering firms are now using these markers and monuments to add prestige to development projects. In addition to serving a functional purpose, these customized markers portray a distinguishing characteristic to residents and visitors.

Further, Berntsen is now able to produce large castings that can be mounted in a variety of ways, such as the one at the entrance to their facility (see photo above) and the wall plaques that were placed throughout the various Olympic venues in Atlanta (see photo page 30).

With their expertise in metalwork, Berntsen has not missed the opportunity to meet the unique requests from its customers. They often produce commemorative paperweights that match the designs of the custom markers. These have been used at groundbreaking and other similar important events during a project’s development.

Management Style
While still privately held, Berntsen is clearly a progressively managed firm. All 17 employees are directly involved in the company’s operation.

Rhonda Rushing, Peterson’s daughter, has been president of the manufacturing firm for the past dozen years. Just before her reign began in 1992, she led a contingent of Berntsen colleagues to a four-day management seminar conducted by management guru, Dr. Edward Deming. The result was a more determined focus on constant improvement.

One of the objectives was to increase communication and involvement of each and every employee. It wasn’t easy, but one of the most important management innovations has been the daily employee meeting.

This isn’t your typical company meeting. It is held the first thing every morning. It has a strictly enforced seven-minute time limit. A constant rotation of all employees take their turn leading the meeting. Every employee provides information related to quality product and customer service standards each day.

“It took us almost eight years to perfect,” explains Rushing, “but it is the most talked-about aspect of our company when we provide tours of our facility. We have a set agenda and it is not a casual report of incidental information. This allows everyone to know everything that is happening. Our production staff knows what the sales team has coming and the shipping department relays information that is important to sales and accounting, etc…”

The process provides an actual source of input and illustrates daily the important role that each person plays within the company’s activity. It is much more than simple lip-service to the idea of company-wide communication and employee involvement.

The result has been a very low turnover in personnel – somewhat unheard of in a manufacturing environment. Employees are valued, customers are valued, products produced are of high quality, and the result has been a stable and dominant market share in the survey marker business and the ability to explore related and complimentary products and services. SLDT