Since Emkay, Inc. started in the vehicle leasing business, many things have changed in the industry, but officials at the 42-year-old company agree that one thing hasn't changed Leasing is still a service industry. Like many vehicle lessors, the Itasca, II-based firm has continued over the years to enhance the quality of services it offers.

Robert Kaiser, senior vice president of sales, reinforces the service concept that has fueled Emkay's growth, which has been at a double-digit rate for the past five years. "Our market niche is with those companies seeking personalized and flexible lease plans and that want to know all the key players at their lessor. We fulfill this, and this is reflected in our customer retention rate." Kaiser says.

President Gary Tepas, who is active in the American Automotive Leasing Association as an officer, director, and chairman of the legislative committee, discusses changes in the industry. "The competitive nature of the industry has allowed only those able to control their expenses to be able to provide the high levels of service at low cost to the customer as dictated by the marketplace," Tepas observes.

"While there have been many published articles citing the earnings decline in the leasing industry, our low debt-to-equity position, when compared to most in the industry. has kept our balance sheet the envy of main ," he adds.

William Stoops, Eastern region vice president and an industry sales executive for 30 years, remarks, "There aren't many lessors around today that offer full maintenance and net lease closed-end programs, as well as finance lease and management plans. I believe because about 25 percent of our business is at risk (closed-end leases), we have a significantly higher 'real-life' knowledge for controlling operating expenses and used-car resale results."

Indicative of Emkay's growth is its new headquarters in suburban Chicago, a facility featuring many high-tech innovations. Among these is a complete, on-line computer communications system available to clients, auto manufacturers, regional offices, major vendors (such as oil companies), and the firm's retail used-vehicle facility.

The entire system, including reports and computer-to-computer output programs, continually receives positive reviews from clients, Emkay reports. Unique to the system is the paper-free method of billing clients. The process permits distribution of client costs to selected general ledger accounts determined by the client.

The company is also proud of its own corporate fitness facility for employees, part of the new headquarters complex. "Our commitment to employees has really facilitated our ability to recruit talented, motivated people." says Tepas. "We think the attitude portrayed by our people to our clients is second-to-none and, in part, is attributable to what we think of as "the human touch." he adds.

"A real key to our success is the management of used-vehicle sales." says Theodore Rosdil, senior vice president of finance. "Ten years ago, we decided to invest in a small dealership facility to merchandise used cars and perform maintenance and reconditioning. This provides two things: one, a location to directly control the sale of all turned-in units within 300 miles of Chicago, and secondly, the option to return to this location any vehicles beyond 300 miles that don't achieve the desired sale price." Being in position to sell these vehicles creates a system the company can use to measure the performance of used-car dealers and auctions. The results have been very satisfactory, according to Rosdil. Three years ago. Emkay built a new facility on nearly six acres with high retail visibility for expansion and development of the concept. Today, nearly 60 people work at this facility.

Along with an improved environment for selling used cars, the facility has helped Emkay to diversify. Both Emkay Rent A Car and a retail individual lease division operate from the facility. All local new-car lease deliveries are made from the location, and Emkay's clients in the area benefit from the convenience of obtaining all service and repair needs for their vehicles, as well as having rental cars available at the facility. All charges for work or services can be billed directly to clients. The company plans to expand the concept of "one-stop shopping" in other key U.S. markets.

Currently, Emkay delivers more than 100 new, leased units each month from the facility, sells about 50 used units, services several hundred units, and has nearly 80-percent utilization of its 150-car daily rental fleet.

Important to Emkay's continued success is competitive pricing, based on all forms of borrowing, such as fixed-interest rate plans, c.d., or commercial paper-based borrowing. "Our forte is offering each client a truly personal relationship with the highest level of professional service available, and there seems to be more companies seeking that each year," Tepas asserts.

While the highest growth in the company's portfolio has been in finance or fleet management plans with fleets of 50 to 700 units, the company continues to sign many new accounts in the 25- to 50-unit range. The occasional multi-thousand-unit fleet seeking a closer lessor relationship is among the types of accounts the firm services.

Steve Derus. former fleet manager for a NYSE company and now Emkay's director of purchasing, remarks. "I never realized just how much went on behind the scenes and how much service I was really getting. It certainly went far beyond my analysis of interest and service fees. The high-tech support we offer allows clients to see videos showing our facilities describing our computer services, or displaying new-car sales and used-car trends. We rely heavily on training our personnel." Derus continues, "and try inn to keep our clients better informed than we think they might be with another supplier."

According to Kaiser, "Our close relationship to vehicle manufacturers is a plus for our clients in that it enables us to provide them with timely information on new products, from production through vehicle delivery." On the other end of the service spectrum is the Used-Car Telemarketing Department, set up two years ago. "We offer 100-percent financing, warranties, and credit life insurance," Kaiser says. "This has been very popular with our clients and is a value-added they consistently comment on."

''When I was hired 10 years ago" recalls Tepas, "one of the first new clients to sign on with us called Emkay 'little known, but highly regarded.' In the past five years, our slogan has been 'Performance with Pride,' and, when we moved into our new headquarters building, a Chicago newspaper began an article, 'Emkay is on the move.' We're not only on the move physically, but we're moving within the leasing industry itself."