For a guy who's been on a fast-track most of his life, Jim Flandreau took an uncharacteristically long time getting his rapidly growing Power Industry Consultants (PIC) off the ground. In fact, the company which now provides contract technical personnel, permanent staffing, and value added services to the electric power industry, was subterranean for ten years while Flandreau ran other companies that would not let him implement those dreams.

From 1975, the year he graduated, until 1988 when he brought PIC upstairs and into the mainstream of electric power industry services, Flandreau observed and documented the problems that power plants encountered, especially during that critical start-up phase between construction completion and commercial operations. As Flandreau describes it, "Most of the people responsible for starting up the plants were either not fully qualified or trained to do all the important tasks of bringing the plant on-line"

"I would travel on weekends and vacations at my own expense, " says Flandreau, "to look at plants all around the country in the startup phase. I wanted to see what could and ought to be done to ensure the smooth transition from construction of the plant to the point where it was efficiently serving consumers." What became more and more apparent over the years was that the startup personnel needed to have the proper skills and the startup manager had to have the authority to get the job done.

At the same time, Flandreau was fast-tracking the conceptual development for a company that would provide the solution to this particular problem, which was universal to all new plants. He talked to engineers and technicians who were also aware of the problems and shared his vision for solving them. Flandreau began to build his network of professional contacts that would propel PIC from a dream into a reality.

Networking was something with which Flandreau was completely comfortable. Considering that the term, back in the 1970's, was not part of the career development lexicon that it is today. Flandreau was quite possibly ahead of his time. One might further note that "downsizing" and "rightsizing" hadn't entered the glossary of human resources buzzwords either, and most people did not change jobs very often.

In 1988, PIC began operations in a North Atlanta suburb. Over the past decade, PIC has grown from a dream of Jim Flandreau's, to a highly successful value added contract and permanent staffing company with offices around the globe. Today, multiple companies under the PIC banner provide their services to the electric power, oil and gas, process, telecommunications, IT, transportation, packaging, pulp and paper and construction industries from PIC's global headquarters in Marietta, Georgia USA.

PIC quickly established a reputation as the premier provider of personnel in the electric power industry. This reputation grew from a commitment to provide "THE BEST OF THE BEST"(r) contract consultants, defined-term manpower, craft labor, permanent placement candidates, and value added services. Its services range from design and project development expertise to construction, startup, plant operations and outage services. Whatever the request, PIC evaluates the client's needs and provides the very best solution to solve the client's problem or need.

Its contract consultants are selected for employment because they are rated among the top 10% of the performers in their position classification. Today, PIC prides itself on maintaining a pool of thousands of the industry's top consultants representing virtuously every discipline. Its elaborate computerized management information system, developed by PIC's own top notch IT staff, is used to track the top personnel in the industry today.

PIC was founded not only on the commitment to provide unparalleled service to its clients, but also to support its many worldwide employees. Its ability to meet its employees needs has directly attributable to the resounding success of the company. PIC was one of the first staffing companies to provide its employees with medical, dental, life and long-term disability insurance benefits, a 401K plan, and plenty of personal care and attention. "That's another key to our success," says Flandreau. "These engineers and technicians are our employees, we take care of them and that is why they want to work with us instead of someone else."

Entering the new Millennium, Jim Flandreau and all of PIC are even more committed to continue those things that have made them successful - providing high quality services to their clients and supporting their worldwide employees.