The other 10 percent? "Because he got forced out of his last company, he said, 'I'm going to show them that that wasn't a fluke,'" said MacLure, who is 51.
For Deutsch, it was unfinished business. At the time of his firing, Deutsch says he was making plans to pursue other industries where General Physics could make its mark.
"I wanted to go into automotive. Everything we've been doing relative to nuclear, we could apply to the training of technical people," he said. "I could see that as a big area. I never got a chance."
So Deutsch built RWD around training workers to use emerging technologies that are becoming common to every business.
The company trains workers to use software and other technology that helps run the business as well as develops products. It also helps manufacturers work more efficiently and increase productivity in assembling new cars or consumer products. One of its largest clients remains Chrysler, which enlisted RWD's help early on.A growing area of RWD's business involves using efficiency techniques commonly associated with manufacturing to help hospitals and health care professionals improve patient care and safety.
Ann Gengler, an internal management consultant at the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Fairview, said RWD is helping the hospital improve its employee orientation for critical care nurses by figuring out the best ways to deliver knowledge and procedures to new workers - whether it be through new technology or traditional instruction.
"They have positively challenged some of our thinking about how we do things," Gengler said.
The company's competitors include Accenture and IBM.
Deutsch took RWD public in 1997, but it struggled during the economic downturn that began in 2000. Companies pulled back on training budgets after overspending for the Y2K computer disaster that never materialized.
Sales dropped to $97 million in 2003, from $133 million in 2000. In 2003, the company went private. Besides buying back the shares he did not already own, Deutsch, who along with his family owned 66 percent of the company, also guaranteed a $6 million line of credit as RWD worked to turn around its business, MacLure said. Deutsch now owns 84 percent of RWD.
During the past several years, its international business has grown as RWD increased training of oil refinery operators in places such as Dubai and Kazakhstan.
