My Biz: CEO of Cedar Rapids business had early start

Mike Schaldecker describes himself as “just a Cedar Rapids kid” who didn't necessarily have a career plan, but through key early decisions was in the right place at the right time.

Schaldecker is president and CEO of Catch & Release, corporate parent of Janda Motor Services, an industrial electric motor repair company that celebrated 50 years this past summer. He began working for the company through an industrial tech program while attending Kennedy High School.

“You could go to school in the morning and in the afternoon you went to your job, where students could earn credits,” Schaldecker recalls. “I did that for about a year and a half and went to work full time for Janda after graduating from high school.”

Schaldecker had worked for Janda Motor Service for six years when he realized he needed to know more about the business of motor repair. That's when he made a decision that set the wheels in motion for a 40-year career with the company.

“I enrolled at Kirkwood Community College,” Schaldecker said. “At the time industrial tech wasn't a degree program, but I completed the training and received a diploma.

“In hindsight, that was probably the smartest thing I could have done because it gave me the advantage. When the company needed to advance somebody that was a little bit stronger in certain areas, I was their choice since I had gone to school.

“It was funny because I was appointed assistant to the foreman - and then six months later the foreman quit, so guess who became foreman?”

While his business card displays the impressive words president and CEO, Schaldecker is quick to point out that his job responsibilities are all encompassing.

“It sounds fancy and it might get you a better parking spot out front,” he said, “but you do whatever it takes to get things done.”

That can mean anything and everything for someone who still knows how to service single-phase motors, a skill that has almost disappeared in light of today's advanced motor technologies.

“If the guys have a problem with a motor, I'm no stranger to dirt,” Schaldecker said. “My tool box is pretty dusty these days, but its right outside the door. I haven't used it in a while, but I still know how.”

Schaldecker's duties include frequent travel among the company's other sites in addition to overseeing the Cedar Rapids operations with a total of 85 employees. “Up at 5 a.m. and out the door by 5:30 a.m.” is how he describes a typical travel day.

In addition to Janda Motor Services in Cedar Rapids, Schaldecker has oversight responsibilities for Catch & Release's Quad Cities locations -- Janda Motor Services and Douglas Machine and Engineering in Davenport, as well as Foremost Industrial Technologies in Peoria, Ill.

“We are a small company so I wear every color of hat there is,” Schaldecker said. “I deal with personnel matters, the finances and operations issues.”

As far as the average hours his job requires in a non-traveling week, Schaldecker grins as he offers an upbeat observation. “It is one of those things that if you don't keep track, it doesn't bother you.”

If he was still on the floor working with single-phase motors, Schaldecker said his  job would be obsolete.

“It's a good thing to work your way up the ladder," he said. "Otherwise, I would have worked my way out the door by now.”

At a glance

• Company: Catch & Release/Janda Motor Services
• President and CEO: Mike Schaldecker
• Address: 901 17th St. NE, Cedar Rapids
• Phone: (319) 393-1230
• Website: www.janda.com