FPX has modern offices in the historic Brett’s building in Mankato.
Solving Problems:
FPX Goes Beyond Expectations International company began as CWC in Mankato
B
By Heidi Sampson | Photos by Pat Christman
ack in 1983, Jerry Johnson, of Elbow Lake, wanted to figure out a way to do two things. One was to compete better against John Deere, as Johnson was a salesperson for Ford tractors. Second on his list was to create a system for proposals. “He figured if he could generate a proposal that would show exactly what his customers would receive from the tractors, as well as what would be included within the sale, he’d have an edge,” said Dave Batt, CEO of FPX. “In 1983, there were no computing systems that did this.” Johnson’s idea would become the platform for ConfigurePrice-Quote and sales force automation software. Johnson
quickly saw the market potential in his invention, took on a partner, and started a company called Clear With Computers in Mankato, which was the very beginning of FPX. “The reason Mankato became such a hot bed for us,” said Batt, “is that when Clear With Computers was growing, taking on customers like Ford, John Deere, Mercedes and General Motors, they needed to expand operations quickly. Clear with Computers needed more developers, as well as service people. “Jerry looked to the IT and computing departments at Minnesota State University. He decided to take on summer interns, giving many of them their first jobs.” In 1997, Clear With Computers gained the interest of
Profile
20 • august 2014 • MN Valley Business