Talk about a big job.

For Steve Brown and his team at Performance Associates International Inc., business is truly global. Their work is affected by linguistic and cultural barriers, fluctuating metal prices, national infrastructure programs, environmental regulations and much more. It’s not easy for CEO Steve Brown to keep his finger on the pulse of all these changing variables—but for him, it’s worth it.

Performance Associates provides engineering and operations training for mines and plants, serving a long list of high-profile clients in the industry. This involves teaching workers all over the planet, often in developing countries where Brown and his team begin by administering lessons on the basic science behind a project. “When you see the lightbulb go on for a trainee—when they understand something and become successful in an industrial environment—there’s a real sense of accomplishment. That makes it all worthwhile,” he said.

For almost 30 years, Performance Associates has tackled projects large and small in a myriad of countries, from Argentina to Zambia. Their client list is full of industry heavyweights who mine and process gold, silver, iron ore, copper and more.

It all began when Brown saw a need for increased production, better safety and lower costs in the mining industry. After earning a degree from Rutgers, serving  in the Air Force and then working in the industry as a manager and consultant, Brown founded the business with a couple of partners in 1984. That was in California; they moved their home base to Tucson, Arizona, a decade later.

“About 80 percent of our work is in mining operations and the associated processing plants. Clients send us the process flow sheets, and we negotiate a contract. Then we start developing the training materials for the operators who run the process plants or the mining equipment,” said Brown. In the early days, this involved producing hard-copy training documents. “But these days, we provide computer-based training material from a central server, and it’s largely interactive.” They also conduct training sessions in person and assist with engineering and project management.

As their clients prosper, so does Performance Associates; they’ve almost doubled their workforce over the past 18 months. Brown’s biggest goal is to always maintain a high level of quality, but that can be challenging in the face of constant growth. So he makes sure to hire only the best employees, and to instill in them a sense of pride and ownership. “If we’re ever concerned with the quality of the materials that we develop, we’ll fix it—even if we have to spend our own money on it,” he explained. “That’s an important factor in our business. I want to make sure we live up to the high standards our clients have come to expect.”

For more information, please visit: www.perfnet.com