David Miley, Vortechnics, Inc.
"I found myself facing a challenging situation at the beginning of 2004. I was selling my Company, about to undergo an audit by one of the Big Four CPA firms on behalf of the acquiring Company, dealing with systems problems, and limited for resources on staff to address everything. Bill Howell came highly recommended to me by one of the top CPA firms in Maine (which was formed by the closing of the Portland office of one of the major international firms). I was grateful to see that Bill was a take-charge person with a very clear understanding of the big picture combined with strong attention to detail. In addition to helping complete the audit successfully, Bill helped with a variety of other issues including restructuring our finance department, addressing our systems issues, negotiating certain technical aspects of the sale directly with the CEO and CFO of the acquiring company, and implementing a number of key recommendations. His work was outstanding in all aspects -- further substantiated with comments by the acquiring company, their auditors, my CPA firm, and our staff. I highly recommend him.

Vortechnics is a very successful, rapidly growing manufacturer in Maine with 50 employees. We outsource our manufacturing and sell throughout the United States and Canada. The Company was recently presented with the Governor's Award for Business Excellence in Maine."


Ford Reiche, Safe Handling, Inc
"Safe Handling, Inc. first used Bill Howell's independent consulting services upon the recommendation of our financial lender. Beyond the financial benefits of rapid growth, we were then also experiencing growth-related chaos in all parts of our company: financial reporting systems, organizational structure, management depth and vision, staff compensation, etc. Our utilization of Bill's services gradually increased from a few hours per month to many hours per week. After a year and a half, we hired him full time as Company CFO; a position successfully filled for two years. Applying skills well beyond conventional financial reporting expertise, Bill helped to take Safe Handling through much of the organizational maturing processing encountered by any company fortunate enough to move from the entrepreneurial model to that of business organization. He continues to be a trusted advisor and friend, and we would recommend his services to any company facing the challenges described above."


Bob Dion, Sr., Dion Industries
"After working with my business for a few years as the assigned manager for Coopers and Lybrand, I was delighted when Bill accepted an offer to join fulltime. He had a substantial impact on helping us to weather a terrible recession in the early 1990's, which was made even more difficult with a much larger distributor that tried to put us out of business. We not only survived during that tough period, but actually expanded. We came through financially stronger because of all of Bill's initiatives on our balance sheet as well as operations. He did a terrific job with our bank relationships and developed a strong management team. After a few years, I decided to retire and promoted Bill to CEO. We met monthly and then quarterly and, eventually I decided that we'd only meet if he missed sending a check - which he never did. He structured an arrangement for my son to buy the business, which also helped my retirement. I was glad that he stayed involved, especially for the first couple of years. I can't say enough about his honesty and integrity, along with his sharp business skills. It was a pleasure working with him and I know that he'll be helpful to any company that engages his services."


Emile Clavet and Kevin Dean, Bates of Maine
"After we bought a manufacturing company (Bates of Maine) out of bankruptcy, we engaged Bill Howell to help us with the turnaround. He started with a comprehensive assessment of the business and then developed a detailed game plan for what needed to be done. We were very pleased that he then stayed involved to help execute the plan. We were able to sell the business six months later and pass the due diligence standards of a sophisticated buyer. In the process of negotiating the sale of the business, Bill was very helpful in developing and defending some very aggressive cost positions with respect to our inventory valuation.

The buyer then engaged Bill's services and had him develop a plan for executing a rapid growth strategy. His comprehensive plan became the agenda for a three-day management meeting, which resulted in no substantive changes to his plan. Funding issues prevented the buyer from executing the plan or further engaging Bill's assistance in the performance of due diligence on acquisition candidates as they intended.

Bill was extremely helpful to us on matters of strategy, leadership/organization development, financial management and information systems. We highly recommend him."


Elaine Hackett
"Bill has been my personal financial consultant for over 6 years and during that time he has been an invaluable asset to my family and me. Initially Bill assisted me in settling my late husband's estate, a very lengthy and complex process that involved liquidating a number of real estate holdings, business partnerships and corporate entities. He personally researched, organized and compiled extensive amounts of detailed financial data, then masterfully presented his findings in an intelligible fashion for a variety of audiences in both the professional and private sectors. Bill continues to counsel me in all my financial affairs, accompanying me to meetings when necessary, and providing follow up reports if needed. I appreciate his conservative approach, his thorough consideration of a project from a variety of perspectives, and his ability to present complex information in terms I can understand. His follow through with details is superlative. I have recommended Bill to a number of my acquaintances, among them a woman entrepreneur who, with Bill's help, was able to secure the necessary capital to promote her small business. Today her product is recognized nationally and is carried in major chains stores, including Wal Mart. I cannot think of a better endorsement for Bill's services than this success story."
1 Marybank Drive, Stratham, NH 03885 • 603.778.3942 • bill@williamehowell-llc.com