Executive Suite: Cynthia Roth, Albertson

Cynthia Roth started her career as a nurse but ended up founding an Albertson-based engineering firm with clients as prominent as Mitsubishi, Motorola and Boeing.

Ergonomic Technologies Corp. designs and assesses tools and work spaces, increasing employees' productivity and mitigating the hazards they encounter, Roth explained. "Our goal is to allow human beings to function the way they're supposed to function, without any risk exposures."

ETC has designed right- and left-handed hammers for The Home Depot, a reclining first-class seat for American Airlines and a line of tools for Ingersoll-Rand. ETC also has ergonomic consultants embedded in organizations such as Chrysler and the U.S. Postal Service.

Far humbler than the company's current client list were its beginnings in 1993, when Roth, a nurse certified in labor relations and industrial management, partnered with three engineering ergonomists. "In the good times we made money, and in the lean times we didn't take salaries," Roth recalled.

With a house to remortgage and the confidence to persist, Roth was the only founder to remain at ETC and grow the enterprise into a company employing 160 consultants worldwide and earning $2 million in revenues last year.

What was it like to found your company as a single mother of three?

I was used to struggling and making ends meet. I had no family in New York . . . so I had to do it by myself. I remember my friends saying, "You're Superwoman." I have no idea how I kept it all together.

What are some of the most common injuries suffered by office workers?

We've become a sedentary society, and because of that, we're seeing increases in heart disease, predicated on diabetes. And we're seeing bad knees and increasing arthritis. People reach and their shoulders bother them.

Employees and managers don't understand [that] your body is connected, so if something hurts you in your neck, you could have radiating symptoms down your back. Once you understand what to look for -- repetitions, poor postures, high forces, contact stresses -- you want to avoid that stuff. We should be able to work until we want to stop.

What's your advice to office workers looking to prevent injury?

The first thing is the chair . . . they have adjustabilities. You have to get up after an hour and a half and walk around. You don't have to walk to Florida, you just have to get your blood flowing. When you work, you take the objects that you use most often and bring them closer . . . People don't recognize that what they do today impacts tomorrow. If something hurts you, stop doing it.

What do you think of stability balls and treadmill desks in the workplace?

It's absolutely crazy. It's unsafe. You can't concentrate if you're worried about something else. You can't be on a treadmill and not concentrate, because before you know it, you're going to be off that treadmill. If you're trying to work, you're distracted.

According to the U.S. Census, over 20 percent of the country's population will be 65 or older by 2050, up from 13 percent in 2010. What are the implications for companies of an aging workforce?

You never know when there's going to be an injury. The older you are, the more dramatic your injury is. We have to keep people working for as long as we can, because we don't have the numbers in the younger generation to make up the shortfall. Being able to find the successor to succeed the current employee -- we can't do that anymore. So the aging workplace has to remain working. If you design job[s] correctly, somebody who is 60 years old can perform them.

CORPORATE SNAPSHOT

Name: Cynthia Roth, chief executive of Ergonomic Technologies Corp. in Albertson

What it does: ETC designs and assesses tools and workspaces to improve workers' productivity and decrease their health risks

Employees: 160 consultants; 4 on Long Island

Revenue: About $2 million