Purcell Systems Inc. co-founder Peter J. Chase has left the company.

Chase had been serving as vice chairman of the 12-year-old Spokane Valley-based maker of outdoor cabinetry for the telecommunications industry since January, when the company brought on Mike DuBose to succeed him as CEO.

Chase says the decision to hire DuBose and for him to depart, which he did last week, was made mutually between himself and the privately-held company's board of directors, but that he initiated the transition in leadership late last year. Chase will retain a 6 percent ownership interest in the company, but in addition to no longer being involved in day-to-day operations, he no longer will be a member of its board of directors.

"I go to being Joe Shareholder, which is fine by me," Chase says.

Upon Chase's departure, the company has about 170 employees, including about 40 in an international headquarters in Stockholm. Chase says the company had about $77 million in revenue last year, but it has had years in which its income reached the high $80 million range.

Chase says he's leaving the company now so that the new leadership can take it to the next level. Specifically, he says, the company needs to diversify in order to grow substantially larger, and that will involve building technology cabinetry for new markets. He says the company might have some opportunities in the smart-grid market or the transportation industry.

"My advice to the board is to replace me with someone who can open doors in one of those markets," he says.

Also, he says, the company needs to gain market share in the telecommunications industry, a market that has changed substantially since he started Purcell Systems with partners William Miller and George Thompson in 2000. The wireless technology that goes into the cabinets has become more sophisticated, and the industry had needed fewer, but more complex cabinets.

Moving forward, Chase says he will take at least a month to develop his goals and decide what he wants to do next. In general, he says he'd like to develop something that has a strong economic impact on the Inland Northwest, similar to what the Purcell Systems has had. He says the company took in slightly more than $1 million from Inland Northwest investors upon starting up in the early 2000s. Through its organic growth, Purcell Systems has put about $400 million back into the local economy, Chase asserts, through employee salaries, taxes, property leases, and other expenditures.

He might look into a venture involving the telecommunications industry, though a no-compete agreement with Purcell prevents him from being involved in anything involving telecommunications cabinets. He adds that as a shareholder in the Purcell, it doesn't behoove him to compete with the company in any manner.

Chase says he also has thought about an endeavor through which he could bring more investment capital to the Inland Northwest from outside markets. He says he has a couple of ideas along those lines as well that he might consider pursuing.

Meantime, he will continue to serve on the Innovate Washington Foundation Board and to serve as a judge for a 2012 Pacific Northwest Entre-preneur of the Year program.

Prior to starting Purcell Systems, Chase and former business partners Miller and Thompson had worked in sales at Liberty Lake-based Northern Technologies Inc., a company that had made surge-protection devices. While the products were markedly different, the potential customer base was similar, and once no-compete clauses with Northern lapsed, Purcell's founders were able to pursue sales with its established connections. In its third year, the company already had about $12 million in annual revenue, and ramped up to about 75 employees.

There wasn't a compelling reason to name the company Purcell. At the time, Chase said he'd always liked the Purcell Mountains in Canada, and he liked the way the second syllable of the name played off its service of the cell-phone industry.

The company continued to grow through its first five years. In 2005, Inc. Magazine ranked Purcell 21st on its list of top 500 growth companies in the U.S., and that year, a private equity firm bought Miller's and Thompson's ownership interests in the company.

The following year, Ernst & Young named Chase as Entrepreneur of the Year for achievement in the communications industry.

From there, Chase says the company grew its international presence, making inroads into Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Last year, Greater Spokane Incorp-orated named Purcell as the Company of the Year as part of its Catalyst Awards.

Chase contends the company has been successful by having what he calls "fanatical customer service" in an industry that's not necessarily known for good service, and he often refers to quotes from legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi about winning and excellence.

In an email to Purcell employees regarding his departure, Chase used the Lombardi quote, "Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence." He added to the end, "And the customer can sense both."