SAN DIEGO — A local company may have the answer to keeping employees happy.

PPI Power is celebrating 30 years in business, and they’re thanking their employees who made it happen.

PPI Power stands for Pacific Precision Instruments, but it may as well stand for People, Passion and Investment because this is a company that truly believes in its employees and is sending them on a cruise of a lifetime.

An engineering firm that started out in a home garage 30 years ago is more than just a tech company.

“I’ve been coming through that door for 30 years. And every time I come through the door, I think of every person that works here, and I want them to enjoy it. And I want them to thrive,” said Kris Dill, PPI President.

She and Jim Haig started PPI Power in 1994. It’s a company that builds the hardware for inflight entertainment. Dill gets emotional talking about how it’s more than a business, it’s family.

“Like a wheel and the wheel has to keep moving in they are as important to the wheel, as the customers are, and as suppliers,” said Dill.

The founders’ vision for the company hasn’t faded.

“I mean, if you get to be your own boss and have your own company and guide it in your own direction, it’s the American dream,” said Haig, PPI CEO.

The employees say PPI isn’t just a job, it’s a community.

“What this whole company stands for is family,” said Tammra Stockwell, PPI Senior Buyer.

Literally the company is family.

“My mom has been here over 25 years. My dad is over 20 years. And I’m 16 years here so far,” said Vy To-Yin, PPI Operations and Supplier Relations.

There have been epic Christmas parties over the years and two weeks off for the holiday to recharge for the new year along with the company’s birthday parties.

“Everything that we actually have done, it’s always been together, our Christmases, our parties. It’s always been a family no matter what we do,” said Stockwell.

But the biggest thank you is happening this Saturday to celebrate the company’s 30th birthday.

“I was like, oh, my God, I don’t think you’ll ever get this chance,” said To-Yin.

PPI founders gifted all 30 of its employees — and their plus one and a discount for their kids — an all-expenses paid, inclusive cruise through the Caribbean.

“If PPI didn’t offer this opportunity, I don’t think I would be able to take my family on this vacation,” said To-Yin.

In a time when workforce trends show that more than half of companies in the U.S. are experiencing turnover, PPI says their retention is taking off.

Dill says this cruise is a big investment, but the payoff is even bigger.

“The bottom line will come and if you don’t focus so much on that, if you focus on the human beings that make the bottom line, the bottom line comes naturally,” said Dill.

On Saturday, the employees will fly to Miami and set sail on a week-long cruise through the Caribbean.