By Davies Hood, Induron President
On Thursday May 2, 2013, Induron hosted our Second Annual Family Night at the Ballpark. This is a social event where all employees are invited to bring their spouses, kids and grandkids to the local ballpark. We eat hot dogs, burgers and Cracker-Jacks and really get to know co-workers in a relaxed atmosphere. Continue reading It’s Not about Baseball!
By Davies Hood, Induron President
As a general rule, I’m opposed to PACs (Political Action Committees) because of the “secrecy” of their membership and undue influence in our nation’s political process.
However, I am also opposed to a lot of the everyday activities that I regularly participate in. What do I mean? I’m opposed to paying unfair sales taxes on groceries and medicine. I’m opposed to participating in the “free-rider” aspect of volunteer organizations. And I’m very much opposed to the game I grew up playing – football – being deteriorated by the NFL on a year-by-year or even week-by-week basis. But I digress.
But a recent article from PaintSquare has me cheering for (or at least, considering cheering for) the success of the new NACE PAC in Washington.
Look at the numbers: 3.1 percent of our nation’s GDP is spent on corrosion repair and prevention. And it is estimated that up to 30 percent of that cost could be eliminated with proper design and maintenance.
That’s about 1 percent of our GDP, or, in layman’s terms, $120 billion.
You read that right – $120,000,000,000. Continue reading Conflicted.
By Davies Hood, Induron President
Our Core Values here at Induron are Integrity, Respect, RELIABILTY and Innovation. I was reminded of the least referenced one of these while reading this article in “Chemical Processing.”
As industrial paint manufacturers, we are considered part of the chemical industry, not only by ourselves, but also by the U.S. government. This article begins with the statement, “Reliability improvement remains imperative for chemical makers,” and mentions two of our biggest suppliers – Air Products and Chemicals and Dow Chemicals.
At Induron, we regularly report our Cycle Count (read more about Cycle Count here), which is an internal measure of doing things correctly time after time. More accurately put, it’s a measure of reliability. We consistently score in the 0.15 – 0.25 range (the lower the better), which by all accounts is an industry outlier.
This article talks about how Air Products and Dow have both taken an inward-looking metric and turned it inside out. This places their focus more on their customers than just their internal processes, and puts reliability at the forefront.
Two comments by Wilbur Mok, Air Products vice president of North American tonnage gases, that I particularly appreciated are, “We took the best operating practices and shared them globally. So now we operate each plant the same way.” This led to Air Products “freeing up site teams to spend more time on higher value tasks, such as preventative maintenance, improvement projects and troubleshooting.” Continue reading Impacting Reliability
It’s the time of year when everyone is talking about New Year’s Resolutions. And that’s fine… if you’ve got a personal goal to lose weight, quit smoking or stop biting your nails.
But if you’re a manager, I urge you – don’t make resolutions for your business.
Make goals instead.
Why? Resolutions tend to have a negative connotation. You often make them when you need to change a bad habit, which is why when February rolls around, you’re not always pulling in lower numbers on the scale.
Goals, on the other hand, are a positive way for you to make changes in your business. I set goals for Induron every year (actually, I’m constantly setting new goals for Induron, so we can be the best at what we do). Here are a few you may want to incorporate into your 2013 plan:
Create a mission statement and core values. Every company needs to know why they’re in business. It’s important for customers and employees to see, in writing, a company’s mission statement and core values. So if your business doesn’t have these, or if they’re old and could use some revitalization, take some time early in 2013 to work on them. Gather your management team together (mine went on a retreat last January to do just this) and hammer out why you’re doing what you’re doing.
Institute an environment for teamwork. It’s true what they say: “There’s no I in TEAM.” Teamwork – especially within management – is a key component to successful business. When everyone is on the same page, working toward the same goals, and “meshing,” magic can happen. Our management retreat last January created a renewed sense of teamwork that helped us reach many of our 2012 goals.
Make your goals aggressive but attainable. At the beginning of 2012, I set a goal of increasing sales by 20 percent by the beginning of 2013. Was this an aggressive goal? Absolutely, especially considering the economic environment at the time. But we achieved this goal, I feel in part because it was so aggressive. You can’t be afraid of your goals. Obviously, a little research (and, frankly, some gut instincts) needs to go into your goals, but aim high. And remember the old Zig Ziglar quote, “A goal properly set is halfway reached.” Once your goals are set, share them with people. That accountability is a great way to help see you through to your success.
I wish all of you a prosperous New Year!
Founded in 1947, Induron manufactures high performance coatings that serve a range of industrial applications, including the wastewater, transmission and distribution and groundwater storage industries. Learn more about us at www.Induron.com.
At Induron, we’re always thankful for our employees, but especially so around the holidays! Meet Stan Shook, Induron Chemist.
Stan creates paint formulas for Induron, and ensures they meet or exceed requirements for strength, durability and cost.
Stan began working at Induron in May of 1974. “I was trying to figure out what do to with my life,” he said. “I was driving a city delivery truck, and then one day saw an ad in the paper for a lab helper at Induron. I sent in my resume and, lo and behold, they called me.”
Stan started out as the “lab gopher,” doing typical things a new guy might do – getting raw materials, running errands and even a little cleaning. “I was definitely the low man on the Totem pole,” he said.
Eventually, however, others in the lab saw that Stan had a talent for matching colors. “They started letting me make color blends with dry pigments,” he said. “I matched colors really well, so I was promoted to Lab Technician. I started testing paints, and was catching on with how to formulate paints. Then in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s, I was promoted again to Formulating Chemist.”
In those days, Induron manufactured house paints for interiors and exteriors. Stan had a knack for those paints, and developed several lines of latex paints. He was also responsible for most of the gloss enamels and primers that Induron sold.
“Now, I mostly do industrial epoxies,” he said. “But when we get requests for some of the conventional paints from a long time ago, I still work on those projects today.” Continue reading Meet the Induron Family: Stan Shook
By Davies Hood, Induron President
“’Tis the Season to be Jolly!” That’s something I try to live by, especially during the holiday season, and there are very few things that make me happier than time spent with loved ones.
Thanks to The Birmingham Ballet, I had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time over the last two months with my two daughters doing something that THEY both truly love… dancing. As a father of daughters, opportunities to do things with my girls take a little bit of creativity. They are not interested in the same things I was a child – football, wrestling and anything cowboy don’t fit in with their love of all things pink.
However, The Nutcracker gave me an opportunity to spend some time with them… on stage performing! To get ready for the performance, I got to rehearse with them every Saturday for two months and spend several hours in the car going to and from the Ballet Studio. There were, of course, several Icee stops involved!
Pictured is my Nutcracker family. The smiles on my two daughters’ faces were as genuine as could be – and so was mine! I know that this post has little to do with industrial coatings or business in general, but Christmas is a time for us all to remember what is truly important. Family and quality time are important to me and the whole Induron Family!
Now that December is in full swing, we’re getting excited for the holidays! Here are some of the Induron Family’s favorite holiday traditions:
“Once the grandchildren were all old enough that money was the gift they cherished the most, my mother-in-law felt they should work for it. She rolled up $50 bills as tightly as possible and then hid one for each grandchild in the Christmas tree. Now that she’s in her 80’s, she has a few son-in law elves to assist with the process. While hiding the money, the elves assure themselves that the location of the $50 bills will not be forgotten, but each year there is always one that takes multiple parties to find. Last year, it was a full day and a half before the last bill was discovered!” –Dick Belliveau, Induron Sales Rep
“I have three favorite Christmas traditions: I love lighting our Christmas tree with as many different styles and colors of lights as is humanly possible. I also love hiding our ‘Elf-on-the-Shelf’ in different locations throughout the house and having my two elementary school age daughters search for ‘Sizzle’ every December morning. And as a child, I loved visiting the Santa Claus that always stopped by my grandfather’s house on Christmas Eve and letting him know exactly what I wanted the next morning.” –Davies Hood, Induron President
“Santa’s gifts under the tree always arrived unwrapped, in a big burlap sack that Santa had left there. It sure added to the excitement on Christmas morning for my three daughters! Now, with the kids grown, nostalgia has set in. For the past five years, all our decorations have been ‘vintage,’ including the aluminum Christmas tree with the color wheel.” –John Anspach, Induron Technical Director Continue reading Our Favorite Holiday Traditions
By Davies Hood, Induron President
OK, I admit it. I am a super fan, or fanatic, or whatever else you call us. I drove from Birmingham, Alabama, to Detroit, Michigan, to watch Game 3 of the World Series so I could see my beloved San Francisco Giants in person in THE WORLD SERIES. Yeah, I know – it’s 700+ miles each way, but this is baseball.
What the heck does any of this have to do with an industrial coatings blog? Well, besides a glimpse into one of my true passions, how about this quintessential Team First quote: “Sometimes, guys have to make sacrifices,” Giants Infielder Ryan Theriot said.
Or this one: “The way we view each other, it’s not about me. If I’m selfish and I make a big deal about something … this is such a long ride, it’s not fair to the rest of the guys if I make it about me.” This quote is from a back-up utility infielder who was making his first start of the World Series and ended up scoring the winning run in the series-clinching game. He didn’t beg for the limelight like many other higher profile players might have. His only thought was about US. Big team and little me.
What I love about this attitude is that teamwork, selflessness and the common good is a culture that we cultivate here at Induron. It is that type of culture that propelled the San Francisco Giants to be world champions. It is that type of culture that promotes winning in not just baseball, not even just in business, but in LIFE.
I have had several conversations with my co-workers here about working together and “pulling in the same direction.” The fact is, we spend more time with our co-workers than our family and friends, so we might as well get along. That’s not just true of this paint company. It’s also true for our clients in the engineering field, the pipe manufacturing business and industrial paint contractors. Like Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said, “What these guys did is truly amazing. It shows what 25 guys can accomplish playing for each other. That’s the only way to get it done.”
Read more about the San Francisco Giants’ camaraderie, sacrifice and preparation here.
In today’s politically charged landscape, even blogs by industrial paint manufacturers are jumping into the fray. However, we’re not choosing a red or blue side here. We’re choosing to support infrastructure maintenance and improvement.
In this article from PaintSquare, two very different approaches to improving our country’s aging infrastructure are discussed. Both ideas look similar on the surface, but with a little digging the differences are easy to spot.
President Obama has suggested an Infrastructure Bank that his critics have compared to Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. The proposed “Bank” backs private investments with public money. The idea was first proposed last year and has drawn bipartisan support. My concern is – which programs and/or projects get the public backing, and which are allowed to fail? I personally don’t like the idea of government picking winners and losers; the track record on that isn’t so great. Continue reading Induron Goes Political (At Least Where Infrastructure Is Concerned)
Any professional who’s been around social networks these days has heard about the power of LinkedIn when it comes to job hunting and recruiting for positions. But have you thought about what it could do for your company’s sales process?
Here at Induron, we’ve been surprised – and quite pleasantly so! – by the power of this social network tool to help our sales staff be more successful. One of the most memorable examples comes from Tex Enoch, one of our sales representatives, and his LinkedIn profile. An engineer with two water tanks in need of rehabilitation needed to know certain specifications of the paint used on his tank. A search on LinkedIn for “coatings” led this engineer to Tex’s profile. They connected through LinkedIn, and Tex provided the information this engineer needed. And he did such a great job that the engineer asked Tex to speak to his municipal authority on the tank rehabilitation, and also spec the products going forward. If Tex hadn’t had a great LinkedIn profile, who knows if this project ever would have come our way? Continue reading How we’ve gotten more business using LinkedIn – and how you can too
