The Learning Curve

Posted on April 30, 2013 by induron

By David Hood, Induron CEO

Back in the 1990s, I taught a Junior Achievement class to eighth graders at Tarrant Middle School, here in the Birmingham area. This was not the “project” many people associate with Junior Achievement, but an actual 50-minute class once a week for an entire semester with curricula offered by Junior Achievement. The regular Social Studies teacher remained in the classroom to help, but it was truly a “teaching experience” for me.

Tarrant is a “working class,” mixed-race suburb of Birmingham, and my classes consisted of boys, girls, black, white, motivated, not-motivated kids, just as you would expect. Some were from single-parent homes and some were from homes with both mom and dad. But many of them hadn’t had the advantages that other kids their age have had.

I started teaching this class not knowing what to expect, but soon found that most of these kids were bright, inquisitive and really interested in economics and “home business” (how I described balancing a checkbook, creating and sticking to a budget, paying taxes and getting and keeping a job). Continue reading →

Is the U.S. Really Heading Toward Energy Independence?

Posted on March 26, 2013 by induron

By John Anspach, Induron VP of Operations

With the recent uptick in fuel prices, it wouldn’t appear to be the case. However, a recent article in Chemical Processing indicates that significant strides are being made to really get there.

The likely biggest domestic energy development toward that end is the availability of gas from shale oil. New technology is allowing easier access to this enormous untapped energy resource. Michael Cowen of the International Energy Agency (EIA) states that, “within five years, the U.S. is likely to break the record output high reached more than two decades ago, to flirt with the position of top world producer.” Imagine that… having greater output than the Saudis! This can be possible with efficient shale oil conversion, combined with investments in new pipelines. If both methods are employed, it would significantly lower U.S. demand from oil imports, and move us closer to energy independence. Continue reading →

Corporate Values – Do they still have a place in today’s business environment?

Posted on March 19, 2013 by induron

By Tex Enoch, Induron Sales Rep

More than 40 years ago, I went to work for my father, who had just started Pennsbury Coatings Corporation, a small, family-owned coatings manufacturing company. Work was different then – no fax machines, no internet, no cell phones (some of us refer to them as “the good ol’ days”). We did business on land lines and through the Post Office. We also refined the art of the sales call. Back then, a contract was simply a hand shake.

Five years ago, I found myself unemployed and began looking for a company that represented what my father’s company stood for: a company that did what it promised, provided reliable and cutting-edge products, treated its customers like valued friends and offered its customers help if they needed it.

Induron Protective Coatings is a small, family-owned business that has allowed me to thrive in an environment that trusts its employees to work for the betterment of the company, as well as the industries that it serves. We try very hard to keep all the promises we make and never make a promise we can’t keep. It is a philosophy that serves us well. Continue reading →

Impacting Reliability

Posted on March 12, 2013 by induron

By Davies Hood, Induron President

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 →

Partners in Values

Posted on February 19, 2013 by induron

By Barry Peters, Induron Customer Service Manager

Induron is proud to have received the Award of Distinction as a Top 25 Customer for 2012 by Southeastern Freight Lines. This award is an acknowledgement of the amount of products shipped in 2012, which was a very good year for Induron.

But to me, what’s more important than this award is that we, as a company, get to do business with another company that shares our values. At the bottom of the award, it says, “For loyalty, character and integrity in the spirit of true partnership.” This is similar to Induron’s core values: “integrity, respect, reliability and innovation.” Continue reading →

Don’t Tread on Me

Posted on January 15, 2013 by induron

By Linc York, Induron Sales Representative

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is proposing new LEED regulations for the paint and coatings industry, prompting some of us in the industry to ask, “Why?”

I’ve been in this industry for 40 years. When I started, there was no such thing as VOC restrictions, and there were no regulations on how much solvent you could have in a can of paint. In the 1970s, many paints were more than 50 percent solvent. Some even contained lead, chrome, asbestos and other heavy metals. However, since those times, the industry has adapted to current standards and those harmful additives are thankfully things of the past.

For the last 30 years, the paint and coatings industry has been going in two environmentally friendly directions at the same time. We have been developing zero-VOC coatings, as well as low-VOC-containing water-based technology in all our generic coatings lines. We have innovated many products that are commercially available and sold daily that are both HAPS (Hazardouse Air Pollutants) AND VOC-free. It doesn’t get any better than that. Additionally, new water-based technology is being developed all the time.

So, my point is this – in my opinion, the paint industry is way ahead of the curve. We don’t need more regulations. We compete against ourselves, forcing new and innovative products that are always being developed. Couple R&D innovation with the architects and engineering communities who are on the cutting edge of compliance regulations, and that keeps all good paint and coatings manufacturers ahead of government over regulation. We don’t need more bureaucracy!

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.

Don’t Make Resolutions

Posted on January 2, 2013 by induron

By Davies Hood, Induron President

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!

Safety and Efficiency: Mutually Exclusive?

Posted on November 27, 2012 by induron

By Mike Nelms, Induron Production Manager

Can you be safe AND efficient? Sure you can, if you practice safety and efficiency in the correct fashion.

Have you ever heard someone in your facility say, “If you put a guard on that, it will slow me down.”? We’re all looking to be more efficient in our daily tasks, but safety is paramount. The key in a situation like this is to ensure you’re installing the RIGHT type of guard for the process being performed, the ergonomics and the machine type itself. If you do this, safety and efficiency can live in harmony.

There are gains to be made in both safety and efficiency everywhere we look. Take a look around your facility and consider the following:

Are raw materials stored as near as possible to the manufacturing area where they are used?
Are your forklifts and other material handling equipment sized correctly for the job?
Have you reduced double- or even triple-handling of raw materials and finished goods throughout your facility?
Are all required work station items available there?
Are your housekeeping habits as good as they should be?
Are expendable tools and supplies controlled properly and readily available?
Do you have a preventive maintenance program? Is it as effective as you want it to be?
Do you keep critical spare parts readily available to keep machinery on-line?
Are your warehouse operations orderly to reduce handling, packaging and shipping costs?
Have you reduced manual lifting and carrying as much as reasonably possible?
Do you have adequate lighting throughout your facility to perform the required tasks?
Are your employees adequately trained to safely and efficiently perform the duties required?

If you answered “no” to any of the above questions, it may be time to reevaluate your practices. Take some time today to really look at your facility and operations, and make changes to maximize your safety AND efficiency.

How we’ve gotten more business using LinkedIn – and how you can too

Posted on August 14, 2012 by induron

By Davies Hood, Induron President

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 to Keep Employees Happy

Posted on July 24, 2012 by induron

By Davies Hood, Induron President

As an executive in a small business, I certainly don’t claim to have all the answers on how to “keep employees happy.” However, when I think about it, I think I know someone who does – Ric Michaels, my first grade teacher.

Now, I’m not comparing Induron’s (or your!) employees to first graders. But I am saying that keeping employees – or any other group of people – happy and productive requires the things we all learned, or should have learned, very early in life from a good role model. Continue reading →