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
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
By Kendall Smith, Induron Sales Rep
Did you ever notice that when the future is portrayed in movies (especially in dystopian sci-fi movies), nothing gets properly maintained? There are no corrosion consultants specifying abrasive blasting, containments, chloride removal, 3-coat coating systems, spray application, etc?
Perhaps in the future there will be limited budgets for all the elements of a successful coatings job that people have come to believe are necessary. However, those elements are not always needed for a great coatings project.
So what would I recommend to a post-Armageddon society to keep rust at bay while keeping inter-galactic costs low? Induron’s Induraguard 9200 and E-Bond! Continue reading
By Gary Bath, Induron Sales rep
I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of selling and feel that every job has some sales aspect – even if it’s just selling yourself to your boss. A teacher is selling education, a minister is selling religion, a politician is selling… well, you get my point.
I started out my sales career thinking all it took to be a good salesman was to treat your customer like you would like to be treated – the “Golden Rule” of sales. Then one day, it dawned on me that Customer Service was a big part of selling. So I started putting more emphasis on Customer Service.
Recently, I talked to a potential new customer about how great Induron’s customer service was. I felt I had made a strong presentation, but it didn’t convince the customer to switch.
Shortly after that I read an article from Alister & Paine entitled, “Do You Need a Customer Service “Spring Cleaning?” It came as a big surprise when I realized that I had at least three of the five bad customer service habits described in the article. It was a good reminder that even people who have been in this business a long time can always make improvements.
For example, probably my greatest fault during my years in sales has been that I worry too much. I worry about not getting orders shipped on time or my customer blaming our products for a failure that wasn’t our fault. This article made me realize that spending more time solving a customer’s problems – rather than worrying about things I can’t control – will make me more productive.
And that, of course, makes for happier customers.
At Induron, our Customer Service department is a key component in ensuring our customers get the products and information they need. Ricky Germany is the newest member of our Customer Service department, and we’re glad to have him on board!
Ricky has been with Induron since October, and in the few months he’s been here, has really become the “voice of Induron.” When customers call us, he’s usually the first person they talk to, whether they need to place an order, get a product recommendation or ask a question.
Learn a little more about Ricky:
If you were any animal, what would you be and why?
The animal that I would most like to be is a Fossa. It is highly intelligent and adaptive, lives in a tropical environment and has no natural predators.
What is your biggest professional mistake and success?
I cannot think of a professional mistake worth mentioning – either I have not had one or have selective memory suppression (I vote for the latter). As far as success, the following of clientele I achieved during my retail career – having people drive out of their way to come and deal with me exclusively – was very satisfying. Continue reading
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
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
Barry Peters is both the face and voice of Induron to most of our valued customers. As the Customer Service Department Manager, Barry works with customers to ensure that orders are met correctly and in a timely fashion. He also answers a multitude of technical product and application questions. Additionally, he works with employees in Induron’s manufacturing department to streamline the flow of goods and facilitate shipping.
“We’re a small company, so service is really important,” he says. “We try to offer our customers the best service available, and develop relationships with them. We have to be personal, and understand their needs.
“We want to be considered a true partner to all our customers.”
Barry has been in the paint business for more than 20 years. He started with Induron (which was then called Indurall) in 1989 as a store manager, and then became an area manager in charge of half a dozen retail stores. During Induron’s transition from retail to strictly industrial, Barry became our company’s very first Customer Service Department Manager. After a stint with a friendly competitor from 2000 to 2010, Barry returned to Induron, and has played an integral part in the overall improvement of morale since.
Now that Induron has expanded internationally, Barry’s duties overseeing the shipping department have grown. “Shipping has become a big part of my job, since we’re sending products to Canada, Mexico and Central and South America,” he says. Continue reading
Joe Jones is a soft-spoken guy who doesn’t say a lot, but what he lacks in words, he makes up for in wisdom and loyalty to Induron. The guys in the plant simply refer to him as “the gray fox” – not necessarily cunning, but smarter than the average bear.
Joe has been working at Induron since 1983. His father, Noel Jones, worked at Induron for 38 years, so he’s known the place his entire life. In fact, Noel is part of the old Indurall days’ lore because of a tumble he took into a batch of red-oxide primer. Although he turned out to be uninjured, when he came up out of that batch of dark red primer, everyone in the place thought otherwise!
Joe is behind just about every paint product that Induron sells. He’s worked in all parts of our facility, from filling to maintenance to actually making our paint products. These days, Joe makes several batches every day. Most of these batches are different sizes, all of them use different raw materials located all over our facility (no one knows exactly how Joe keeps up with their locations!) and Joe knows how to use every single different piece of paint making equipment in our plant, from the old Ball Mills to the modern dyno-mill. In a nutshell and in his own words, “Joe makes the paint.”
Joe drives 60 miles to and from work everyday. In his own humble way Joe said, “I guess I’ve been through about seven or eight cars in my time here.” But he doesn’t mind the drive. “I like the people I work with. We have fun and joke with each other while we get our jobs done.”
Davies Hood, Induron president, is the third Hood man Joe has seen running Induron. “The Hoods are good guys,” he said.
The feeling is mutual for Davies. “Joe has been an important part of our team for three decades,” he said. “He does good work and we’re proud to have him as part of the Induron family. Continue reading
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
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