Monthly Archives: December 2012

Meet the Induron Family: Stan Shook

Stan ShookAt 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

Dancing with my girls

By Davies Hood, Induron President

Nutcracker Family“’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!

Our Favorite Holiday Traditions

Davies' Daughters
Induron President Davies Hood's daughters

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