By: Davies Hood, Induron President
There’s an old saying that analogizes business to gardening: “If you’re not green and growing then you’re ripe and rotting.” I take this to mean several different things from innovation to an improving bottom line to continual education and self-improvement. This story is about the last of those: Continuing education through industry involvement.
Last week I had the unique opportunity to attend the annual Guild CPO Conference at the beautiful Wild Horse Pass Resort just south of Phoenix, AZ AND the opportunity to represent Induron at the annual Sandblast Solutions Inc. (SSI) Demo Day in Millstone Township, NJ. I don’t know if I thought about this story on the airplane from AZ to PA or a few days later from Philly to Birmingham, but I genuinely appreciated the opportunity to learn from some of the very best in the business.
First, I’ll talk about all of the opportunities and education from the desert: The membership of Guild CPO is made up of owners of small and medium-sized paint manufacturers located throughout the continental U.S. as well as several European countries. The goal of this organization is to buy raw materials and services as a co-op, so that we can negotiate prices for goods and services as a larger organization. We gather annually at a conference to share best practices, learn from the vendor members and keep our collective eye on the general economy and the trends affecting our portion of it. In short, it’s a lot of business owners who are committed to growing their companies, improving customer service and getting better at exceeding the expectations in the respective niches that they serve. It’s a truly great way, from a supply chain optimization and business strategy standpoint to quench my “thirst for learning.”
This year’s event held on a Native American Reservation was one of the best that I have attended. I say that because there was an exceptional panel discussion on the challenges of Family Business, excellent outside speakers presenting on topics ranging from “Exceptional Customer Service” to “The Impacts of Tariffs and the Current Global Economy” to “The State of the International Titanium Dioxide Industry” (I bet I got you on that one). The event also included fun social events, like Rodeo Night with an entire Cowboy Gala. My wife and I enjoyed networking with other members and enjoying a stunningly-beautiful part of the world, but I genuinely appreciated the educational value that I obtained.
Next, I flew east in order to attend a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game with customers and participate in the SSI Demo Day. This year’s Demo Day at SSI was the 4th annual “learning event” that consisted of equipment and product demonstrations from the companies that supply and work with Sandblast Solutions. It was also a great place to network with experts in many different areas of the corrosion resistance marketplace, such as blast media suppliers, spray equipment manufacturers and specialized safety equipment providers. Heck, there was even another coatings manufacturer there!
Induron was generously offered the opportunity to demonstrate the user-friendly application characteristics of our MortarChem Epoxy Concrete Surfacer. However, I witnessed some truly innovative blasting techniques ranging from dry-ice blasting to an innovative new coal slag product from Black Beauty. However, one of my favorite parts of the day, aside from eating fresh handmade empanadas from the mother of one of the SSI sales team members, was the unique networking opportunities that this event provided. I was able to introduce “friends” from different businesses and various parts of the country to people that I knew that could help their respective businesses grow. I honestly felt like the “matchmaker” in Fiddler on the Roof.
In closing, I am a huge proponent of continuing education for anyone who wants to get better at what they do. One fantastic way to do this is through Industry Involvement. I hope that you too have the opportunity to take advantage of trade organizations, peer groups, co-ops and personal relationships in order to improve your game. I’m sure blessed to have these opportunities and am glad that I had the chance to take advantage of them along so many great people.