We’re excited to welcome Jamie Laird to the Induron team! Jamie manages the Oregon and Pacific Northwest region. Before coming to Induron, Jamie was the Industrial Market Manager for Rodda/Cloverdale Paints. Prior to that role, he spent 15 years at Sherwin Williams in various sales and technical service roles in the protective and marine coatings division.
Jamie is very involved with both NACE and SSPC. He is a NACE Level 3 Coatings Inspector as well as an instructor for NACE CIP 1 and CIP 2. He has served as treasurer, chair and vice chair of the Oregon NACE Chapter. He is a SSPC Level 3 Protective Coating Inspector, Certified Concrete Coating Inspector, a Protective Coating Specialist and only the 36st person in the history of SSPC to attain Master Coating Inspector. He instructs Concrete Coating Inspector and Protective Coating Inspector courses while serving on the Education Committee for SSPC.
Jamie’s extensive experience and industry involvement make him an excellent addition to the Induron family. To learn a little more about Jamie, check out this Q&A.
Q: What are your responsibilities?
A: As a technical sales representative, I feel that my number one responsibility is to represent myself and my company with the utmost integrity and technical expertise. I believe in building synergy between specifiers, asset owners and the contractors who apply the coatings. I think that collaborative partnerships across projects make for better outcomes and alliances. As the face of Induron in the Pacific Northwest, I feel that my job is to handle the industrial coatings on any project from start to finish. That means doing presentations for engineers, working with asset owners to manage expectations, and ultimately, making sure that the preparation is done correctly, and the coatings are installed in the right way. From site surveys to hands-on technical support, my role is to make all parties involved trust that they are in the right hands and equipped with the right products. I want every person and company that I do business with to know that they made the right choice.
Q: Tell us about your background, experience in the paint/coatings industry and how you came to work for Induron.
A: I graduated from the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Chemistry in 2000 and moved to Portland, Oregon to attend Medical School at Oregon Health Sciences University. Ultimately, I decided to go a different direction and made the move to Sherwin Williams. I was a management trainee, assistant manager, branch manager and sales rep in many segments including residential, commercial and light industrial. Later on, I made the move to protective and marine coatings as well as industrial flooring. After 15 years with Sherwin Williams, I moved to Rodda Paint, a smaller regional paint company in the northwest, to be an Industrial Market Manager for 4 years. In that role, I owned the sales process from start to finish, including formulation and logistics to marketing and sales management. After reading a Forbes interview with Davies, I decided to reach out, and we had a great phone conversation that evolved into a trip to Birmingham to seal the deal.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about working for Induron so far?
A: I embrace the feeling of family and community that every employee of Induron exhibits. I feel that everyone from top to bottom is genuinely invested in my success. Having a supportive and nurturing team is one of Induron’s biggest strengths.
Q: What’s the most challenging part of your job?
A: With great responsibility comes great risk. The biggest challenge to me is making sure that I’m always giving the best advice and assistance. This goal challenges me to understand the expectations and exposures that the coatings I recommend will be subjected to. I work to be the best asset and resource for my customers.
Q: What’s your favorite part about what you do?
A: I love connecting with people and working together toward a common goal. I enjoy win-win business scenarios and knowing that I’m part of a bigger solution.
Q: Tell us about a project you’ve worked on that you’re especially proud of.
A: I’ve had a few projects that I’ve been proud to be a part of. Helping with the repaint of the U.S. Capital Dome was a major accomplishment for me. Working with forest fire suppression companies and recommending tank linings for the airplanes that drop fire suppressors made me feel like I was making a difference in people’s lives.
Q: Are you seeing any new trends in the protective coatings industry?
A: One common trend I see in the Pacific Northwest is a push to deliver lower VOC products to the market. We see this in two ways: The first is the use of 100% solid products. They work great but usually require the use of expensive plural component pumps to apply. The second is with the use of “exempt” solvents. These solvents are not any more or less dangerous for the health of the applicators, but they are just exempt from VOC requirements. Some of these solvents used in paint formulations include acetone and methyl acetate.
Q: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
A: “All things being equal, friends will buy from friends. But all things NOT being equal, friends will STILL buy from friends.”
A mentor I had when I was in my late twenties told me that. He said that when the buying pressures are similar (pricing, service and quality), then people will buy from people they like and feel comfortable with. But, the true insight is that when all things are NOT equal, maybe the price is a little higher, perhaps the dry time isn’t quite as fast, maybe it takes a few more days to get the product…..People will still buy from people that they like and feel comfortable with. I have witnessed this over and over during my career. Paint is a relationship sales process, NOT transactional.
Q: If you could have dinner with any person living or dead, who would it be and why?
A: Theodore Roosevelt. I admire the way that he handled adversity in his life. I admire the fact that when he encountered hard times, he would find an extremely difficult physical endeavor to help reset his perspective and give him clarity about his journey.
Q: What person has had the biggest influence on your life and why?
A: My parents have shaped the man I am today, but I have had so many personal, athletic and professional mentors that I feel fortunate to be able to glean wisdom and knowledge from.
Q: Tell us a little about your family, pets and/or hobbies.
A: I have three sons, Caleb (24), Kieran (23) and Aldous (19), one daughter, Ayla (16), and two stepdaughters, Emma (7) and Nellie (4). I live with my partner, Rachel, who is a fish biologist. We have a bearded dragon named Pepita. I love all things athletic, including running marathons and trails, racing bicycles for Team Oregon, racing outrigger canoes and paddle dragon boats, hiking, climbing and snowshoeing in the winter. I am a huge KC Chiefs fan and have been a season ticket holder for many years!