Leadership Lessons
From The Industry's
Front Line

Gary Bertrand

Things that we expected vendors to do for us in the past are now done in-house,” explains Gary Bertrand, president, Rockford Industrial Welding Supply (Rockford, IL), who is working hard to manage and motivate his company's high-quality team of experienced individuals. Bertrand relies on leadership skills that help his team work better with today's demanding, high-tech customers, such as finding and developing the best in-house and outsourced training programs and using incentive programs. Bertrand maintains a high profile throughout the company and believes in promoting from within. “Employees seem to be more motivated while building their careers within the company.”

John W. Bragg

With the loss of so many manufacturing jobs across the state of Maine, N.H. Bragg & Sons (Bangor, ME) is broadening its line of products and services, as well as expanding geographically. President John W. Bragg knows that customers are reducing their number of suppliers, and he is making sure employees reinvent themselves for these new markets. With the use of technology, he is helping them become more efficient. And he is holding them accountable for their responsibilities and actions. “Employees have to know that we can no longer do things the way they've always been done. Every employee is empowered to recognize opportunity, take advantage of it, and make decisions that respond to customer needs.”

Andy Castiglione

Every distributor, before they even start their business, must truly believe that the customer is king and have the honest, strong desire to exceed the customer's expectations.” This leadership advice from Andy Castiglione, chairman of the board at Westair Gases & Equipment (San Diego, CA), permeates the entire company, and he has made sure to surround himself with “excellent people who have the same attitude toward customer service as I have.”

At Westair's nine stores, about 22 percent of cash sales are done over the counter, and that attitude is clearly expressed in inventory control. Via the use of a designated cycle counter, stock level is known at every minute of every day. “Customers will continue to buy and pay slightly more to a vendor that either has it in stock or gets back to them in a timely manner,” explains Castiglione, and employees adhere to his rule to get back to the customer within 45 minutes of a call reaching the order desk, whether the product is in stock or not.

Castiglione conducts a seminar for every one of the company's 160 employees, who attend the session in small groups of 12-14 from different departments. “Cylinder maintenance staff sit next to accounting staff, truck drivers sit next to salespeople, and for eight hours, they go over how to exceed customers' expectations. The manager for each department explains what the department does and says 'Here's what you can do to help us.' This exchange of ideas has made a big difference.”

I don't ask my employees to do anything I wouldn't do myself,” says Bill Clark, president of Indusco Corporation (Portsmouth, VA), who has worked jobs in the pump room, on delivery trucks and at the front desk. “I remind employees each day how important it is to service the customer and give them more than what they ask for.” Clark views leadership as taking risks and knowing when to move forward. “As a small company, we need to be at the forefront of opportunity so we can get there before everyone else, all the while gaining that first premium.” Seven years ago, Clark added a fill plant despite the experts who advised him Indusco wasn't at a point where it needed a fill plant. “I said that we're going to have to do it sooner or later, now's the time.” The company has branched into other markets, mainly medical. Says Clark, “The next step is the small bulk market.”

Mark Davidson

Mark Davidson, president of Best Welders Supply (Tulsa, OK), saw the sand shifting and redirected his leadership focus. “The industry's rolled up as far as consolidation,” he says, “and the type of leadership employees now require has to match up against that competition. Where these large companies have a number of individuals with specialized skills and abilities, our employees must have a broader set of skills.” He redirected the compensation plan for the outside sales force, tying it more closely to company objectives. “Our employees are beginning to understand that the picture is about financial performance and no longer about the gear and gadgets that we sell.”

Brent Fernyhough

According to Brent Fernyhough, president of Byrne Specialty Gases (Seattle, WA), “Every aspect of our business has an area that needs attention, across our industry, and it's everything from DOT compliance to health insurance and how to raise prices to cover the cost changes. It just takes eternal vigilance.” Fernyhough cites medical gases as an example. “Medical gases are some of the least expensive gases and yet they're the most time consuming and have the highest liability. It's important that we look at and understand where the costs are and try to manage them and handle them as best we can. There's no single silver bullet.”

The company reimburses education and expects that each employee attend outside classes to learn how to do their job better, whether it's customer service or driving school. Fernyhough looks to hire people who have a little bit of uneasiness in their belly. “We're a small growing company; it's a special place, and only certain types of people fit in here.”

Guillermo Gallardo

Mold the main guys so they can pass it on to the rest of the employees,” advises Complete Welding & Cutting Supplies (Pomona, CA) President Guillermo Gallardo, who is leading his 32 employees to be more knowledgeable of new welding processes in order to gain a competitive edge. “A leader has to be the inspiration and example to the team to keep the company in a growth mode, so I try to keep that example, to be here and work just as hard as they do.” Gallardo developed a no-charge customer training program, which is garnering significant profit for the company. “After the sessions, customers are more conscious of the topic, i.e., safety issues, and they usually order many of the products that we show.”

Morgan Golden

Even in our small town in Arkansas, with its population of 37,000, we're feeling the effects of globalization as manufacturing heads overseas. We therefore have had to reinvent ourselves to continue to be profitable,” says AWI Supply (Hot Springs, AR) President Morgan Golden. Golden has developed a company culture where change is the norm and things are not accepted at face value. “I ask employees to take proactive steps and bring solutions. This is more 'culture' than technique.” Golden is working on how to pass leadership to those beyond the executive level, those at the branch level, and is trying to get them to think as “mini-business owners.” He says, “They have to understand the larger picture beyond selling cylinder gas; they've got to think beyond the day-to-day transactions and see the company holistically so they can help me steer the company.” Golden allows employees to make the hard decisions, then evaluates to make sure they did it right. “If not, we discuss how they can do it better the next time.”

John Hanlon

My most important job as leader is to mentor our people to help them grow in their existing positions and in future positions so that when I'm gone, the leadership and the direction of this company will continue unabated.” John Hanlon, president, SJ Smith Co. (Davenport, IA), explains how he goes about it: “I listen to what people want to do and I help them learn not only from successes, but from failures, so that they understand the process of business, the process of management, the process of leading others. A leader must leave his or her ego checked at the door. It's not about any individual; it's about doing the right thing for the company and for the customer.” SJ Smith employees attend the School of Industrial Distribution at Texas A&M University, as well as Dale Carnegie courses.

Brian Hartje

Brian Hartje, president, Bemidji Welders Supply (Bemidji, MN), strives to make his 23 employees feel a part of the team. “Everybody works hard to do a good job for the customer, because what happens with our company is the future of our employees, too.” To achieve this, Hartje insists that all employees really participate in meetings—with input. “This is how we can strive forward.”

Larry Jones

A leader must project integrity to the entire company,” says Larry Jones, president of Jones Welding & Industrial Supply (Albany, GA). “Customers must have confidence that what we tell them is correct and that we will treat them fairly.” Jones believes in mentoring and allowing employees to develop to their fullest potential, including giving them room to make mistakes. He believes that leadership is not a solitary road and attributes much of his success to his wife Sheila, the company's vice president. “Every leader has someone they look up to. Her intuition and ability to see things has had a big influence on me.”

Bryan Keen

As the leader of the company, you need to make things happen,” says Bryan Keen, president of Keen Compressed Gas Co. (Wilmington, DE), whose father gave him this advice when he became president: “If it is to be, it is up to me!” He makes sure he is visible and active in the daily activities of his employees and customers. “People like to see company management taking an interest in their lives, their jobs, what's going on in the field and what's happening in the stores.” Keen adds communication as another important aspect of leadership. “Explanations as to what we are doing and why we are doing it allow for more buy-in and build a better team.”

Vern Lewis

President Vern Lewis built Vern Lewis Welding Supply (Phoenix, AZ) by being hands-on and training employees to do whatever it takes to satisfy customers. “To succeed in this business is to find out what the customer wants and give it to them.” Lewis makes sure that all employees learn how to ask questions and work closely with customers, how to pick up important information, and most importantly, how to forward it on.

David Melo

For Melo's Gas & Gear (Bakersfield, CA), “the biggest challenge for 2005 is to keep customers from finding some other channel of distribution to buy our products.” David Melo, president, points to the big box stores and the Internet as potential rivals and is using all his leadership skills to keep them from getting his customers. “The personal relationship with customers is going to be stronger so they don't look anywhere else or become open to anything else.” The value-added service Melo is most proud of his “fair and consistent pricing all the time, not just when the customer demands it.” He says, “If my customers believe I have integrity, my employees believe I have integrity, and my vendors believe I have integrity, then my job as leader is a lot easier.”

Gary Minnis

We're making an effort not to be everything to everybody,” says Gary Minnis, president of Wine Country Gases (Santa Rosa, CA). To that end, Minnis is consolidating as much purchasing as possible into fewer vendors. He explains, “We're providing greater revenue to each of our vendors, and as a result we're expecting improved performance and some improvement of pricing.” Minnis hopes this tactic will be reflected in better profit for both his companies and his vendors.

Jim Moore

Jim Moore, president, Fire King of Seattle (Seattle, WA), is taking the role of leadership seriously, and is focusing on one-on-one interactions with both customers and staff. “I want to show employees that even a small customer is needed for the bottom line, because it often happens that smaller customers get pushed to the wayside to make room for the larger customers. It takes just a few smaller customers lumped together and you've got yourself a larger customer..” While it takes more time out of his day, Moore makes on-site visits with his sales staff customer sites, and spends that time training employees as well as letting customers know there is a personal commitment from the company.

Steve Mulder

Steve Mulder, president, Natwel Supply Corp. (San Antonio, TX), describes himself as very detail-oriented and committed to making things more efficient. In fact, after taking over the business from his father, Mulder upgraded many of the company's processes, including the way inventory was done, how acetylene was shipped and received, and the way cylinders were tracked. “Everything runs smoother, and while the company has doubled in size in the last five years, we still have the same number of employees.” Mulder points to this streamlining and move toward efficiencies as a critical leadership task.

Tom Reynolds

Tom Reynolds, president of Reynolds Welding Supply Company (Mankato, MN), describes his most important leadership skill as people management. “I provide the tools and assistance they need to do their jobs, including sending them to the training programs that will be of help.” Reynolds also looks to a good incentive plan as an important motivator.

Michael Ross

A good leader surrounds himself or herself with great people,” says Michael Ross, president, ABCO Welding & Industrial Supply (Waterford, CT), who leans heavily on direct reports to give him the analysis that says a decision is a good decision. He adds, “Quite frankly, while I may have already made the decision, I want them to own the decision and then own the solution, own the execution, and then own the results.” Ross teaches employees how to build relationships at the high level, rather than dealing with “someone in purchasing.” He explains, “It really all comes down to the relationship. Once we put a solution in and they have respect and trust for ABCO, everything else falls into place. It's really not an issue of price, and our product is then not reduced to a commodity.”

H. Stanley Stoney

To become more efficient is the name of the game,” says H. Stanley Stoney, president of North East Welding Supply Corp. (Auburn, MA), who constantly looks for methods of improving efficiency to become more productive. Stoney's leadership style focuses on planning and organizing. “It drifts down and reaps rewards in terms of net operating profit..”

As we provide the value-added services necessary to meet our customers' needs, we'll make sure that all our people recognize that we're not a me-too organization,” says F. Russell Strate Jr., president of Strate Welding Supply Co. (Buffalo, NY). “We bring a total package to the table and it is a team effort.” As leader, Strate helps employees recognize that each job is interrelated. “It's a daily conversation that they are part of the whole.”

John Whiting

John Whiting, president and CEO of ETOX (Tyler, TX), points to a 25 percent profit increase during the recent economic slump, despite flat sales. “Everybody from the accounting clerk in the main office to the truck driver knows that not only do we need to control costs daily, but we have to collect the customer's money.” Whiting's leadership comes with a bevy of creative ideas to differentiate ETOX from its competitors. “Every year, we introduce what I call a new tool for our toolbox.” A few years ago, that new tool was a motor sports program for stock car fans. Discounts were given for gases and welding equipment to owners of stock cars who raced locally. Says Whiting, “We discovered that most of the owners and drivers had their own fabrication shops, and we ended up getting that business, too.” Last year, ETOX had a program for area farmers and ranchers. This year, the new tool in the toolbox was a student discount program. ETOX set up a booth at a teacher's convention (over 2,400 in attendance) and gave away freebies to students who will likely remember ETOX when it comes time to buy their own welding equipment. Whiting considers doing “different things his competitors aren't doing as good leadership.”

Dale Wilton

Dale Wilton, vice president, focuses a lot of energy empowering Central Welding Supply's (Lynwood, WA) 75 employees to learn how to make decisions that can increase service, deal with a problem, make a resolution and offer a solution. “Allowing employees to make decisions makes them better business people, regardless of their position, and this helps us to make inroads in market share.” Acknowledging the competition's large corporate structure, Wilton says, “We can move a little bit faster and a little more efficiently when people know how to make good decisions for the company, moment to moment.”

Charlie Wright

As a leader, my most important responsibility is making sure I have effective people in place with the right tools,” says Charlie Wright, CEO/owner, Wright Brothers (Cincinnati, OH). Wright uses outside training resources, such as the Sandler system for sales training, the IWDC for operational training, and a local marketing firm for marketing training. The results of these programs are evaluated by measuring expense management and bringing in profitable new businesses.