Contact Information:
American Tinning & Galvanizing
552 W 12th Street
Erie, PA
Phone Number: 814/456-7053
Website: www.galvanizeit.com/
What is the best piece of business advice you ever received?
BELIEVE! Instead of the old saying – “I’ll believe that when I see it” my mind set became “I’ll see it when I believe it” Despite the dire situation I inherited in 2004, I ‘believed’ we had the brains, brawn and heart to bring us back to prosperity. The employees soon ‘believed’ in our new leadership and mission and began to see the progress. Perhaps this is a more ‘internal’ bit of advice…but it truly served me in my new role.
Something that sounds more business-like was a motto we adopted early on as we were striving to get back customers we had lost and more importantly our reputation was “QUALITY BRINGS QUANTITY”
As our workforce became more committed to the new vision for ATG, our quality did improve and so did our sales and customer satisfaction. We expanded with double digit increases in sales for five years running and nearly doubled the size of our work force.
What was one of the biggest challenges you’ve overcome in running your business?
The biggest challenge, and now the biggest success, was “overcoming low morale”.
No one cared about the quality of their work, there was no trust in the leadership, the employees didn’t feel valued or appreciated. My management staff and I have focused on our culture from day one and continually look for opportunities to praise for the workers. We have numerous incentive plans and chances for recognition that don’t cost the company a lot of money but produce results in the level of dedication and work place harmony. Our turn-over has dropped significantly and the level of mutual respect has grown commensurately. I am very proud of the culture we have cultivated.
