Q: What makes us stand out from the rest?
A: Our service to our customers. We often talk about our inside sales knowledge, engineering, prototyping, the equipment and the production capabilities we have. What we are doing in regard to returnable packaging education for our distributors and our current/potential customers, through our marketing initiatives via our website and other channels far surpasses our competitors - this being the first stand out that comes to mind. Our one on one sales approach with our customer, your one point of contact, is also a stand out attraction. Our customers, if requested/needed also have access to our engineers if they prefer. So our accessibility is a standout. Due to the fact that we are a mid-size organization also provides direct links to our customers point of contact. With that being said, however, our shop capacity can handle very small jobs to very, very large jobs at any given time as well. We are truly the whole package.
Q: How will we sustain our values into the future?
A: By simply doing what we are doing now as we grow. That means always making sure there are people in place to continue with the same type of service that our customers receive now. Making sure there is production capacity to handle work as it is handled now. By not getting greedy and thinking of ourselves before the customer. Let me elaborate a bit on what that means. What we do now as a company is staying in touch with what “is working” and what “is not working” as it relates to servicing our customer. We meet weekly, that is the management, sales, engineering and production teams. What we talk about is “what went well” in each week and “what did not go well”. The “what did not go well” is where growth comes from. We find out from each department how we came up short on what it is our customer really wants. Maybe from sales, we find out there is a type product or service we do not offer, we would look into it if this is an area we need to grow in. Production might talk about how to design something differently from their experience on the production floor so we can manufacture more efficiently. This would lead to better costing, which turns into savings for the customer and shorter lead time, all resulting in better service for our customer. The examples are many, but in this type of growth atmosphere where those who actually have hands-on in all departments and a management team there who is willing to make sure change does happen when needed; means that our service to our customers will always be on track and improve as needs evolve.
The other half is, “what went well” - this is easier. If it works and our customers are happy and we keep applying the same concepts and stay in line with their needs in the future.
We also meet quarterly. Management, sales, and marketing all come together. We do our yearly forecasting and adjust as the year moves on. In this way, we can stay ahead of what our customers might need in the future. If our sales team, in conversation with their customers, come to understand what projects are up ahead and the scale of those projects and the timing we can make decisions based on those upcoming needs and plan accordingly. That could mean having inventory in place, or warehouse space available, at times it has meant having engineers in place to handle the increased designs that will be coming in.
Last but not least the management team meets monthly to review all of the information we have received and the strategies we have laid out to make sure we are still on track to meet all of our goals. In the end, everything we do revolves around the customers’ needs and how well we serve them now and into the future. This, in turn, will ensure our own growth and prosperity.
Q: Why is working with Amatech a plus for distributors?
A: Cost savings would be the biggest plus that I can see. There is no need for them to invest in all of the overhead. From an engineering and prototyping department to materials, equipment etc. Also, add the knowledge base we have and years of experience under our roof - these being a huge bonus for them.
Q: Why do you personally like working at Amatech?
A: Why I like working at Amatech is somewhat of a long story. I will do my best to shorten it up a bit and still get the point across, to you, our audience. First, you may or may not know that Amatech is a family owned/run business. My brother David, is the founder/owner of Amatech, which he started back in 1989. His son Jason has been with him for almost that whole time. I started working at Amatech a decade later in 1999. My son, Tony, started with us in 2015. So that right there, is a great reason, to enjoy working at Amatech. Tony and Jason both do well at their respective jobs. This provides a certain peace of mind knowing that it will be good hands for many years to come.
It goes deeper than that, however. It is still based on family pride, but just from another viewpoint. My brother and I have a 10 year age gap between us, he being the oldest. We come from an upstanding family. This is where our work ethic has come from. My dad worked two jobs to support the household while my mom took care of everything else. We learned from the beginning, to be decent to others, work hard and save our money. I cannot tell you how many times I heard “save your money” from our folks.
My brother David, for as long as I can remember, always wanted to be in business for himself. With that being said, he always took care of me, his kid brother, always. When he would start up a venture, I was pretty much guaranteed a good paying job working for him. He had that ‘thing’ that entrepreneurs have, just that zest to make ‘it’ happen. I got the hard work gene from my dad. So our traits, at the end of the day, complimented one another. In 1999, when I had the opportunity to work for him and run the shop floor at Amatech; there was no hesitation on my part. He needed someone and from my previous work experience, I knew I could do the job and be that someone he could depend on. As the business evolved, I took on more and more responsibility. I learned all there was to know about each position as I did them. From running the shop floor, to operations and overseeing the office, to now, where I sit as the Executive Vice President. This is where the joy of my job comes into play. As stated earlier, my brother always took care me, for many reasons as life presented it. So, working at Amatech has provided me a huge opportunity to pay him back for all he has done through the years. I do not take lightly, that as David enjoys his transition into semi-retirement and has more and more time away from the business; I want his mind to be at ease that we are here making sure that all he has built continues to thrive and prosper as he intended.
I also have the opportunity to be a part of ensuring the future of Amatech is intact for yet another reason. So our sons can also continue to succeed. What more can someone ask for but be “a part of” rather than “being apart from” and I get to do it while I work with family. I am blessed with the problems of privilege.
As you can see, Tony's perspective is about the success of Amatech - all evolving from a customer-centric approach. Keep an eye out for our next feature - some more of our team weighs in on why they think Amatech is Amazing!
