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Finishers. What’s next?

Good news. Many markets are fertile for expansion, particularly in paint and powder. Experts contend the outlook for the year and beyond is quite promising. But the questions are for you: Will your finishing business be positioned to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves? Are you staying ahead of customer expectation? Do you see and understand various market swings? Does i...
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Finishing the year with numbers that paint a vivid picture for some

“Rarely are changes thrust upon a business due to changes the industry took upon itself.” (Quote links to Material Insights blog: "A wake-up call to [successful] coating business managers") We’re usually immersed in our businesses. We tend to believe things like, odd or increasing customer demands; frustrating coating formulation changes; stiffening OSHA or EPA regulations; tax and p...
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Reshoring becomes more and more compelling

Steady trends beg: What can a supply chain do to get in? The “buy American” trend is gaining traction. Increasingly, American consumers are avoiding foreign manufactured products. It’s a trend powered by renewed belief in American made products, and the promise to save jobs. To this end, a study released this year by J.D. Power and Associates show “the percentage of buyers who avoided import mode...
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6 Questions help you benefit from any trend

Sometimes we can make hay with an emerging trend—as long as it’s relevant. At minimum we can use the information to stock up on finishes and material; or bone up on a surfacing technique that may soon be in demand. Ignore a significant trend and it can upend a business or even an industry. Remember Kodak? We have to pay attention and read meaningful trends to inform our process and perhaps avo...
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From compliance to machinist mantras, four takeaways

Quips of recent posts save you time; enlarge your head Want to feel industrious? Here’s fresh insight for your business. Summaries of our last four posts optimized for faster reading. You decide if you need more. There’s a link after each one that will take you to the original story. 1. EPA gives way to EMS Born in the wake of elevated concern about environmental pollution, the EPA was established...
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Wisdom in brief, Fall 2012

Material Insights rules. Here's a summary of the last four posts that'll get you the scoop and get you going to a faster finish. If you're still craving more, there's a link to the original post following each new rule. Fresh finishing business insight condensed for a quick read. Also, we took the summer off to completely revamp the Material Insights blog so you might notice the gap betw...
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Three ways to profit by working it smart

Improve margins; increase machining performance Effort is money and in that regard, for a large segment of metalworkers, things can seem like they’re all conspiring against you. If your business is cutting, milling, turning, grinding or drilling metals you know the devil is in the details—often at a microscopic level. Yet to remain competitive, your business must run the gamut from maintaining you...
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Two approaches to profit for the small shop

Do not be afraid to charge what’s fair. Deserve to make money on jobs. Pride yourself for being a shop and not a factory if that’s what you are. Just because you love what you do doesn’t mean you don’t also deserve to earn a fair profit doing it! Sometimes not making a profit is your own undoing. Ye olde business, at least the way it's currently functioning, may be what’s robbing you of a f...
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3 Trends support funding email marketing

Plus 8 strategic advantages Business-to-business marketers continue to shift resources from traditional sales and marketing tactics to online. With websites improving (and social media still out with jury) industry loves the ROI of email marketing. It’s a cost-effective way to stay in touch with customers and cultivate new leads. Here are three factors that are trending, and later I describe eigh...
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Two ways building “trust” delivers consistently more

Customers are human beings. They buy with their head and their heart. Therefore, you can’t sell a “solution” until you’ve made a compelling offer to each. Most companies, in one way or another, sell “solutions.” Their customers accept these solutions because they believe these companies have their best interests in mind. Simply put, they have their trust so they’ll share their problems, it ...
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