Truth be told, I was asked to write this blog by our president, as a parting gesture as I prepare for my retirement at the end of this year. I’m sure he was anticipating, or maybe hoping, that I would be singing the praises of my nearly 15 year run with HAR Adhesive Technologies.
If you know me, you know I’m not a creative writer. If you don’t know me, let me tell you, I have a fear of the “blank page.” When it comes to putting meaningful and coherent words into a sentence to entice people to read it, well, that doesn’t happen very often. If you’re still reading this blog, I’m pleased and admittedly a bit surprised. Hopefully, you like short, simple sentences. You’ll get a lot of them here. And hopefully you like what I have to say about HAR.
First, a bit of my personal history. I got into the adhesive business in 1977. Yep, that long ago. I can’t believe I’ve been in the “glue” business for over 40 years! In those years I have been with four companies. My first one had only four employees, then I went to a bit larger one, then a much larger one, and finally, I landed at HAR. I’ve seen a lot, and not all of it good. I have experienced what works and what doesn’t when making and selling a product like glue. No person or company is perfect, some just do it better than others.
How does HAR stack up compared to other adhesive companies I’ve worked at? Or, why is HAR an excellent company to have as a strategic partner? Let’s face it, there are a lot of adhesive companies out there who would love to sell you glue. HAR does, too, and we have been very successful over the past 20 years with sales increasing by more than 4,000 percent! How did that happen in a very mature industry? Read on.
Let’s not concentrate on the similarities between HAR and other adhesive companies. Rather, let’s review what HAR does better than anyone else.
TRUST: A wise person once said, “If you have choices and everything is equal, but you trust the person you are dealing with, you will go along with the trusted person’s suggestions. If the choices are not equal, you will still go along with the trusted person’s ideas.” Trust is invaluable. As a selector of adhesive application equipment and adhesive products, you must be able to know and trust the person and company offering those recommendations. That relationship should be worry free and you must be able to trust the company to deliver what has been promised. The culture of HAR has always been to ask questions, learn about the customer’s real needs, and provide a plan that includes service and products to fulfill the need. We can’t always provide that service or product. Maybe you’re very satisfied with your present situation. If that’s the case, we are happy you are content and wish you well. We NEVER try to sell anything you don’t need. We don’t sell on price. We make suggestions for improvement whether it’s in the process, the application, or the adhesive. How can we do this? One reason is experience.
EXPERIENCE: It may sound like bragging, but HAR has amassed some of the most experienced, good, and caring people I have ever seen. Our sales force has a combined average time in the adhesive industry of over 15 years. That does not include my 40 years or that of our newest technical sales representative who has gone through a two-year in-house training period and just recently entered the field. Most likely, our guys have seen an application like yours. They have seen the problems you are facing. They can and have offered solutions to those problems, and they have seen these problems before because we base our business on personal contact.
PERSONAL CONTACT: You probably aren’t aware of this, but most companies who provide adhesives cover a large geographical territory but have few Technical Sales Representatives available to help. If you are buying your adhesive from this company and need service, how long do you think it will take to have that person come out to assess and help with a problem? HAR’s Technical Sales Representative’s territories are small. They can often come to your facility on the same day you call them. If you’re having bonding problems and creating scrap, do you want to wait a week or more before help arrives and the problems have progressed, or are you looking for a creative, timely solution that works?
CREATIVE WAYS OF DOING BUSINESS: HAR is not a large company. We are large enough to buy in bulk and get good pricing, but we are also small enough to work with flexibility. We can offer means of doing business most other companies will not. Just a few of the special things we do are: custom formulations, product stocking agreements, same day shipping, lead times to fit customer’s needs, special packaging and labeling, special payment terms, consignment, creative ways to finance equipment purchases, direct customer order entry, immediate order confirmation, and much more.
I could go on, but I think you understand a bit of the “WHY.” Yep, HAR Adhesive Technologies is a unique company, and I am delighted to finish my career working for an organization that truly cares about customer needs. Thank you to Joe Cerino, President of HAR Adhesive Technologies, for having the vision and guts to take a risk and build a great company. Thank you to our sales team for working hard to make things happen and for communicating the advantages of doing business with HAR. Thank you to our production team for ensuring the promises made to our customers are kept. And thank you to all the customers, friends, and associates that I have had the pleasure of working with along the way. It has been an honor to be a small part of their success.
It has been a BLAST!
Sincerely,
Ken Schonauer
Sales Manager
HAR Adhesive Technologies
P.S. I have agreed to work part-time for as long as it stays fun, interesting, and I want to!
Readers are invited to use the links below to find and contact a local adhesives representative that can help with your company's industrial adhesives needs: HAR Adhesive Technologies has a presence in seven distinct states, uniquely focused on serving the adhesives, adhesive application, and equipment needs of each region in: Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia