Current Issue
| Fall 2008
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| Culligan Expands Keeping your company afloat What's been said? Three workers story What's so funny? Test your "smarts" Be good to your back DICA Sod Turning |
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| Culligan Expands The Culligan water plant in Brockville’s north end is expanding it’s operations. The Brockville location distributes their water internally to other Culligan dealers. Currently the water filling machine at Culligan is 2 bottles wide, which can produce 240 bottles an hour. The new machine, which is 5 bottles wide, will produce 1000 bottles an hour. The new technology is not only faster, but will also be more accurate. With the new bottling capabilities, Culligan will be able to expand its distribution area. There are 5 offices in Eastern Ontario: Brockville, Kingston, Cornwall, Pembroke and Ottawa. The Brockville location acts the central hub to the other locations. There are around 50 other locations across Canada. Although the Brockville location is part of the Culligan company, it is privately owned. The current location of Culligan is 240 Waltham Road. It was previously located on Central Avenue until 1996. To get the facility ready for the expanded production, Chevron had to make many improvements to the building. In the west production area a new raised slab and trench grading were installed to support three new water tanks. The 12’ diameter by 14’ high tanks were installed, along with the pipe bridging necessary for the services. In the east production area another raised concrete slab was installed to hold the new bottling machine. The entire production area received new paint, lighting and electrical service. Because of the increased water demand for production, modifications to the outside of the facility were also needed. After a locate was performed to find the water and sewer lines, the sanitary sewer was fully replaced and a new 4” water line was installed. The new water line was necessary to increase the water capacity. Owner, Bernie Frith, says it has been “incredible working with Chevron. Jim, Maynard, Vicki and the rest of the crew have made it a very positive experience.” Bernie noted that Chevron was flexible and made the project go incredibly smooth. Culligan will be hosting an open house to showcase there new technology. The open house date will be announced later. |
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| Keeping your company afloat During economic slow downs some companies may panic and make costly decisions. This type of rash decision making can be counterproductive to your business. Every company needs a plan of action during a slow down. Customer service, new opportunities and protecting your talent are three key parts of business. These three parts can keep your company afloat during tough times. Customer Service An important thing to remember during slow downs is that you are not the only business affected, your customers are too. Try to understand how your customers businesses are being affected and look for ways to help. Lasting relationships are built in hard times. Always keep in close contact with customers and exceed their expectations. One way to do this is to offer better customer service – a positive experience. Give your customers the best experience you can. Since it doesn’t cost anything to smile, be helpful or be courteous, especially when so many long faces are everywhere, your organization will stand out from the gloomy crowd. Emphasize that everyone in the organization is part of the company image, and to share in the renewed customer service commitment. Concentrating on existing customers is your most important marketing target. New Opportunities During slow times marketing should be intensified, not eliminated or cut back. Look for new market opportunities, recognizing that when the business climate changes, customer needs change as well. When you cut back on marketing and advertising you are surrendering potential market share. When other companies are cutting back, it’s time to claim their abandoned market share. Look at your marketing dollars as an investment not an expense. Always set and measure marketing targets and keep in daily or weekly communication with your sales and operations staff. If you can’t afford a full blown marketing program, opt for less expensive ideas. Email marketing, blogs, public relations and online newsletters are great inexpensive ways to keep your business in sight. Protect Your Talent Think long term. During slow times you need to make sure you can hold on to your talent. This means you need to do all you can to ensure that they are challenged, engaged, motivated, rewarded and assured that there is a clear path for career advancement in your organization. Now is not the time to skimp on training, coaching, or anything else that aids employee development. It’s important to establish clarity of goals and rapidly align your workforce to execute the new strategy. When change is forced upon your business by the external environment, you cannot afford to lose focus or to delay the necessary course shift. Identify the top performers that will be essential for your new strategic direction and invest heavily when others are cutting back. During uncertain times transparency drives trust and employee engagement. Companies with high trust financially outperform those with low trust. It’s always a good time to improve your systems and make your company run smoother. This is a good use of your staff’s extra time and you will reap large dividends when business improves. Now is the time to come up with a strategy to ensure your company survives during an economic downturn.
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| What's been said? "Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." -Warren Buffett
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| Three workers story “What are you doing?” A passerby asked of three workers working on a building under construction. The first worker, looking tired and drained, replied, “I’m just cutting stone.” The second worker, looking resigned to his ordeal, answered, “I’m just making a living. I have to put food on the table everyday for my family.” The third worker, who was singing, looked up to the sky and shouted, “I’m building a cathedral!” ●Are you just cutting stone at work? Is that why you’re often drained of energy and void of enthusiasm? ●Are you just trying to make a living? Is that why you find no excitement or larger meaning in what you do? ●Or are you building or doing something great, and in the process getting consumed by the passion and promise of doing something bigger than yourself? | |
| What's so funny?
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| Test your "smarts"
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| Be good to your back The best way to protect your back against the many hazards it faces on and off the job is to develop habits that reduce the strain on back muscles. Slow down. Back injuries that result from slips, trips and falls can often be prevented by walking instead of running from place to place. Wear shoes with nonskid soles and look where you’re going. Stretch first. Your back muscles, and the stomach muscles that help them, benefit from stretching before heavy use, so stretch gently before lifting or other back activity. Gentle stretches at the beginning of the day, and periodically during the day, also help keep your back muscles flexible. Rest your back. When you sleep, your back gets a rest from carrying your body around. To give your back the best rest, sleep on a firm mattress. The best sleep positions for your back are on your side with your knees bent or on your back with your knees elevated. Lift safely. Break large loads down into smaller, more manageable parts. Whenever possible use material handling equipment, such as hoists, hand trucks, and dollies rather than your body to lift objects. Push hand trucks, don’t pull them.
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| DICA Sod Turning
Construction of the 6000 sq. ft. addition at Dica Electronics in Carleton Place, officially began on August 28th. This addition is scheduled to finish in late fall. Pictured above (l-r) is owner Guenter Grabe, his wife Gale, president Spencer Grabe and Chevron project manager Jim Annable. |
