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•THE WHOLESALER® — MARCH 2011
2011
“With customer service, selection and price cov- ered, the company wants to be known as friendly, fun and flexible.” — Midland Metal president Billy Hodes
T
he way he sees it, customers should expect all their suppliers to deliver the basics: quality, selection, competitive pricing and
superior customer service. But Midland Metal president Billy Hodes wants to up the ante. “I expect my company and my team to meet
all criteria that have traditionally been used to define excellence in a vendor,” Billy says. “Our customers can choose from any number of ven- dors who also demonstrate customer service, value for the dollar, quality and selection. Any supplier still standing in this competitive land- scape had better be able to deliver on those promises, and customers should expect that, as a minimum.” Instead, Billy wants Midland Metal to be
known by another, less traditional set of criteria: friendly, fun and flexible. “I think it’s just human nature. Getting the job
done right is the first priority, but who doesn’t want to work with fun, friendly people who make getting that job done right a little more pleasant each day?” explains Billy. The benefit to Midland Metal’s customers
goes beyond friendly, fun relationships, how- ever. By getting to know their customers, Mid- land Metal staffers can often anticipate needs and help solve problems. That’s when the com- pany’s flexible approach to finding custom so- lutions really shines. There are no one-size-fits-all answers, because each cus- tomer’s business is unique. This philosophy is a natural extension of Mid-
SUPPLIER PROFILE
Midland Metal adopts nontraditional criteria for success
land Metal’s own company culture. The Mid- land Metal staff embodies the natural friendli- ness found among Midwesterners, including a penchant for joking around. Midland Metal cus- tomers know, however, that this light-hearted approach doesn’t mean Midland Metal isn’t a se- rious business. Powered by a tight-knit team, this multi-gen-
eration, family-owned company celebrated its 30th anniversary last year. That longevity and success was won the old-fashioned way: through hard work and business acumen. Chief of Operations, Jim Hodes, has more
than a quarter-century of experience in procure- ment and supply chain management. Driven by the desire to pass on the absolute best value to Midland Metal’s customers, Jim is formidable when it comes to negotiation and efficiency. Billy, who was just a boy when his father and
brother started Midland Metal in 1980, assumed leadership of the company in 2002, at which time he began a series of aggressive initiatives for growth. “My plan for the business focused extensively
on investing in technology and personnel so that we could position ourselves operationally and technically for a strong push on the sales side — by implementing my new business model with specific initiatives to strengthen the national sales network and build a more efficient sales process,” he says. Many family business owners agree that the
most influential changes in their companies are not market or industry-related, but are instead personal in nature. According to Billy, this is the case with Midland Metal. In 2003, mid-way through implementing his business plan, he joined the executive coaching and business lead- ership group, Vistage. “Meeting with other busi- ness owners in an organized forum helps me process issues. Other members share their expe- riences and it is a huge help in running Midland Metal. It is one of the best investments I con- tinue to make each month,” states Billy. One of the best business investments, that is,
because Midland Metal also invests heavily in the community. “There has never been a com-
Midland Metal customers talk to her via phone all the time. Now they can put a face to their favorite Customer Concierge, Danielle Glass. She too has one of the office’s many colorful paintings by John Bukaty hanging above her desk. Midland Metal cus- tomers are also familiar with his work, which is fea- tured on the back cover of each new catalog, and each year Midland Metal gives its top 100 customers a framed print of a new painting in the series.
Do these three stay in shape hefting giant parts from Midland Metal’s oil field line? No, Midwest Regional Sales Manager Ben Purcell, Chief of Operations Jim Hodes, and Western Regional Sales Manager Dustin Dalton are more often found on the phone or out visiting customers around the country.
pany philanthropy policy. We’ve never needed one. Everyone here just does it,” explains Billy. Sharon Colbert, now in her 12th year as the company’s ac-
counting manager, takes charge of adopting a family from the Bishop Sullivan Center each holiday season. After getting to know the family, the Midland Metal employees bestow them with gifts, cash donations, gift cards and a special holiday meal. Midland Metal is a proud benefactor of the Halo Foundation’s
Gulu Girls Home in Uganda, Africa. Gulu is an orphanage for girls whose parents were slain in the war-torn area. With the monthly support of Midland Metal, girls ranging in age from 7 to 12 are provided with food, clothing, caring housemothers and the opportunity to attend school where they will learn an entre- preneurial trade. An amazing 90 percent of the girls go on to at- tend secondary school and university, while some are trained as ambassadors for the Foundation. It is a cause near and dear to Billy’s heart.n
See contact information on page 194
Midland Metal President Billy Hodes is just a call away for any customer. They’ll usually reach him here, at his office, which is filled with artwork by his children displayed just as proudly as the many paintings by professional artists. And if he’s not there, it might interest you to know that Midland Metal is one of the few companies where callers actually ask to be put on hold. Why? Find out for yourself by calling 800-821-5725, then introduce yourself and let us know you want to hear the hold message.
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