MASSILLON, Ohio — A lot of exciting things have been going on with U.S. Chemical & Plastics lately. Tom Perry was recently promoted from vice president, sales & marketing to president, and the company also earned the prestigious ISO 9001:2000 certification. The editorial staffs of aftermarketNews and BodyShop Business spoke with Perry, a 24-year industry veteran, about the latest developments at U.S. Chemical & Plastics.
What are some of the goals you hope to accomplish for the company in your new role?
Our goal is to create a world-class organization with a strong commitment to the future of our industry. We’re doing everything to show that commitment, and we want to continue our ongoing investment in the industry which, quite frankly, is to benefit our customers and every employee in this company.
If someone were to visit either our facilities in the United States or our facilities in the United Kingdom, he or she would see that we’re not just talking about our commitment or making a commitment in words alone. We’ve shown this by continually investing millions of dollars in this industry because we believe it’s going to continue to be strong. This industry has its challenges, but fortunately we’re a very strong and healthy company, and that gives us the ability to continue our investment even in difficult economic times. It’s far too easy and it seems to be the first thing most companies do in times like these is cut back, but we don’t even think about that at U.S. Chemical because we’re strong and committed and know we’re going to make it through.
U.S. Chemical & Plastics recently earned the prestigious ISO 9001:2000 certification. What went into achieving the certification and what benefits do you expect to see as a result?
It truly required a company-wide commitment to work together, both at the executive level and the entire staff, to ensure an ongoing process of improvement. It required extensive training throughout the organization primarily by utilizing cross-functional teams. The process took about one year, and I can’t even begin to tell you at all levels within the organization how much training time we put in.
We see our customers benefiting from doing business with an ISO-certified manufacturer. This certification sets us apart from our competitors and ensures a high level of ongoing quality through continual process improvements and, hopefully, increased business from customers wanting to do business with a company that has made this kind of commitment.
Within the automotive industry, appearance and refinish product manufacturers such as U.S. Chemical & Plastics are at the forefront of the ‘green movement’ we hear so much about these days. Can you tell us about some of the ways U.S. Chemical & Plastics is working to minimize its impact on the environment?
Our Pro-Spray European Automotive Finishes product offering and the introduction of Pro-Spray H2O waterborne paint is one example of our commitment to the ‘green movement.’ As far as the ongoing development of all of our product offerings, whether it is through paints and coatings or U.S. Chemical & Plastics core lines, we’re doing everything possible to find ways to reduce levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In addition, we’ve developed new resin technologies which require far less petroleum-based products for some of our core filler and putty lines. We have a full-lab staff that continues to develop and do research and development on new resin technologies that reduce our overall dependence on petroleum-based resins. A hybrid vehicle doesn’t totally eliminate the need for petroleum-based products in a vehicle but it greatly reduces the need, and that’s the similar type of research and technology we’re currently utilizing for the development of future products.
In addition to your role at U.S. Chemical & Plastics, you’re also the committee chairman for the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX). This positions you at a unique vantage point on the industry. What kinds of changes in attendee and exhibitor participation do you anticipate at this year’s AAPEX as a result of the economic struggles in the U.S. right now?
The current numbers look to be very much in line with last year and the prior year, and that’s great news since this year’s AAPEX coincides with Automechanika. Typically, when AAPEX coincides with Automechanika, there tends to be a slight drop-off in the attendance of international buyers and international exhibitors. At this point, however, we seem to be holding our own, which will mean the show has basically sold-out for a number of consecutive years. Last year was an exceptional year with the buyer count being up and comments coming from back from exhibitors that were overwhelmingly saying that the show was even better than the previous year’s.
As for the attendance related to economic struggles, the committee has found that down times are ideal times for industry professionals to explore new opportunities. What takes only a few days to accomplish for your business during Industry Week and AAPEX would typically take you an entire year. So we actually believe the smart industry professionals are the ones who are going to realize that the current economic struggles have made it more important to find new ways to compete, and there’s no better week in the year to do that than during Industry Week in Las Vegas.
What do you see as the biggest challenges the appearance products category will face in the next few years?
One challenge is the ongoing economic issues. Also, regulatory issues will continue to play a major role in the future of our industry, whether they center on waterborne paint or something else. Another challenge is that we’re going to continue to have increases in operating costs. People will always have to keep up with changes due to OE standards. And let’s not forget distribution issues. We’re saturated in distribution in our industry. There are too many body shops and too many jobber distributors, which typically results in heavy competition and reduction of margins.
