Summer's Letter
At our recent Managers meeting I spoke to the management team about change and direction for the future success of Amazon Hose & Rubber Co. Our company has been very fortunate to be established for the last 92 years and if we are going to continue our growth another 92 years we must evaluate who we are, establish and define where we want to be and implement a plan that will position our company for the future.
Growth initiative areas of opportunity I asked our Managers to focus on:
1. We must get Back to Excellence. Our procedures, equipment, facilities, sales efforts and how we approach the market. I am asking everyone to put forth the extra effort. We want AH&R to be the leader of Excellence in all we do.
2. We must establish Consistency. How we greet our customers on the phone and in our stores, how we process products and orders and how we treat our employees. A consistent approach is a great contributing factor to our growth with potential clients and our internal operations.
3. We must improve the Customer Experience. Customer visits to our facilities must be a quick in and out, product (s) need to be available at arms reach and on a timely basis. We have to engage our Top 20 Customers (per each market) to find out how we can assist them on a continuing basis. Understand how to create a customer for life.
4. I shared my Vision for the AH&R. As I was searching for a new COO there was speculation that I would be selling AH&R. This is not the case. With hiring Jim as our new COO, we are embarking on a Growth Initiative that will procure AH&R well into the future.
My hope is that you will be a part of our commitment to excellence, consistency, customer experience and our vision. It requires we all do our part to make these initiatives reality and help the company grow.
Thank you for making AH&R what it has become today. I look forward to the future.
Summer Rodman
President
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A Note From Jim
Change [cheynj] verb, changed, chang·ing, noun (used without object)
1. to become different: Overnight the nation's mood changed.
2. to become altered or modified: Colors change if they are exposed to the sun.
3. to become transformed or converted (usually followed by into): The toad changed into a prince again.
Change is a funny word. It can be a noun or a verb depending on your sentence structure. It is a word most people don’t want to hear, like to hear and sometimes even resist. “Change your address”, “change your name if you get married”
or “change your favorite t-shirt for a new one”.
As you can see, the Management Team and I are implementing positive changes at Amazon Hose and Rubber. I am confident the transitions we make will continue the growth of AH&R another 92 years. It’s important for us to remember that most companies don’t last 12 months; we truly have been fortunate and we thank you.
Nevertheless, we are at a crossroad where we can experience the rebirth of a great company or continue to trudge along while the rest of the world passes us by. In our one-on-one conversations, each of you expressed your desire to see AH&R grow. It is my observation that we need to implement new systems and procedures in order to reach our goals. We also invite you to introduce new ideas and input. I want each of you to embrace the changes that are coming, keep an open mind, try new things and give us your feedback.
Finally make an individual commitment to make AH&R a better company today, tomorrow, next month, 6 months from now and into the future.
Welcome Business Development Managers John and David!
John Dooley: Serving as Facilities Services Manager for Grumman Corporation in New York From 1981 to 1990, I relocated to Virginia in 1990 to manage the Grumman Space Station program facilities where I was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the main headquarters facility. From 1991-1999, I accomplished many things including working as Facilities Manager of Unisys while managing a $10 million budget, serving as President of the Empire Building Services, and various promotions with Proforce USA beginning as Area Manager then President of Franchise Development and finally, President of the Operation.
Finally, in July 2003, I founded Champion Clean serving as owner/President. Married for almost 30 years, I have two beautiful daughters, Kristen and Kara, who both attended the University of Miami and are now married. I have two grandsons and I’m expecting one more grandchild in the next year. A very exciting time!
David Glickman: I am a native Floridian, born and raised in South Florida. My wife Joan and I have been married for 26 years. We have raised two great kids, Brian, 22 and Alyssa, 21. My work experience has been in sales focusing on residential appliances to builders, general contractors and developers. When I am not working, you will find me on the golf course or sitting in front of the TV watching the Dolphins,
Heat or Marlins.
The opportunity presented to me here at AH&R is very exciting and I look forward to meeting everyone throughout the company.
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Accounting & Finance
Amazon Finances and You!
Submitted by Bill Gompel
The month of May was very significant for AH&R in that we reached combined sales of just over $1 million dollars for the first time since October 2007 and Miami, for the first time, was number one in sales for the month! The financial significance of these accomplishments is important, but working together to make it happen is the real achievement. I sincerely believe if we all embrace the programs and ideas that are being introduced over the next several months and provide meaningful feedback on how to make it all work; we will become an efficient team.
Imagine the sense of pride, rewards and accomplishment we will share when our company reaches our goals, like in May, on a regular basis. I want to be a part of that and I hope you do as well!
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Guess Who?
Can you identify the
babies of AH&R?
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What’s New in H/R?
AH&R is a Drug-Free Workplace!
Submitted by Beth Meyers
Alcohol & Substance Abuse Prevention Programs, Inc. (ASAP) provides cost-effective prevention strategies to reduce alcohol and drug abuse in the workplace. We recently contracted with ASAP and representative Kathy Santomassino will be holding on-site employee meetings to kick off our new Drug-Free Workplace Policy. They are scheduled for June 15th in Orlando, June 22nd in Tampa and June 17th in Miami.
This was felt to be necessary because unfortunately, AH&R has lost a few valuable, long-time employees due to substance abuse. We want to promote a safe and healthy workplace so we are reminding employees that we have a zero tolerance in this area. Kathy will explain how we will be using a “randomizer” on a regularly scheduled basis to select employees for random testing.
If drug or alcohol problems are interfering with your home life or work performance, ASAP also has an Employee Assistance Program to support anyone who may need help independently or for a family member.
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Branch Connection
Orlando News
AH&R Orlando recently participated in the Relay for Life at Edgewater High School, 4.29-4.30. Amazon donated a water hose and nozzle for an auction and sold 75 tickets at $1 each, raising $75! We raised additional money for the cause by offering our customers to guess how many jellybeans were in a glass jar, whoever came the closest won a gift certificate and the jar of jellybeans. We raised a total of $223. Thanks again to everyone that helped make it possible!
Bill Smith has taken on the new role of Vice President of Operations. Bill will be responsible for all warehouse activity in the three distribution centers including inventory control, workflow, warehouse operations, training and education and shop appearance. Bill will continue to help out on sales and special projects with the warehouse.
Terry Busby has been promoted to the position of Purchasing Manager for the entire company. Terry will be responsible for all product purchases for the three distribution centers.
Amanda Rumbaugh has taken on the role of Purchasing Assistant to help support Terry and will be moving to the Rio Grande site as well. We want to thank Amanda for the great job she did as Inside Sales Representative.
Beth Meyers has been promoted to full time Manger of Human Resources. Beth will concentrate her time on supporting the employees in the three distribution centers. She will also head up our Employee Training program called “Amazon University”.
Theresa DuBoise has been promoted to the position of Accounting and Credit Manager. Theresa will be reporting directly to Bill Gompel and supervising all of the credit and collections staff for each distribution center.
John Dooley has been hired as our Business Development Manager for Central Florida, which includes Orlando, Tampa, Melbourne and up to Jacksonville. John will be based out of the Orlando Office.
Ramon Ruiz who heads up our shipping department in Orlando is now officially an American Citizen. We want to congratulate Ramon for taking this huge step. He is officially off the Department of Homeland Security list of known terrorist. All kidding aside we are very proud of Ramon for this accomplishment.
Tampa News
Our guys are the best in the business at automotive A/C hose manufacturing & fabrication, assisting our customers to “beat the heat”. With summer upon us, we anticipate a spike in automotive A/C hoses!
We certainly have higher expectations for 2011, and so far, we are on the path to maintaining our goals. We can only stay focused, & work together, to keep the momentum of this upward trend.
Bill Hippenmeier has been promoted to the position of Manager of Special Projects. Bill will be working closely with the Jim Donlin, Bill Smith and Beth Meyers, to help facilitate our efforts of consistency in all distribution centers, training, product education and plant layout.
Randy Thompson has been promoted to Warehouse Manager for the Tampa Distribution Center. Randy’s experience and knowledge of our Tampa operation make him the ideal candidate for this role. We appreciate Randy stepping up into a much bigger role!
Shawn Phillips and Sam Massaro, have joined the Tampa Warehouse Crew during the last 9 months making them the rookies in Tampa. We want to welcome Shawn and Sam to the AH&R Team!
Miami News
Dwight Davis has recently been promoted to the position of Warehouse Manager. Dwight has 16 years experience with the Miami Distribution Center and is a perfect fit for the position.
Ray Delgado has recently accepted the position as Inside Sales. Ray’s product knowledge and people skills make him a great fit to assist on internal sales!
Miakeya Rolle is back at work after hospitalized for several days. We want to wish Keya a speedy recovery.
David Glickman has been hired as the Business Development Manager for South Florida. David is a South Florida native. David will be an added face of AH&R in the market place helping to drive business alongside Bill McCrea.
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