CASE STUDIES RESULTS 

In Depth Study

 

Pervo Paint Company began in 1929.  The company transitioned over the years from architectural paint and industrial enamels to focus primarily on Traffic Markings during the 1970's.  The company made it through some tough years and grew some in the 1980's, but remained at a net worth of roughly $1MM for over 20 years. Given inflation that means it lost value!  

 

In 2002, Bradley DeRuiter took over as President.  In 2000 Pervo had done $10.5MM in sales with a net income of $100k.  The year after in 2001, revenues were $13.5MM and net profits came just under $650k, under a 5% return on sales.  He realized that although the company had not been managed to it's potential, it still was viable and this meant there was room for a lot more growth.  That was exciting. Initially Bradley had to determine if the current management team was the right one.  He knew that those who did not line up with the core values that he established of integrity, honor and respect (for all employees) could hinder his progress. Some tough choices in restructuring the management team were made, ensuring the company had the Right People in the Right Positions who were aligned with the company's core values and newly created vision.

 

Previously there was no clear stated company Vision or Mission statement. Bradley crafted a vision and mission statement to precisely define where they needed to go and how they would get there.  Here are the Vision and Mission statements that Bradley developed for Pervo Paint:

 

VISION: To be the Most Reputable and Reliable supplier of the Highest Quality Traffic Marking Products in the industry.

 

MISSION: Pervo Paint Company is committed to develop, manufacture and distribute superior traffic markings, at competitive prices with premium technical and customer service providing the maximum benefit possible to our customers.

 

Now the company had its Vision and Values in place. After developing a clear direction for the company to take he created the Processes and Procedures to fulfill that mission. He developed cohesive market positioning and customer value propositions that followed along with the stated mission.  The steady pursuit of this mission led to a huge gain in market penetration.  This gain took off in 2006 and even continued through the economic downturn in 2008.

 

Pero Paint Company became known for its quality, technical expertise and extreme focus on customer service.  Pervo was able to charge as much as 5% more than its competitors since it was so highly sought after.  All of this led to increased sales of over three fold within 4 years of taking the position, maximizing net profits to at least 10% on revenue over that same period and maintaining that profit ratio over the long run because the Data that provided the Direction was set in place.  Pervo had not seen a net return on gross sales of 10% prior to this.  Previously, good years at Pervo yielded at most a 5% return on revenues.
 

In addition to creating a clear vision and mission statement Bradley championed the reorganization of entire company structure, providing for the first time, in an 80 year company, job descriptions for each of the 50+ employees and cross training for every position. Along with those clearly defined roles for all the employees, he initiated regular weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual meetings to bring consistent Communication and Correction of any problems that were exposed.

 

Bradley and his team worked directly with State agencies to require more stringent and consistent enforcement of standards for quality and safety, resulting in our product becoming more positively positioned in the marketplace. This also helped in greater sales and margins. He also met with major vendors to negotiate adequate terms, pricing and raw material supplies guaranteeing good gross margins.

 

Finally, Bradley played a lead role in fulfilling the board’s directive to sell the company to an approved buyer and was an integral part of the acquisition process and negotiations that led to a successful transition.  Pervo Paint Company was acquired by Ennis Traffic Safety Solutions in June of 2010, now Ennis-Flint. This acquisition was successful even during dire economic times.  The point is, you can still be successful when doing things the right way even in the worst of economic environments. 

 

When a company runs on a solid system based on good business practices it has a foundation for great potential and lasting success! This is the company that the 5 Part System was revealed fully to Bradley and how he knows its proven potential.

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