Page 26 - APRIL-2019_SlipperyRockGazette

26|April 2019 Premier
Surfaces
Continued from page 7
The Company With a Volunteer Spirit
So what does a company do when you’re not fabricating 30 kitchens per day? You build ca- maraderie, said Sadwick. “We just had 15 employees volunteer to help with the Special Olympics (for athletes with intellectual dis- abilities). I share that, as it was an enthused group of employees giv- ing up a Saturday to do something for the community. Other em- ployee engagement opportunities include 25 runners in the Chase Corporate Challenge Road Race, where 10,000 runners from com- panies get together as a fundraiser run held by JPMorgan Chase. We also had a group of 20 meet at our local Zoo for their fundraiser at their summer ZooBrew, as well as an afternoon last summer to build some camaraderie for a company volleyball tournament. So, we are not all work and no play.”
Forecast for the Future
“We have the best reputation in western New York, and that’s because of the people who have made it that way. Everyone is very aware of what collectively this team can do relative to our competitors and relative to what the market is looking for. Mitch and Mark Makowski did a great job building this company, but it couldn’t have been done with- out the hundred or so people behind them. They take pride in what they do, and success breeds success.
“Furthermore, because of our equipment, we have a lot of
Slippery rock GAzette
Commercial project for New Era Field, home of the Buffalo Bills, includes hard-wearing quartz tops for the sport commentator area and private boxes.
capacity, and my goal is to im- prove our productivity within that capacity. To accomplish this, we will be focusing more on our home builders and multi-family commercial work than we have in the past. The neat thing about working within the Premier fam- ily is that others are doing some things that are making them more productive than we are, and we are taking on those concepts to improve our productivity.
“At the moment, one of those members is way ahead of us when it comes to metrics and comput- erization, and we are actually in the process of ‘borrowing’ their processes so we can measure our metrics more affectively, and use
our Moreware system more affec- tively. Our efficiency in using this software is good, but frankly, they are using it better, so why not get better by just borrowing knowl- edge from our teammates?
“If I can quote our CEO, ‘Stone fabrication is the ultimate team sport,’ and I’m on one great team!”
For more information, please visit www.premiersurfaces.com.
See also the interviews beginning on page 12, and read Gregg Sadwick’s contribution to the article Consolidation in the Stone Industry, where we explore the complex issues sur- rounding consolidation, ac- quisitions and mergers in the stone industry.
A recent Niagara University
project (shown in progress) included a refit of solid surfaces throughout Clet Hall. Above and left: cafeteria installation of a long, curved bench barrier sep- arating seating and the serving line, and the tray return area.