The Garland Company

Makng it green

The Garland Co. is an Ohio success story, an industrial manufacturing firm that has consistently grown to become an international name in its field, advanced roofing. Today, it is taking a leadership role in state efforts to make environmentally sound construction materials a major industry.
According to Dave Sokol, president, “We started as a little Cleveland manufacturer and have a proud growth rate of 13% to 14% annually. And we have done that for over 20 years.” Indeed, the firm is a proud multi-time recipient of the Weatherhead 99 award of Case Western Reserve’s business school, says Dick DeBacco. CEO. “There are not many Cleveland companies in industrial manufacturing that have grown like this,” adds Sokol, “and our profitability has grown along with that.”

The key to prosperity
Sokol gives the main reason for this: “If you want to be successful as a manufacturer in today’s world,” he says, “you have to look for competitive advantages at every level. Too many concentrate on externals and focus on the marketplace, on products and technologies. We do that, of course, but we place more importance on the relationship. We listen better to find out what they need. We put the customer at the top of our charts, while I am at the bottom. We can’t replace the customer. We have to exceed the expectations of our customers.”
An internal focus is the first step to business creation, and it creates the competitive advantage, Sokol says. But most manufacturers have it backward. They analyze the markets and tweak price points, looking at price, product, place and promotion. “The fifth P is people, and that’s where we start,” he says. “Our number one resource is our people. We hire the best and train them, making a unique opportunity for our employees. It is employees who will drive our business forward, so advancement is felt tenfold.”
DeBacco goes further when he says that “nothing ever happens until somebody sells something. Here at Garland, our top management is all salespeople. We put salesmen at the top of our organizational chart, right below the customer. After all, they are the ones that are closest to the customer, and they know what customers need to be satisfied. And whatever that customer needs, we deliver.”
The firm reorganized in 1974, he adds, committing to never cutting its territories or commissions. “If the sales force is out earning,” he says, “they will be happy, and I don’t mind writing them checks for more than I make.”

Quality based on know-how
Another commitment from the reorganization: “To design only quality roofs, ones that cost more initially but cost less over the life cycle. A typical roof lasts 15 years, ours last at least 30,” says DeBacco. “Our customers know they are building for a 50-year future, for schools, municipalities, hospitals, factories. Our sales force is also a corps of technical experts that are trained to identify and solve roof problems. We assure a quality installation, due to our “Hip Pocket Guarantee”—our sales force controls the installation and inspects it daily to make sure it is good. If it is specced improperly or the contractor cuts corners, the sales force is financially involved. As a result, our adjustment costs are under 1% of sales, and usually that’s for goodwill.” He adds, “Our best customers are those with failed roofs, that bought cheap roofs from
others. Most were installed with the low-bid mentality, where you reduce quality and cut corners.
So there are a lot of failures.”
DeBacco admits that Garland is not perfect, either, “but when we have roof problems, we fix them. We don’t argue. And when we’ve fixed a problem, we find customers love us even more.”

Replicating success
“Our story is that it can be done,” says Sokol about manufacturing success. “It is just in the mindset, attitude driven. I get discouraged when I read the paper and see what they say about manufacturing here.”
Flexibility is the key, he adds. “You have to reinvent yourself every day. Today’s customer is much more fluid. They’re not bound by brand loyalty, in either commercial or residential. It is more like ‘what have you done for me lately?’ Twenty-five years ago, your dad drove a Ford, and you were a Ford family. It’s not like that anymore. You have to follow the bouncing ball.”

The future is green
And where is that ball bouncing now? “Where is roofing going as a system?” Sokol asks. “We are providing longer-lasting systems, up to 30 to 40 years, and we are creating systems that are more environmentally friendly, with reflectivity, insulation, even vegetation. Roofs have improved dramatically over the last 10 years. The ultimate is that roofs are actually producing energy.”
To this end, the Garland Company has just been awarded a $1 million grant, along with the University of Toledo and solar companies, to integrate photovoltaic panels into assemblies. “You would actually have a power plant on the roof, “says Sokol.
He adds, “When you think about it, the owner of a building has paid a lot for the real estate, but the footprint of the roof is free. Roofs can be ugly, and just serve to keep water out—you don’t think of them as an asset. But if they can be made
self-supporting, it is a big win.” The company, he says, has just formed Garland Energy Systems, with photovoltaic capabilities. “And that reach is global,” he goes on. “We do business in Canada, the UK, and Germany, with plans to expand with new acquisitions.”
Sokol concludes, “Yesterday, we were a roofing company. Today, we are an energy
company.” BXM