Plating Company Installs Succession Planning,
Quality Initiatives, Employee Incentives

"I'm the happiest man in Whitley County!" exclaimed Daryl Lambert moments after he accepted George S. May International Company's Entrepreneurial Achievement Award at a special luncheon held in his honor in Columbia City, Indiana.

More than one hundred guests, including Mr. Lambert's family, friends, employees and customers, gathered at the Eagle's Nest Events Center for the award presentation and a sumptuous buffet.

Now chairman of C & R Plating Corporation, Columbia City, Mr. Lambert built the company from a two-man shop into one of the largest and finest plating companies in the country.

GSMIC President Donald J. Fletcher hosted the celebration. In a brief address, he noted that business owners who succeed are those driven with single-minded determination to be the best. "These entrepreneurs succeed against great odds when you consider the statistics: while one million new businesses are launched each year, 80 percent of these ventures fold within the first five years," he said.

"Bad management is usually the factor that determines failure - not the economy, the competition, the fickleness of customers or bad luck," said Mr. Fletcher. "Good management is the factor that determines survival and success. Daryl Lambert is a good example. Twenty-nine years ago, he set out to make C & R Plating into the best plating firm in the country. He has succeeded. Today he can be very proud of C & R, a 120-person enterprise that serves blue chip customers," he said.

Mr. Fletcher then highlighted a number of actions taken by Lambert that exemplified excellent management. "He has effectively addressed succession planning, implemented efforts to achieve QS 9000 quality certification, and used effective communications and employee relations practices that will help C & R Plating attract and keep quality employees. Daryl Lambert has set the pace. He has shown extraordinary determination to produce quality products, deliver quality service, and provide environmental leadership in his industry," he said.

He also read a letter sent to the honoree from Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon, who congratulated C & R's Chairman for the recognition he'd received from George S. May International. He commended Mr. Lambert for contributing to Indiana's economy, for striving to achieve QS 9000 quality certification, and for his successful efforts in the area of pollution prevention. Governor O'Bannon's letter, which had been framed, was presented to Mr. Lambert.

Mr. Fletcher then presented Mr. Lambert with a trophy specially designed for the occasion: a large crystal bowl designed to resemble a globe of the world. Etched into the bowl is our corporate logo and the words Entrepreneurial Achievement Award. The bowl sits on a solid walnut base with an engraved brass plate that has Daryl Lambert's name on it.

C & R's chairman accepted the award "on behalf of the entire team at C & R" and spoke briefly about the vision he had long held for his company. "Today, I'm living my dream, and I want to share the rewards of success with every employee in the company, regardless of function or title. This award is the result of a lot of hard work and our dedication to quality," he said.

Mr. Lambert went on to express his gratitude to George S. May International Company for helping him in key areas of management that needed to be addressed. "We knew we had a good thing here, but needed to bring in some experts who could show us how to optimize our resources, better organize and manage our fast-growing company," he said.

MAKING A GOOD THING BETTER

Like many of our clients, Daryl Lambert, chairman of C & R Plating Corp., is an expert in his field. While he knows the metal plating business inside and out, he would also be the first to tell you that he and his protégé needed help in learning how to organize, manage and control a fast-growing company in a tight labor market.

During the GSMIC survey process, Mr. Lambert painted this picture: Business was very strong, but day-to-day management of C & R was getting harder and more frustrating. Meanwhile, it was getting more difficult to find qualified employees. He thought that productivity could be higher. Management controls were loose and confusing to employees. Internal communications and employee relations needed improvement, and plans to achieve QS 9000 certification were stalled. He was so busy filling customer orders that these other issues simply got put on the back burner.

To complicate things, Mr. Lambert was ready to start passing the leadership role on to his protégé, Dennis Blaugh, a highly capable man in his forties. Both men had strong backgrounds in production management, but were ready to learn more about a broader range of management disciplines.

Today, Daryl Lambert's goal of making C & R Plating Corp. into the best metal plating firm in the country is a reality. It's an impressive achievement for a man who bought a tiny two-man company in 1968 and built it into a 120-person enterprise that now counts GM, Ford and Chrysler among its customers.

C & R specializes in metal plating small parts used in autos, trucks, aircraft machinery. The bulk of its work involves zinc plating, but C & R Plating Corp. does a variety of other work, including nickel, tin and brass plating. (In Lambert's own words, "Plating is plating. Our competitive edge is providing superior quality and service, and that's exactly what our customers want.")

Others are impressed with C & R Plating, too. The firm was named the top company in the State by the Indiana Industrial Operators Association for its leadership in prevention of pollution.

In recent years, Lambert has improved the plant, dividing it into two separately powered facilities to ensure that the chemical-based operation doesn't have any negative effects on the environment. This strategy also guarantees that service to customers is not dramatically affected by any production interruptions.

The company chairman takes great pride in the fact that C & R Plating, which is in every environmentally challenging industry, recycles roughly 75,000 gallons of water a day and that the water is significantly cleaner when it leaves the plant than when it comes in. A unique reverse osmosis system allows for reuse of 90 percent of the water used for rinsing in the plating process.

"C & R Plating is a model for growing businesses all over the country," said Donald J. Fletcher, president of GSMIC. "Daryl Lambert understands environmental concerns, the importance of succession planning and the need for quality. He believes in doing everything it takes to get the job done right, and he has done an outstanding job of building a company that can compete with any plating firm in the country."

BEYOND QUALITY

The Entrepreneurial Achievement Award goes beyond Lambert's efforts toward QS 9000 certification. He has actively worked to improve the organization of C & R for the day when he turns over the reins to Dennis Blaugh, who joined C & R as a senior in high school and has worked his way up through the ranks to president. To that end, Mr. Lambert has utilized our consulting services to address key management issues and to prepare C & R for the next wave of growth.

Our consultants worked with C & R's management team to implement some important changes. One of the first priorities was to implement a quality management system that includes "Winner's Circle" meetings for quality teams. These meetings have become important opportunities for employees from all parts of the company to get together on a regular basis to discuss problems and find workable solutions.

"We had never closed down the plant so that everyone could get together at the same time, and at first, we fought the idea," Mr. Lambert recalls. "We thought we'd lose money, but your consultants were right. We're actually saving money thanks to several employee suggestions that have helped us increase productivity and cut costs," he said. "These meetings have opened up the channels of communication throughout the company and helped improve employee morale."

On another front, C & R had invested in bar coding technology, but its management had been too busy to implement it. Recognizing its potential to help C & R track product and materials, our consultants put the bar coding system into action. The end result has been improved inventory control, along with significant savings.

One of Daryl Lambert's biggest concerns was C & R's plant organization. As with many fast-growing companies, he needed to reorganize, install clear lines of reporting, develop some new policies and procedures and clarify employees' job responsibilities. "Dennis and I had kept too much of this in our heads," said Lambert. "Your consultants showed us what we were doing wrong and helped us put together an organization that will work effectively for us for many years to come," he said.

C & R President Dennis Blaugh is particularly pleased with the upswing he now sees in employee morale. A number of George S. May International Company's recommendations are responsible, he says, but the key factor was the decision to implement an incentive system that enables employees to share in the company's profits. C & R also has financial incentives to reward employees for reducing absenteeism.

"The changes are helping the company," says Mr. Blaugh. "We have better management controls, we can track things we couldn't track before, and we are seeing improved productivity. The biggest difference I see is more cooperation among employees. This is not a one-person company - we need a team effort," he said.

As for Daryl Lambert, the results are simple to assess: "Now I really do have the best plating company in the U.S."

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