The Marking Minute with Presco: Recent Episodes
Presco
The Marking Minute discusses the impact of engineered film and safety marking products on our lives. From AEC to Healthcare, this industry leader provides insight into current events and innovative technology. Take a minute to understand the influence some of the products you see every day have on the world around us.
Supply chain delays have been in the headlines since early 2021. “It’s something we’re discussing and having conversations about on a day-to-day basis. It’s been crazy. No market, no industry appears immune from the challenges,” said Michael Smith, Business Development Manager at Presco. Presco is a part of its larger parent company, Trident. Trident has been handling the challenges by offering clients alternative resources.
“Lead times have been affected tremendously. Starting two years ago, covid happens, and that lead to labor issues, supply chain issues, raw materials shortages. All the while, demand stayed high,” said Smith. The combination of these factors created an absolute halt on supplies. Inflation compounds these current issues. Bloomberg reported cancellations of supply ships from Asia due to lighter demand and inflation. Cancellations are likely to impact lead times.
To mitigate challenges, Smith maintains transparency and sets expectations with clients.
Now more than ever, customers, distributors, and end users must choose the alternative but similar products. “It’s more of ‘what do you have and how quickly can you get it to me?’” said Smith.
Some materials are free from supply chain issues. “It really depends on the material. Some materials are getting to us very quickly… other products - not so much. It depends on the material that we need,” said Smith. Fortunately, it appears that the end is near. Boston Fed President, Susan Collins projected that the supply chain issues would slow down (ForexLive). In the meantime, distributors should work to maintain open communication with their clients. Prioritizing client relationships are essential to getting through this challenging time.
For more information, visit tridentproducts.com or email Michael directly (msmith@presco.com).
When the onset of the pandemic pushed everyone back into their homes, one of our greatest assets became having uninterrupted access to the internet. While fiber to the home initiatives (FTTH) were on the up and coming prior to COVID-19, the pandemic brought a slush of funding and attention to the industry. National Account Manager of Trident Solutions-Presco, an infrastructure-focused electric company, Erik Zimmer sits down with host Tyler Kern to discuss the future of Electric Utilities and Electric Cooperatives in our communities.
Nowadays, internet connectivity is extremely important. Zimmer said of his own experience during the height of at-home activities, “I’m working from home…And we had a DSL circuit from a local provider and we couldn't all four be connected at the same time,” and although Zimmer found a quick solution through fiber, he remarked on other experiences, “people had to start shift working, shift schooling” just to make things fit with their wifi.
To fix these connectivity and broadband issues, Tier 1 electric companies couldn’t do much. But Tier 2 and 3 providers started looking towards fiber to the home solutions.
Zimmer remarked on the work from home movement affecting the need for fiber, “Now all of sudden as people are contemplating ‘hey do I want to leave the city and move to a smaller town?’ they start looking at those communities, where #1, there’s already fiber to the home, or #2, there is an initiative and a movement, many times by the electric co-op, to drive fiber to the home.”
With fiber, people who work in New York City can move to rural places and not worry about connectivity issues. Kids who learn in a hybrid environment can utilize learning tools online with high-speed connections. Even entertainment, Zimmer said, is important to decompress, “You need that stronger stream of data coming in to deliver that better quality.”
To introduce fiber to the home, Trident-Solutions partners with these utilities and co-ops to help create the next step. Talking to those who are ready for what’s next in broadband, Zimmer said not to hesitate in talking with leadership, “Take action, get involved.”
To learn more information about Trident Solutions-Presco and their fiber initiatives visit their website or connect with Erik Zimmer on LinkedIn.
The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, or RDOF, enacted in 2019, provides $20.4 billion in funding for rural broadband construction over ten years. Complementing this fund, the newly enacted Infrastructure and Jobs Act promises to bring much relief to the nation in similar projects. With the next decade primed for a flurry of activity, it’s critical supporting industries understand resources available, such as the allocation of available funds and product safety support.
Host James Kent invited Mindy Reed, national account manager with Trident Solutions, Presco, and Bryan Holmes, VP of business development & engineering with Pro-Line Safety Products, both Trident Companies, on Marking Minute. The three discussed how the fund and legislation affects the industry and the wealth of opportunity available.
Phase one of the RDOF bidding and awarding process is underway with many approved projects and delegated funds, but Holmes said bidding would soon be underway for phase two.
“According to a report released November 10, 2021, the FCC authorized its fourth round of broadband deployments through RDOF,” Reed said. “Fifty broadband providers have provided the service of over 400,000 locations in 26 states… The bulk of today’s funding will go to the nonprofit, rural electric cooperatives to deploy broadband throughout the service areas.”
Safety products are always a concern for these broadband initiatives, both above and below ground, and Holmes assured that the Trident family has solutions that are ready to assist.
“Trident Solutions is a combination of four companies that are all industry leaders in their own right, and we all came together as a team,” Holmes said about Trident’s mission to help support these broadband and infrastructure initiatives. “Those companies’ — Pro-Line Safety Products, Rhino, Presco, and William Frick — core focus as a group all revolves around prevention of damage to utility assets and saving lives.”
The growth in pet purchases over the pandemic caused an increased need for solutions to keep those pets safe. And, with traditional fencing not always within budget or visually aligned with the neighborhood, people have turned to invisible fences in increasing numbers.
Marking products are an invaluable tool in the forestry industry, as Sherry Qualls, Inside Sales Account Manager at Presco, explained to Marking Minute’s Tyler Kern.
“Presco’s marking products, specifically our flexible PVC roll flagging tape, are utilized in the forestry industry year-round for many different purposes,” Qualls said.
Marking products are an indispensable tool for the forestry industry, taking on jobs from marking and tagging trees for removal and harvesting by loggers to identifying unhealthy, diseased or hazardous trees, wildfire suppression, and trail marking.
While many companies look at positions as just job,. Presco commits to providing careers for its workforce. The Marking Minute host Daniel Litwin chatted with Kelly Brown, HR Representative, to learn more.
The waterworks industry requires a variety of safety marking products—some that are visible and some that are underground. Filling listeners in on the subject, The Marking Minute featured expert Sean Cash, National Accounts Manager at Presco.
The world of ID markers is massive. There’s always something identifying an area, asset or location. Diving into the market and talking about its growth and changes, Kyle Wagner, Senior Business Development Manager of William Fick & Company, joined this episode of The Marking Minute.
Although not many people outside of the construction industry know anything about copper-clad tracer wire, this hard-working but under-appreciated tool certainly deserves more praise.
This type of tracer wire consists of a steel core that is metallurgically bonded to an outside casing of copper, which makes it much better than copper wire for locating underground utilities.
The battle to suppress COVID-19 has been raging on for months across the world, and the best offense has proven to be a good defense.
However, it’s the health workers on the front lines who are in the greatest need of defending, and Presco is here with an arsenal of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to enforce social distancing and defend against the spread of the Coronavirus.
Presco’s Safeguard Drapery is made of a special line of clear and colored flexible PVC and provides a strong barrier against COVID-19 transmission.
It’s also fully customizable with single or double-rod pockets, and convenient perforations make for easy handling and dispensing. Safeguard Drapery is ideal for temporary medical facilities and housing shelters and is easy to clean, providing another weapon in the arsenal of the frontline heroes fighting the battle against COVID-19.
Our PVC can fulfill a variety of roles beyond drapery, including disposable gowns, mattress covers, and more. It’s non-porous, durable and moisture and flame-resistant.
It’s not just the healthcare workers fighting on the frontlines of the pandemic. Grocery store employees and other essential workers are also coming into contact with others on a daily basis.
Our PVC can be used in these situations, as well, providing barriers between workers and customers and between each other. Because all of Presco’s materials are sourced domestically in the USA, our PPE materials are able to be quickly turned around and delivered for critical orders.
To learn more about how Presco is supporting the fight against COVID-19, contact us today.
Presco’s customers often know they can trust the marking company for one aspect of their product line.
Whether it’s marking flags or detectable tape, they may have had a partnership for years, but perhaps don’t realize they could get something like tracer wire or barricade tape from Presco, as well.
“You can’t assume they know everything about your business. They have 1,000 different SKUs, tons of vendors and, quite frankly, they don’t really have time to sit there and learn about a marking products vendor and everything they have,” said CJ Freeman, National Account Manager at Presco.
It’s Freeman’s job to make sure that customers not only know about Presco’s full product line, but also to see where they’ve been getting those products from before. Often, he finds they’re spending more money at a big-box hardware store than they would getting a high-quality product from Presco.
That hasn’t changed because of the coronavirus pandemic, either. As spaces like retail outlets and grocery stores need to indicate direction of flow, many have scrambled for marking products. Other marking companies have seen their supply chains disrupted, but, by having a robust line of products made in the United States, Presco has been able to work with clients and quickly deliver on even custom projects.
“Bringing value to customers is paramount. At the end of the day, it is just marking products. It’s pretty simple, but what we try and focus on goes so far beyond that,” Freeman said. “We want to be that one-stop shop for all marking products and bring some unique styles to it, whether it be from the customized standpoint, the low minimums, the quick turns or the product being USA made.”
John Yianitsas, Vice President of New Business Development with Presco, tells Tyler Kern about how the company utilized PVC to produce PPE at the dawn of the coronavirus pandemic.You may know Presco for its barricade tape or marking flags, but a number of new customers got to know the company this year during the coronavirus pandemic.
Presco quickly got up and running, creating personal protective equipment (PPE) solutions using PVC.
John Yianitsas, Vice President of New Business Development at Presco, said PVC is a great fit when making PPE because it creates a tough-to-penetrate barrier, is easily cleanable, and can be either heat sealed or sewed. That gives users not only the opportunity to use PVC items more than once but also to utilize the material in a number of different ways.
“PVC can be used not only just for gowns, but drapes, barriers, and things like that, which is why I think it’s such a great product that can be used over and over again. It’s not a one-and-done,” Yianitsas said.
Few could say they saw a pandemic coming, so there was a rush to get PPE to those who needed it at the beginning of the pandemic. Luckily for those relying on Presco, the Texas-based company was able to turn around its products quickly since it was relying only on domestic materials and not waiting for supplies to arrive from abroad.
“I think the key factor in all this is the fact that we’re a domestic supplier. We source all our raw materials domestically, so we didn’t have to wait for anything to come in,” Yianitsas said. “Our ability to take an order and turn it around and fulfill it very, very quickly, the fact that we’re here in Sherman, Texas, gave us that opportunity to be able to respond very, very, quickly. Had we not had that capability, we would’ve been in the same boat as other people.”
Instead, Presco was able to help frontline workers in the United States do their job in a safe way, aiding the response when the country needed it most.
Dr. Stephen Hutcheson, Technical Director, Presco Polymers and Stephen Janak, Chemical Engineer, Presco popped by Marking Minute to give host James Kent an insider’s perspective on the research & development process of many of Presco’s products. Dr. Hutcheson, a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, found his love of STEM at an early age. His father was, and still is, a high school biology teacher. Dr. Hutcheson pursued an engineering degree in college and discovered his interest in polymers, which eventually led a pathway to Presco.
A chance meeting with Joe Hardt, CEO of Presco, led chemical engineering undergraduate, Janak, to an eventual position as a chemical engineer working in R&D under Dr. Hutcheson at Presco.
What’s it like working in R&D at Presco? “It depends on the day,” Janak said. “A day can include traveling to a customer location to provide technical support, or I can spend an entire day on the production lines scale up a project. But most of my time is spent in the labs developing new colors or materials for our customers.”
Dr. Hutcheson agreed with the varying nature of each day. “I focus on formulating specific customer requirements. We are a lean organization, and that allows us to move fast when it comes to developing products. It also allows us to get information back to the customer quickly.” Although many of the projects that keep R&D busy are quick turnarounds for customers, the team also works on a steady mix of long-term product solutions.
The team has a lab extruder that allows them to turn around fast projects and provide small lab samples to the customer, which mimics what the final delivery project will be. “I like it because it lets us create a base formulation that will have all the properties of the materials a customer will need and create a lot of variation of colors for them,” Janak said.
The medical and healthcare field is one that revolves around trust, and our guest plays a big part in that.
Beth Guinn is the VP of Engineered Film Sales at Presco, and she joins host Tyler Kern to talk about how Presco formulates vinyl for various medical applications on this episode of The Marking Minute.
Guinn wants the audience to know that Presco has the knowledge and resources to help customers in the medical and healthcare field qualify a vinyl film for their medical device.
Guinn explained that there are several devices in the hospital and medical field that are made out of vinyl. For instance, one is a compression device that prevents blood clots. Other devices with flexible vinyl include blood, urine, IV and ostomy product bags, inflatable bladders, and much more. Presco’s flexible vinyl film can be easily manipulated to directly impact the physical and safety requirements of the finished product.
Presco has the experience to create products that hold up to exact regulatory and performance standards. Guinn said that regulations are different in the U.S. than in Europe, and Presco also offers EVA as an alternative to PVC for regulatory requirements. Guinn said that Presco will help customers navigate these challenges to create a quality vinyl film.
Presco is hiring a Marking Products Machine Operator based in their Sherman Tx Facility.
The Marking Products Machine Operator is Responsible for producing materials by following job specifications, setting up, operating, adjusting, and maintaining machinery to ensure that it functions properly.
Other responsibilities include:
• Control and adjust machine settings.
• Feed raw materials or parts to semi-automated machinery.
• Preform quality checks and inspection on finished materials.
• Keep records of approved and defective units.
• Maintain activity logs.
• Remove finished materials from machinery.
• Package materials according to job specifications.
Presco creates industry-leading construction materials and is based in Sherman Tx and has been around since 1942, solidifying themselves as a cornerstone of their local economy.The pride themselves in their small town and big family feel.
If you or somone you know sound like a good fit for this role, you can apply at Presco.com or Marketscale.com/careers
Proflex Vinyl is a company that cares about their customers and gives great service with their products, said Liz Reese, sales coordinator for parent company Presco. How does that attitude translate itself into the product and beyond? Reese joins The Marking Minute podcast to talk about the company and their deliverables, and the often unseen but necessary applications for vinyl across industries.
Proflex Vinyl, a Texas-based company, creates a quality vinyl which can resist extreme heat and cold temperatures, and Reese explains how the company takes pride in the easy customer-facing customization, like choosing a color of vinyl among 26 varieties. Reese gives her pitch on Proflex Vinyl, and why the company's products can be expected to deliver quality vinyls on time with great service to any event, meeting a variety of uses, like for flags, booths and drapes.
At the state fair, look for Proflex vinyls at different booths around the fair marking the wackiest fried food imaginable. When watching the Grammy's, Proflex can be seen on the red carpet and at the after party, adding flair to a prestigious, one-of-a-kind industry moment. Liz Reese explains what got Proflex to this kind of level as a B2B company, and what decisions have created a network of repeat customers who are happy to order new vinyl with updated designs, rather than use expensive fabrics that can never be used again.
PVC, polyvinyl chloride, is a common plastic most widely known for its use in piping and plumping. But unfortunately, this type of vinyl has gotten an undeserving bad rap. Though once made using heavy metals like lead, today’s American made PVC does not contain these harmful pollutants. In fact, PVC is a safe and viable product with incredible cost savings.
Presco's vice president of new business, John Yianitsas, joins the podcast to discuss the misconceptions around PVC. John said, as a result of modern-day regulations like Prop 65, PVC has become healthier and safer to use and produce. Today you can find the vinyl in all sorts of consumer products like military tents, blood pressure cuffs, non-slip rugs and more.
At Presco, Yianitsas explains their process for carefully producing custom PVC plastics designed for specific use cases and consumer applications. Non-slip capabilities or flame retardant ability are just a few customizable features to PVC vinyl.
PVC is durable, safe, and cost-effective for the consumer. And, due to the use of regrind plastics, Presco recycles scrap plastic whenever possible. PVC is here to stay, said Yianitsas. With Presco’s responsible approach to making, using, and recycling plastic, PVC can be a green choice.
On this episode of Presco's Marking Minute, Wade Wilson, Vice President of Safety Marking Product Sales at Presco, and Clayton Chancy, Director of Marketing at Presco, joined host Daniel Litwin to break down the company's unique and valued relationship with its product distributors. The tips they provided apply to all industry product/distributor relationships.
Wilson discussed how Presco changed its product strategy to focus on 1,000 primary distributors and help them grow the business.
“Instead of just selling anything to anybody,” Wilson said, “let’s focus on our key distributors, and really help them sell more of our products.”
“We view ourselves as not only the marketing department for Presco but our distributors as well," Chancy added.
For smaller distributors who only sell a small amount of Presco products every year, Presco helped point them to the larger wholesale distributors to provide those products.
This change helped drive efficiencies at Presco and allowed them to focus on providing the best level of service where it was needed the most.
So how does Presco work with its distributors, and increase sales, when their products may amount to only a tiny percentage of a distributor’s sales?
“Our sales team and our brand ambassadors go out and visit with our distributors,” Chancy said.
That is an essential part of Presco’s plan, along with a great incentive program for their distributors. Even though Presco’s product offering is a small percentage of sales, these items are essential for many customers, and those who do order them will likely be repeat purchasers.
PVC piping, vent ducting, vinyl fabric, and safety flags: These common everyday products are all around us, but rarely do we think of where they came from, how they were made, and how important they are to daily life. In this episode of The Marking Minute by Presco, we explore the many uses of polymer products and where the industry is innovating with the VP of New Business Development at Presco, John Yianitsas.
“Polymer is really the chemistry that we use,” Yianitsas said simply.
At Presco Polymers, this chemistry creates PVC, vinyl, and flexible vinyl that can be used in a wealth of industries.
“A big part of what we do if you go to any kind of convention or expo you’ll see drapes or table skirts,” Yianitsas said.
He has his eye on innovation for the company, keeping a lookout for where vinyl can disrupt the market.
“We know our vinyl is printable…” Yianitsas said, but as printing technology advances, “I’m really looking to expand and how can we get into these markets that we’ve really never explored.”
Presco products, most importantly, are unique and customized for each task or project at hand.
“Everything we do is specialized and is tailor-made for their requirements and I think that’s where we set ourselves apart,” Yianitsas said.
By listening carefully to the customer's needs, Presco hones in on a specific issue and improves upon the chemistry of their products to deliver customized solutions.
You might not expect the chief financial officer of a polymer company to enthusiastically raise the flag for the concept of conscious capitalism, but clearly you haven't met David Chisum, senior vice president and CFO of Presco Polymers. On this episode of The Marking Minute, a Presco podcast, host Sean Heath got the opportunity to sit down with Chisum to discuss Presco's award-winning culture and share what makes their work work so well.
"We like to say Presco is the last best place to work," Chisum said. The Sherman-based vinyl film manufacturer and safety marking products company was recently honored by the Texas Workforce Commission as Small Employer of the Year, the winning finalist among 24 nominated small businesses in Texas.
For the company's approximately 200 employees, Chisum said being recognized statewide was a tangible affirmation that "what they do matters."
Presco's external recognition comes as a result of the company's stellar internal culture. Presconian Pride is a phrase you'll hear a lot as part of its various recognition programs, such as offering student scholarships to its employees, Presco t-shirt giveaways, back-to-school backpacks full of school supplies, and fun social events such as holiday parties, kids parties, and "Ice Cream Fridays."
"We want our employees to feel comfortable, safe like they're at home, and feel like they matter because they do," Chisum said. "People are what make Presco special."
Also in this episode, Chisum shared why conscious capitalism is a driving force for its management and the difference maker.
If you are great at problem solving, enjoy working with electrical equipment, and have a passion for learning new skills, then Presco is ready for your application. On this Marking Minute Jobcast, we were joined by Paul Manley, vice president of engineering at Presco Polymers, to detail their open position of Industrial Maintenance Technician and share some insights into what it’s like working at Presco.
Manley gave us a quick rundown of the job opening located in Sherman, Texas, saying that the Industrial Maintenance Technician usually works Monday to Friday, 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., or 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. There is also a weekend shift available, and no travel is required. He’s looking for someone with one to three years of work experience, but will consider relevant education such as a certificate of completion of an industrial maintenance program in lieu of on the job experience.
While Presco is a small company with roughly 200 employees, it's been expanding in recent years and is focused now more than ever on aggressive growth in the future.
“There are a lot of career advancements opportunities here," Manley said.
In his view, a Mike Rowe character of Dirty Jobs fame is the ideal employee – someone who is calm under pressure and logical.
“Troubleshooting is key a component, and that’s a skill people in our maintenance department have to have," Manley said.
The right candidate not only has a technical understanding of mechanical equipment and electrical controls, but also a good sense of customer service and fits into the company culture. And when it comes to working with other departments, Manley said everyone pitches in and helps.
“There’s all kinds of collaboration that’s required to make everything come together," he said.
Manley also mentioned the partnership Presco has with nearby Grayson College to provide technical training to both rookie and seasoned employees alike. Presco will pay the tuition and time on the clock for its team members to learn new skills.
“We believe in growing our people and helping them become better employees and more capable individuals," he said.
If you'd like to apply for the position, send an email with your resume to PrescoHR@Presco.com.
The market for biodegradable mulch film is growing rapidly according to a new report out from Market Study Report, LLC. The Global Biodegradable Mulch Film Market is expected to rise from its initial estimated value of nearly $42 billion in 2018 to an estimated value of 77 billion by 2026.
These mulch films are attractive to those in the agricultural field due to their ability to modify soil temperature and limit weeds. According to an estimate from The New Food Economy, famers in the United States lost over $5 billion in agricultural products due to natural disasters in 2017. The desire to mitigate these losses in any way possible in this unpredictable climate is helping to drive the demand for these products.
Plastic mulches have been used effectively for some time now, but concerns about the lasting impact of filling landfills with these products has heightened the popularity of biodegradable options.
Vinyl film is all around us. On benches, cars, vans, and more. Though we may not notice these wraps, they play a massive part in the marketing industry. Here to elaborate on the use and sale of vinyl film products in marketing on today's episode of The Marking Minute is Beth Guinn, vice president of sales at Presco in the engineered film department.
Vinyl film is a unique marketing tool in today’s digital-dominated world. When most companies are heavily investing in digital marketing, vinyl film is still crossing desks in the form of sample packets that clients can touch, feel, and ideate with. The tangible element to vinyl film is unique and essential to its sale.
Guinn discusses how touching and feeling the vinyl film is essential to the user experience of their product. The sample packets must encompass the wide variety of films on the market, as she said, “enough to get people using their imagination.”
Guinn and her team at Presco stay up to date on trends, while rotating their sample packets constantly. She incorporates “...a good variety of clear films, different plasticizers, different embosses,” building up a library that shows a great mix of different capabilities, including fun and new products.
Presco sets itself apart with its physical approach to marketing materials, but more than that, it is sure to make customization at the core of what elevates them from their competition. Though samples can be vast, there’s nothing that can replicate the personalized process of working with a dedicated team to develop a one-of-a-kind vinyl film.
When you think about the world of marking products and engineered films, you may think it’s a one-size-fits-all approach. Our guest today couldn't disagree more. Most applications require specific formulations to meet the needs of that specific project, and many different factors impact formulation, both internal and external.
Stephen Janak, chemical engineer at Presco, said that for the most part, it’s a customer driven process.
“There are many things we take into consideration when formulating a product. The weatherability of the product is a big drive, as well as color and matching it to the exact Pantone for the customer," Janak said.
With color, there is actually an aesthetic side to engineered film. It’s not just how the film will hold up and perform, but it’s also how it looks. And almost every job is unique. “We currently have over 20,000 formulations. We’re always improving those based on customer feedback and other factors,” Janak said.
Along with customer requirements, external challenges are also critical in formulations, like Proposition 65. Though more regulations can feel limiting, Janak said this isn’t a negative; rather, it's an opportunity.
“We can meet regulations like Prop 65. We don’t really think about it as hindering the process. It’s just part of the industry,” he said.
Even every project being distinct, there are still commonalities among them. Presco takes advantage of this by keeping a detailed library of previous orders, which has helped them develop a game plan for future ones.
In this episode of The Marking Minute by Presco, host Sean Heath sat down with Paul Manley, vice president of engineering for Presco Polymers to discuss how the manufacturing and engineering process has grown over time.
While glue distribution hasn’t changed much during his time at Presco, storage systems have substantially improved. Today, glue is stored in 300-gallon stainless steel totes within a modern distribution system that includes touchscreen controls and state-of-the-art tech.
“When I first came to Presco, back then it was actually two Miller Lite beer kegs that were stacked on one another with a stainless steel braided hose that connected them,” Manley says. “At the time, it was the solution that met the need, and it worked. But when we had the ability to upgrade and make a system that was more reliable, we did that.”
Primitive storage was a problem from Presco’s past, but today the company’s challenges revolve around solving symptoms versus problems, Manley says.
“You can choose to solve the immediate problem that may be relatively easy to solve, or you can look deeper to find the root cause. Maybe there’s a systemic issue that caused that one symptom to take place. Instead of curing just the symptom, you try to solve the larger problem. To maximize our time and resources, we think about what makes the most sense. That’s always a careful thought.”
Careful thought and attention to detail are among the qualities Presco seeks in its team members, Manley says. He discusses those traits and how to inquire about joining the team.
On the first episode of Presco's Marking Minute, we're joined by CJ Freeman, a National Account Manager for Presco, who helps set the stage for the podcast by unpacking the company's varied and essential product line, making a case for why marking products should be seen first and foremost as safety products.
For starters, these products do things like point out a hole or a dangerous, exposed electrical line, which protects not only the workers on that site but the general public. Presco provides everything from above-ground barricade tapes like caution tape, to below ground detectable and non-detectable tapes, flags, roll flagging to mark a trail, and anything in between. “We’re a 75-year-old company, and we’ve been doing this for a long time,” Freeman said.
Freeman believes that Presco has been in business for so long because of their quality products at the correct price point, but also because they “bring value to our customers and listen to our customers. We see our customers as partners, they are distributors of our product and we listen to them."
What makes marking products such a powerful industry is their ability to grow alongside other market trends, like adding aerial mapping vinyls to their product line as drones became more of a standard in the market. Freeman points out their new safety fence that was designed based on customer requests, using exact specifications, as an example of how their product line reflects their customers' needs.
For more information on how Presco values its quality and price point, why it was so important for them to have a Buy American Act compliant product, and what industries are a real challenge for their sales reps to sell to, give the first episode of Marking Minute a listen.