The company opened its doors in the late 1990s, focusing on IT solutions for companies looking to improve technical specifications and more. It became officially incorporated in 2004, evolving since to include audio visual (AV) integration services as part of its catalog mid-way through the 2010s.

Mike Ireland, the company’s owner and founder, firmly asserts the company’s abilities in these two areas, saying that not many tech companies in JKL’s sector are able to provide both types of services as his company does, and certainly not so effectively. “We are somewhat unique in combining those two services [IT and AV] and providing that benefit for the client,” he says.

Ireland has no doubt that the quality and level of service are what separates JKL from the rest of the pack, especially since client feedback consistently ranks its level of service above that of any others. This is a continual motivator for Ireland and his team, encouraging a greater focus on delivering the quality that JKL’s customer base has come to expect.

Building partnerships
JKL has continued making great strides in its technology and amassing new partnerships since its previous Business in Focus article in 2018. Ireland says that companies like Crestron Electronics remain among the company’s biggest suppliers, but JKL has also begun forming new relationships with large companies like Microsoft as well, a relationship established to promote the company’s platform.

Part of JKL’s own platform is based on whatever products and services clients want to use, technology-wise, so this information is continually used to establish and expand business relationships with major vendors.

Ireland notes this approach as a critical one because it provides JKL with the power to implement competitive pricing models. “If our client is significant enough,” he continues, “pricing power is key, not only in the financial pricing model but in profitability as well.” More recently, the company has been asked by some of its clientele to dive further into computer hardware, including scanners and printers, allowing it to gain additional suppliers like Hewlett-Packard (HP) in an all-new sector.

Navigating challenges
The company still has a good number of projects on the go, with Ireland adding that it’s an exciting time for development. He mentions the organic development of the JKL Latin American office in Mexico City as a significant one, as it will be used as a launching pad to cover JKL’s services throughout South America and develop new relationships there.

Many of JKL’s major clients in the USA are multi-national companies which often have physical locations in South America and, specifically, Mexico City. This new office will enable JKL to provide more services to its multinational clients and find new clients as well.

Historically, JKL began its life as an IT company because that focus meant low volumes of stock to move and high profit margins; later, with the addition of the more specialized wing of AV, this format changed to the opposite – high volume and lower margins.

This change puts a lot of pressure on cash flow because of the immense amount of hardware required to keep this approach going. This model has adjusted slightly for the company since its AV business has grown but Ireland notes that IT remains the more challenging side with much greater competition, and with margins dropping from previous markers and the focus of the company becoming the management of the gulf between both sides.

This problem, however, gave way to a new set of challenges starting just last year. COVID-19 had a huge impact on how the technology industry conducted its affairs in 2020.

Seeing it through
Ireland says that the company was fortunate enough to have had a great deal of momentum on its side before March of last year with projects in line and business overall in a good place. He adds that 2020 was set to have been the best year ever for the company.

But after the onset of cutback measures for businesses in the face of increasing coronavirus infection numbers, the JKL team found the implementing of projects growing more difficult day by day as offices, plants, and businesses generally began to shut down.

Ireland notes that JKL was in the process of an acquisition last year that would have supported the volume necessary to help the company expand its coverage in the USA more efficiently, but this too was a victim of the pandemic slowdown. He remains especially grateful toward the company’s customer base for stepping up and funding projects, a move that helped JKL tremendously in the uncertain first few months of the pandemic.

Ireland notes that there was a lot of consolidating activity between major AV integrators in the U.S. prior to the pandemic, which in turn reduced the number of participants in the space.

Taking on talent
The industry has since seen a tremendous number of layoffs and furloughs among other companies, with JKL focusing on the opportunity of picking up those newly available talents in the sector.

In the face of any sort of crisis or major challenge to the company, Ireland says, the focus is on employee and client retention with the idea that “there is always another side to a challenge.”

Keeping in mind that the pandemic and its cutbacks will indeed end one day, the JKL team has been determined to avoid laying off or furloughing any of its employees. Apart from embodying its loyalty to its staff, that could put the company in a position of strength once the pandemic has ebbed.

Ireland notes that his employees are an especially talented bunch and that, when it came to toughing out the lows of the pandemic together, “We knew we would get through this.”

Ireland is unsure if things will ever go “back to normal” as many industries hope, but he does believe that more brisk industry activity will be seen later this year.

The difficulties endured by JKL for the past year are not without a silver lining. Ireland says that, traditionally, multinational companies tend to plan their major projects years ahead. Major transformational tech projects in play before the pandemic and slowdown have begun to pick up again and JKL has found itself back on its clients’ agendas. These projects will continue to benefit the company as it wins and cements new contracts.

The few and the best
Ireland is open about the company’s operational template which is to create strong relationships with fewer clients rather than pursue potentially hundreds of relationships across the industry.

The latter approach, Ireland explains, is “contrarian to our model of providing the best quality of service. We will provide the level of service we are known for and we will maximize profitability as a company.”

JKL continues to start conversations with major companies thanks to constant referrals by its base of existing clients with huge opportunities continually arising because of these. In particular, Ireland is pleased with the opportunities that have arisen in the past year, from new contracts won to new offices opened, so the company looks to keep the momentum going as 2021 begins in earnest.

The post Navigating the Waters to Remain a Leader in IT and AV<p class="company">JKL Technologies</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

SNA Displays is a pioneer in creating larger than life, high-end digital displays.

Such impressive displays are relatively new. Originating in the United States in the 1830s, early billboards were not the sophisticated, high-tech free-standing displays we think of today, but large signs painted or glued onto brick walls, promoting everything from circuses to laundry soap.

As America grew, businesses counted on signage to promote products and services. Billboards became standardized across America and popular for then-fledgling products like Coca-Cola and Palmolive.

Becoming increasingly elaborate, billboards soon began appearing along the Interstate Highway System, where they were seen by thousands of drivers every day.

Unique projects
But nowadays, thanks to companies like SNA Displays, advertisers, galleries and businesses of all kinds are no longer limited to static billboards, and can get their message across on a grand scale, in unique ways.

Located at 1500 Broadway in the heart of world-famous Times Square, SNA Displays is surrounded by enormous digital signs advertising everything from shavers to smart phones, and soft drinks to sunglasses. Occupying the 20th floor of the Good Morning America-based skyscraper, the company’s headquarters boasts a high-tech demo wall, where clients experience the latest innovations up close.

“We run the gamut from really small to huge mega-spectaculars,” says SNA Displays’ Senior Director of Communications Mitch Leathers. “Our standard is, we will work from small to large, and standard to custom. We do all kinds of projects.” A turnkey provider of the latest jaw-dropping indoor and outdoor LED digital-video displays, SNA Displays is a magnet to clients for its ability to oversee, manage, fabricate, install, and maintain digital signage as seen on streets, inside and outside malls, in office reception areas, and other high-traffic locations.

Working across the United States, the company is expanding its global presence to the European market, recently retaining two salespeople in Sweden. “If it’s the right fit, location is not an issue since we have support and service partners all over the world.”

As one of the world’s biggest suppliers of LED technology, SNA Displays’ projects cover everything from spectaculars and mega-spectaculars to sports and entertainment, arts and museums, retail, corporate identity, lobbies and video walls, and out of home (OOH) works.

The company’s portfolio includes visionary, one-of-a-kind, custom-engineered digital works like “As We Are.” A massive LED art installation looking like a human head, the award-winning project – unveiled at the Greater Columbus Convention Center – “represents one of the most custom LED display projects in the industry,” according to the company.

Created with a tight pixel pitch of just five millimeters, SNA Displays custom-built small panels that could be assembled along the facial contours of the structure to create the digital head.

Eye-popping technology
For almost three decades, the company has been at the forefront of display industry innovation. Its current offering of indoor video display products includes the BRILLIANT™ display series, which consists of narrow pixel pitch products, and its BOLD™ display series, which includes display products with pixel pitches of 2.5 mm and higher. SNA Displays also offers ASPECT™ display products, its indoor line of all-in-one, plug-and-play LED displays with standard 16:9 aspect ratios. For outdoor, SNA Displays’ offers its EMPIRE™ display series, which includes one of the industry’s widest pitch offerings for exterior LED displays. Finally, the company’s line of LED strips, which can be installed vertically or horizontally and at various spacing to create dazzling transparent video, is called THRUMEDIA®. SNA Displays also provides a host of systems- and software-related products and services.

With a team of about 60 employees in North America and offices in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Knoxville, and Atlanta, SNA Displays works with hundreds of engineers “dedicated to developing a steady stream of new and improved products,” as the company says. Along with a million square feet of space dedicated to everything from manufacturing to client service, SNA Displays is equipped to transform client dreams into realities while offering ethical, cost-efficient services.

Previously working mostly along the eastern seaboard, the company’s entry into the Los Angeles market came in November 2016 with the commissioning of a 10-screen video display system at L.A. LIVE, a major downtown installation. “That was our first major project in the area, and the mega-spectaculars dominoed from there,” comments Executive Vice President Jason Helton of the work.

L.A. LIVE was followed in 2018 by a massive 18,000 square foot three-screen digital display at Circa. Circa is located at Figueroa and 12th Streets, near the Staples Center.

Other works completed or in progress in LA and surrounding areas include Oceanwide Plaza, The Reef, The Grove, MAC South Coast Plaza, Solair, Irvine Spectrum, and Montclair Place. Sizes of displays vary widely from MAC South Coast Plaza at 72 square feet to The Reef at over 41,000 square feet.

One of SNA Displays’ many clients is Margaritaville, the chain of well-known hotels, all-inclusive resorts, residences and restaurants. Completed in December 2018, Margaritaville Orlando Resort was rolled out in several stages and preceded a later work, the lobby display for Margaritaville Nashville, a single 16-foot by 9-foot hi-resolution 1080 X 1920 lobby display for the reception desk.

The LED displays are part of a comprehensive promotional platform planned and designed by the owner’s advisor Sensory Interactive. Sensory Interactive’s revenue management team guided Encore Capital Management through the process of selecting SNA Displays for the project and then represented Encore in the negotiation of a licensing agreement with SNA Displays for the program’s development.

The Orlando project was particularly elaborate, encompassing a suite of displays throughout their campus. “It ties in dozens of displays throughout the campus, including LED technology and LCD technology,” says Leathers of the Orlando project. “That includes a large format display for the wave pool and several greeting customers at various entrance points. It was a big rollout.”

For SNA Displays, the Orlando project presented some challenges. Since the kiosks were deployed outdoors, they had to be able to stand up to Florida’s warm weather and salt air, and required careful consideration and preparation.

Many companies will often build the structure and install the componentry; the fundamental problem with this approach is that if something fails, patrons have to be removed from either the immediate mall or sidewalk, cones put out, and the unit opened to determine the issue. “You typically have to add air conditioning,” says Helton.

Instead, SNA Displays took a different approach for both Margaritaville projects, centralizing all the control equipment into properly set up IT rooms and ensuring that cooling was in place.

Utilizing lossless fiber optic transmission technology, the company kept all equipment protected, but able to transmit in real time, so kiosks could still have touch or gesture technology built-in with viewers able to interact without latency or lag.

“That’s been highly successful for both properties – and even for future properties that we are in development with right now,” comments Helton.

In total, SNA Displays was responsible for 30 LED and LCD display assets in the hotel and retail areas, the water park and water park entrance, the hotel roundabout, the selfie shack, and in even more locations.

Seamless remote control
By partnering with leaders in innovation, expertise and services in the digital signage and video processing verticals, SNA Displays can ensure seamless display experiences.

With unmatched feature sets, built-in reliability, and full redundancy, they can perform moments of exclusivity, meaning they can throw one video feed to every location at the same time. “The scale is limitless on both these properties,” says Helton of the projects, which are managed remotely without a control room at either site.

“That is also a huge testament to the technology and engineering we put behind it. We’ve leveraged modern-day tech to work remotely. Just as COVID shut down the workplace and the office, we’ve done the same with some of these technologies. There is no longer need for 30 people at mission control.”

Among SNA Displays’ many strengths is its Client Service Group (CSG), which provides many support services, from concept management strategy to loading and network operations center (NOC) monitoring. This service is run by the company’s North American systems team headed up by Vice President of Systems Pat Green.

“This is a full-service network operations center that proactively monitors both the displays and backend system around the clock,” says Green. “This includes testing performance and diagnosing issues before they even occur. By having teams in place performing monitoring, incidents can be addressed immediately, whether on a single screen, or on a massive display in the heart of Times Square.

Another of SNA Displays’ complex display system rollouts was for American Dream Meadowlands.

The biggest mega-mall in America, American Dream Meadowlands is a massive outdoor campus in New Jersey’s East Rutherford. Still a work in progress and slated for completion around the end of this year, SNA Displays will eventually install at least 39 displays. Part of the megamall is open, including the waterpark, snow ski, and surf area. Considered a rolling project, high-end collections are still being unveiled, and new digital assets will likely be added year after year.

Not to be outdone, another large-scale project is The Fashion District of Philadelphia. A 90,000 square foot development, the Market Street project in Philadelphia, PA is similar to Margaritaville, and more of a campus project, not a single LED spectacular.

“We have multiple assets installed throughout the FDP campus,” says Helton, “both with static signage and with digital signage for exterior, and then we also have the interior rotating mall display on that campus as well.” This project saw SNA Displays work with sign maker YESCO, Eastern Sign Tech, and Sensory Interactive as a digital consultant.

SNA Displays’ technology for the Fashion District is part of a comprehensive promotional platform created for the project by Sensory Interactive. This promotional platform uses a wide range of digital and static elements on the project’s interior and exterior to animate the building façade, deliver sponsored content, and promote the project and its tenants.

In November 2019, SNA Displays worked on another entertainment venue rollout of digital displays at Grandscape, a prominent North Dallas shopping center. “It’s a dynamic, exterior-mall shopping space, and you’re starting to see a lot more of that in Texas,” says Helton, a Texas resident based just north of Austin.

For Grandscape, SNA Displays created large custom digital assets, including a custom 5mm outdoor marquee that wraps around the property’s theater at 90 degrees and a two-sided, ellipsoid-shaped Stylon™, a custom-made LED display designed by the Barnycz Group that is surrounded by a reflecting pond. “It’s a unique design and installation, and we’re starting to have a large presence in the DFW area with all our different digital assets there. The Dallas Fort Worth area is really starting to be a big hub for digital for us.”

Bright & beautiful future
Despite COVID-19, work continues at SNA Displays as clients gear up for a post-pandemic world.

With smaller works taking anywhere from six weeks to six months and larger projects requiring 12 to 18 months from fabrication to engineering design, implementation, integration, and commissioning, SNA Displays recognizes that many more companies are incorporating interior digital displays. Some in fact are using these signs as employee recruiting and retention tools, since they are constantly battling with other tech companies to secure the best talent.

“We’re seeing a lot more of these lobbies and architecture integrating art and communication instead of just pure advertising devices,” says Leathers.

For clients of any size, SNA Displays represent a significant commitment, and investment, into technology. More than a company that just sells product, the team at SNA Displays forms enduring relationships with customers, and is always available over time for the requirements of service, support, and technology issues.

“We’re one of the few truly turnkey providers,” says Helton. “We can do any scope they ask us to, and because of that, who better to know the ins-and-outs of the technology, the hardware, the expertise, and what it takes for these displays that break traditional boundaries? That’s what separates us.

“A lot of companies can make a screen, sell it, and walk away. But we’re in for the long haul with our clients: we make 10-year partnerships; we don’t make two-year sales.”

The post Imagination Without Limits<p class="company">SNA Displays</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

“Our goal and focus have always been about doing the right thing by the customer first. That’s how we built the business,” says owner and Chief Executive Officer Seth Weisberg. And it keeps growing. Following prudent and sustained growth, it recently opened a second office in Ontario, California and is looking to expand into Mexico, Atlanta, Chicago, Illinois, and Texas.

Every client’s project is treated as a unique opportunity to shine. The approach has paid off in several ways. The company appeared on Inc. 5000 magazine’s 2017 list of fastest-growing companies, followed by achieving eleventh place in weekly business journal NJBIZ’s list of fifty fastest-growing companies in New Jersey, which was no mean feat in a year like 2020.

The company’s service portfolio is as diverse as its customers’ needs, and its e-commerce solutions are fast becoming popular. “While we’ve always provided e-commerce, today, we find that our greatest value to our customers is helping them understand that automation and technology don’t need to be expensive,” says Weisberg. Investments in entry-level e-commerce technology need not break the bank and such investments deliver considerable improvements in effectiveness, speed, and accuracy.

Its clean-slate approach to warehousing and distribution is both novel and refreshing. As a result, its consultation process is thorough and considers goals, challenges, and the ultimate goals that it must render perfectly functional in the end-product. The design process is also inclusive as its team works closely with the client to ensure that every aspect is covered. This process is followed with estimation, after which engineering, implementation, and permit expediting follow before the project is signed off.

Its services are extensive with a host of design services for distribution centers, e-commerce fulfillment centers, and conveyor systems complementing automation integration, project management, and installations. It also offers preventative maintenance programs and conveyor repair together with office construction and expansions, plus rack removals and purchasing. For buying warehousing racks, clients are treated to two very nifty calculators on its website: one to establish the number of racks they need and another to confirm how much warehouse space they need.

The company has a long history that started by serving the fashion industry. From here, its client base grew into third-party logistics companies that were later joined by foodservice firms in need of refrigeration and food-specific warehousing. Today, the company is an expert in food storage legislation and Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) guidelines as well as the local and national code requirements that accompany the sector.

The company’s success is rooted in its relationships. “We believe that everyone has choices. In order to be different in today’s world, the level of customer service needs to be real. It needs to be something that’s ingrained in [our] company culture,” Weisberg says.

His father built the company to record annual revenue of $1 million in 2003. Then, after several medical emergencies, the father and son worked together. Initially, this was a temporary situation, but eventually, Weisberg Junior decided to resign his position at Price Waterhouse Coopers and join the company’s ranks permanently. The duo developed a strong bond in the process and implemented modern systems and technologies based on Weisberg Senior’s experience. The collaboration also proved a brilliant move financially for ABCO Systems, Inc. as, by 2019, its annual revenue had grown to $14 million.

In its role as a garment-on-hangar systems supplier to the fashion industry, the company continues expanding its selection of products to keep its clients ahead of the latest trends in warehousing and distribution. Some of its services to this market include slick rail systems, center-supported garment rails, hanging garment sorters, flat goods sorting tools, as well as commercial laundry solutions.

As the company expanded over the years, it strengthened its capacity to adapt and develop alongside its customers’ needs and volume demands. And, while business by definition is about profit, this firm puts service and its clients’ satisfaction before profits. “If we lose money on projects for different reasons, as long as we’re doing the right thing, I’m okay with it. The focus is on the relationship,” says Weisberg, and he means it. After all, ABCO Systems is known for client relationships spanning decades.

In distribution, as in most businesses, time comes at a premium, and the cost of shifting merchandise and materials from storage spaces onto shelves or into processing and shipping lines has become prohibitive without technology. Considering the sheer scale on which large companies and distribution centers operate in the twenty-first century, ensuring efficiency through automation and technology has become vital to sustaining success.

And, as the value of industrial land, labor, and other resources continue to skyrocket, the importance of investing in top-quality automation is unlikely to change. “When you have companies like [big multi-nationals] putting so much energy and time and money into development, it’s necessary for all companies to start automating their systems in order to compete,” says Weisberg.

ABCO makes it a priority to assist clients in problem-solving whenever possible, making it a critical partner in contributing to the health and wellbeing of America’s supply chain as well as the economy. With this undertaking comes its commitment to providing more employment and helping its clients grow and create safer and more resilient enterprises throughout the country.

The company notes that the effects of the 2020 shelter-in-place measures brought about permanent changes in the third-party logistics (3PL) landscape. To keep distribution running smoothly, ABCO Systems, Inc. has seen sharp demand for its automation services that deliver guaranteed growth through savings gained from replacing outdated manual systems with infinitely more efficient conveyor automation, print and application systems, inbound and shipment sorting, order fulfillment picking automation, and much more.

The company also reports via industry-leading publication 3PL news that automated warehouses are significantly more space-savvy, utilizing thirty-nine percent less space than traditional storage facilities. ABCO Systems, Inc. suggests products like push-back storage rack systems, pallet flow conveyors, automated pallet storage, and other similar systems to help reduce costs when transitioning from standard warehouse systems to automated outfits.

Adapting through technology is only one way in which the company helps its clients mitigate the pressures of the current economic climate. As more companies improve the automation of their distribution and warehousing processes, ABCO Systems increasingly becomes the partner of choice for state-of-the-art design and technology. The times ahead may appear challenging but Weisberg remains positive.

“It is ingrained in our culture that success is not built overnight or even over a few years, but rather through constant repetition of doing the best job we possibly can with the highest levels of integrity and a focus on customer service,” he says.

The post The Warehouse Automation Experts<p class="company">ABCO Systems</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

When COVID hit, “We just hunkered down, and worked harder than ever,” states President, Chief Executive Officer, and Owner Steve Hightower. “We’ve continued to be able to operate during this period successfully.”

In fact, the firm is looking to expand its reach. Hightowers is currently exploring a venture involving electric vehicle (EV) charging stations while building its “upstream trading platform for crude oil and LNG [liquid natural gas],” Steve notes.

The company continues to work with clients in the automotive, education, sports, construction, manufacturing, retail, utilities, and government sectors, providing bulk fuel delivery for commercial vehicle fleets, fleet cards, inventory management, supply chain management, and emergency fuel supply. Of these services, bulk fuel delivery remains the biggest revenue generator. The company has “a couple hundred customers and 175 carriers,” in the bulk fuel segment, he says.

“Our role is to identify and purchase the product, depending on where it’s at in the country. Then we have carriers that we call on as subcontractors to pick up our fuel and deliver it to customers on our behalf,” he explains.

The automotive sector is one of the main recipients of these bulk fuel deliveries. HPC provides the fuel that goes into brand-new cars produced at plants run by the likes of General Motors, Honda, and Nissan. “Every vehicle that comes off of their assembly lines is filled with ‘x’ gallons of gas. The number of cars is a huge volume,” he says.

If automotive is “considered one of our most robust markets, the utility marketplace is also very robust for us as well. When you’re looking at how power is generated, many times it requires diesel,” he adds.

While bulk fuel delivery “is our principal line of business, the fleet card which at one time was a loss-leader has become a star in our tool-kit,” Steve says. This business-to-business offering can be used to purchase products and services at thousands of truck stops and gas stations across the United States.

Steve refers to the card as “the most robust discount network” of its kind in the marketplace, and says the card now has its own app which can be used “to direct customers to where the discount networks exist.”

Like most businesses, COVID hit Hightowers hard. When the virus emerged, the company deployed its technological resources so staff could work remotely. Eventually, it was decided to bring management staff back to HPC headquarters. Health protocols were imposed, and the work schedule was tweaked so employees came in on alternate weeks to avoid overcrowding.

Employees are now required “to wear a mask at all times when you’re outside of your station or your office, or if someone enters your space in your office, the two of you must have a mask. We made an investment into KN95 [masks], so everyone that enters our facility must wear a mask,” Steve says. “Additionally, we have recently purchased air purifiers and test kits.”

While keeping staff safe was the company’s main concern, Hightowers also had to readjust some of its business priorities.

“We were delivering crude oil prior to the pandemic. Crude really took a hit, and everything was backed up, so supply was very plentiful, and a lot of people went to their base suppliers. We were relatively new to the marketplace, so we lost a lot of business in that timeframe,” Steve says.

The COVID crisis had international ramifications for HPC. The company is a licensed motor fuel dealer in South Africa, but work fell off drastically when the pandemic struck. The company also had negotiations with China and Abu Dhabi which were affected.

“We are still licensed in South Africa. However, as you may know, South Africa remains challenged and is shut down, more so than we are today. They were completely shut down. So, there’s not a lot of activity in South Africa right now,” he states.

HPC also has offices in Cincinnati, Baltimore, Michigan, and Washington, DC.

Ironically, the virus drastically reduced marketing expenses at HPC. In pre-COVID days, the firm regularly attended trade shows and industry events, most of which have now moved online. “All the conferences and all the flying we would normally do to meet customers and be part of conferences and conventions, those costs were totally eliminated in 2020,” Steve states.

While the company “likes to shake hands and talk face-to-face,” staff quickly adapted to conducting meetings on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other online platforms, he continues.

Hightowers remains one of three principal companies with which Steve is involved, the other two being HP Energy and the Hi-Mark Construction Group. Total employment across these enterprises stands at roughly seventy people (although that figure varies due to fluctuations in the construction market).

“HP Energy has begun to get its stride going. They’re engaged with a lot of energy-related projects, including consulting to implement microgrids for a public zoo. Our engineering and expertise is driving the project,” he says.

He is excited about a new venture that involves all three companies under his purview. “We are now looking at supplying EV charging stations for electric vehicles. We have negotiated distributorships for that technology. With our construction team, we are in a position where we’re able to install on a national basis.”

If all goes to plan, HP Energy would work on the energy part of the deal; Hi-Mark Construction would handle installations.

The company’s interest in green power reflects both environmental concern and business sustainability. “As a company, we’re very environmentally-conscious. While we have a product that we are not ashamed of and are proud to be able to offer, we also know that there are ways we can reduce emissions with various additives and alternative [fuels],” Steve says.

These alternative fuels include biodiesel and ethanol, both of which are derived from plant material. While immersed in the oil and gasoline trade, Hightower readily acknowledges the rise of renewable energy. Gas and oil will still be around for decades, but the company is already preparing for when renewables start edging out fossil fuels.

“Do I think gasoline and diesel is going to go away in the next ten years? If they stop making combustible engines today, it will take fifty-five years to clear [gas and diesel from] our system,” he notes. “We’re looking from a standpoint of not being a dinosaur. We know the [renewable energy] market is coming and want to be in front of it.”

The Hightowers Company has ISO 9001:2015 certification for quality management and ISO 14001:2015 certification for environmental management. Working to ISO standards while following a philosophy of continuous quality improvement is core to HPC’s mission.

The company’s high standards have earned HPC numerous awards. The firm was declared Deloitte USA Top 100 Companies’ #25 in 2020, and 2019’s Minority-Owned Business of the Year by the Dayton Business Journal newspaper. Hightowers had been a finalist for this title for several years running. Previous accolades include the 2019 General Motors Supplier of the Year Award and the 2018 Duke Energy Supplier Excellence Award (Diverse Supplier of the Year).

Steve remains personally involved with a plethora of organizations. He recently finished terms on the board of directors for both the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce and the National Park Foundation (NPF).

He is also a current Board member of the National Petroleum Council (NPC), Rainbow PUSH, Cincinnati Business Committee, NMSDC National Minority Supplier Development Council and the Society and Independent Gasoline Marketers Association (SIGMA), among many others. He was appointed to NPC Council by President Barack Obama and re-confirmed by former President Trump.

Steve proudly notes that Hightowers is “going into our fourth generation as a family business. We have two granddaughters working in the business, which was started by my father and mother and carried forward by myself.”

His parents, Yudell and Elsie Hightower, established a thriving company called Hightowers Janitorial Service in 1957. Yudell evidently passed on his business smarts and drive to his son, who launched Hi-Mark Construction in 1979. Two years later, Steve purchased his parents’ janitorial business. He eventually sold the firm and founded Hightowers Petroleum Company after winning a petroleum contract from the state of Ohio.

Stephen Hightower II – Steve’s son and Yudell’s grandson – currently works as the company’s Chief Operating Officer. Other family members also occupy key roles across the three firms Steve operates.

Going forward, he would like to keep Hightowers a family-owned firm but is open to expansion in whatever form that takes.

“We’re looking into the future as to what expansion looks like, relative to funding. We have opened ourselves to options of strategic alliances and partners, to be able to get to the scale we would ultimately like to be at. It’s admirable that we have a national reach and that we’re delivering into Mexico and Canada, but in order to go beyond [that] we still probably need some additional capital resources,” Steve states.

The post Family-Run Firm Deals with COVID and Builds Its Business<p class="company">Hightowers Petroleum Company</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Allegion Canada’s team of industry experts has one ultimate responsibility and that is to ensure people’s safety. Growing numbers of smart buildings are appearing across Canadian city skylines, and the demand for smart door locking systems and entrance security is also increasing. By designing, manufacturing, supplying, and installing everything from simple mechanical and electronic door hardware to fully-integrated electronic access control solutions, the company offers smart building owners the key to genuine security.

Headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, it also has distribution centers in that city and in Edmonton, Alberta, serving all of Canada. The company forms part of a global group, Ireland-based Allegion PLC (Allegion), with well-known brands like Schlage, Von Duprin, and LCN.

The company is particularly proud of its Schlage Mobile Access Solutions that offer complete mobile access to buildings and living spaces, winning it a place on Building Design + Construction magazine’s ‘Top 75’ products of 2020. This cloud-based technology allows consumers to safely access secured entrances by presenting their mobile device like a smartphone rather than a traditional badge.

The company is first to agree that its people are what sets its offering apart. “We’re dedicated to our customers and our partners. We have a robust sales force across Canada, and we aim to be our customers’ partner of choice for their security and access control needs,” says Erin Mann, Strategy and Marketing Manager, Multifamily.

Considering its attention to both detail and security it makes sense that the company’s products are favoured for use in residential properties, healthcare facilities, government buildings, multi-tenant properties, higher education, and educational institutions. Whether its customers need top-security access measures or low-key solutions for simple entry control, Allegion Canada has what is needed.

Its diverse product range lends itself to answering the security and access control requirements of commercial, multifamily/multi-tenant, and residential markets. It is experienced in adapting to clients’ needs, led by the scope and nature of each project. “Our sales organization works as true security consultants, helping our customers and clients understand the complexities of access control while ensuring the products fit their unique needs,” says Mann.

Its service departments are supported by marketing, operations, and customer care teams that underscore its passion for taking care of its clients. Its focus on performance aims to facilitate ease of use and a pleasurable product experience.

Behind these goals is a philosophy that feeds its business culture. This includes being invested in excellence, self-empowerment, and accountability among other aspects. Beyond these, employees are invited to consider the business their own and take initiative.

As providing safe and secure products is the ultimate and main function of the business, ensuring that the technology and the architecture supporting its access solutions is equally secure is part of the team’s responsibility. With the advent of IoT and connected smart buildings, this function has become imperative to functional, secure access points.

The Schlage Control™ lock coupled with Engage™ software is a smart lock created for multi-group entry points so people can enter buildings with the help of smartphones rather than keys. Without needing gargantuan numbers of traditional keys, this system is a blessing for property managers in charge of residential doorways, making it deserving of its recently landed ‘Best smart lock for simple set-up award’ by CNET.

The Schlage Encode residential smart lock is specifically designed for families. The product’s smart WiFi deadbolt function means that homeowners or tenants can grant access to authorized family or friends to enter their homes with unique access codes sent via WiFi. Residents are alerted of each entry, giving them complete control of their front door.

The Von Duprin Remote Undogging and Remote Monitoring model won the Judge’s Choice Award from the Security Industry Association (SIA) in 2018. This door security system can be easily retrofitted to buildings such as schools, allowing central electronic monitoring and control of door locks, and permitting rapid lockdown if needed for security threats.

Allegion Canada is deeply rooted in the security business, benefitting from centuries of knowledge brought to the table by its product partners and its parent company, Allegion.

Allegion’s safety and security heritage spans more than one hundred years. Some of its partners can trace their European origins back as far as 1750. Von Duprin started in 1908, registering the first patent of its kind on an exit device that it invented. Formed in 1920 and also a leader in its field, Schlage is another trailblazer that registered the original patents on cylindrical and push-button locks. In 1877, LCN developed the now-familiar door closing device for Boston Trinity Church to prevent slamming.

These brands have no shortage of really interesting stories illustrating the importance of their contributions to the world. Like the story of how Carl Prinzler, who, by sheer luck, avoided being caught in Chicago’s 1903 Iroquois Theatre fire in which around 600 people lost their lives. As a result, he invented the “panic bar.” The panic bar, designed by Prinzler, a manager at Vonnegut Hardware Company in Indianapolis, Indiana in collaboration with Henry DuPont, would go on to allow people to exit safely even though the doors were locked from the outside. The device was marketed under the name Von Duprin, derived from the names Vonnegut, DuPont, and Prinzler.

Allegion Canada believes in empowerment. This means ongoing investment in its people, and this translates into career development, self-improvement, professional development, skills enhancement, fulfillment, and leadership training. “Though we’re spread across the country, our general manager, Nate Spitz, and our senior leadership team have created a strong organizational bond of one Allegion,” Mann says.

“The marketing team at Allegion Canada is one of the most knowledgeable, dedicated, and fulfilling teams. Our team works to continuously build personal knowledge, so we can be the subject matter experts for our markets,” Mann adds. Vice President of Marketing Michael Del Guidice brings his own share of expertise to the team.

The advent of COVID-19 in 2020 did not catch the company off guard in terms of its regrouping skills. Ensuring its staff’s safety and health has always been a priority, so dealing with the matter did not require a big leap on the company’s part. As many of its products involve elements like door handles that are touched, its research and development department quickly turned its efforts to ways of preventing the spread of germs. “With that in mind, our vision of ‘seamless access and a safer world’ has never been more important,” Mann adds.

Ingenious surface technology, like silver ion antimicrobial coatings and other technologies with anti-bacterial properties, is being emphasized. Then, of course, there are its touchless solutions like door pulls that can be hooked with an elbow, automatic door openers, and contactless identification readers that limit the need to touch door handles.

Despite the challenging times, the team continued to share time and money in support of several causes close to its heart. November saw Allegion Canada fulfilling its drive toward corporate social responsibility with the Construction Halton Challenge in support of Halton Food Banks, and in December, parent company Allegion gave over $500,000 to international hunger-relief groups. Toronto’s food banks also benefitted from its generosity during the holidays, while Canada’s Habitat for Humanity is one of its long-term beneficiaries.

Globally, Allegion has nearly doubled the size of its team to more than eleven thousand in only seven years. Its 2020 revenues were US$2.7 billion and, to date, it owns over thirty brands, holds more than eight hundred active patents around the world, and has more than fifteen thousand channel partners.

Looking ahead, Allegion is investing in hot new technologies and start-ups. It continues to acquire strong industry brands while developing ever-smarter products and solutions to meet the practical everyday safety and security needs of Canadians and others around the world.

The post Providing Canada With the Keys to Security Success<p class="company">Allegion Canada Inc.</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Since its previous feature in Business in Focus over three years ago, the Finney County Economic Development Corporation (FCEDC) has continued to support the expansion of existing businesses and attract new businesses to the county. To help sustain its diverse market, the FCEDC also works to build up its housing and workforce in a way that is conducive to meeting the needs of the businesses and the community as a whole.

Despite the turbulence of the last year, Finney County has been able to keep up with its increasing rate of development. The Dairy Farmers of America milk plant has already gone through one expansion since its grand opening in November of 2017. A full-spectrum senior living complex has completed construction on twenty-four acres of land and offers independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, and memory care. The retail project in Garden City, the Schulman Crossing Shopping Center, is nearing completion as it finishes its last two buildings. It features 400,000 square feet of retail space and recently announced the tenancy of an Old Navy store.

A new lean ground beef plant for Empirical Foods is under construction and is expected to be complete in approximately two years. The $400 million investment will provide three hundred jobs to the area when it is finished, many of which will be high-paying technical positions.

The Garden City Regional Airport “is the third-busiest commercial airport in Kansas, which is really busy considering we are nowhere near being the third-largest community,” says Finney County Economic Development Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Lona DuVall. “Getting a new terminal there will be a huge investment in our community and helping people get in and out of our community.” The additional airport terminal is in the making right now to house the twice-daily flights from the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

More ongoing development can be found at the Big Pool outdoor water park, the construction of a second brewhouse, four new childcare centers, and a $41 million sporting complex called Sports of the World. “Even during everything in 2020, we still set new records for sales tax and retail sales in Garden City,” says DuVall.

The recent progress in the county has led to increased job growth and housing construction. “Over the last five years measured, we were second only to Johnson County in job growth, and Johnson County has Kansas City. And then we also currently have 1,600 housing units in various stages of development and construction,” says DuVall.

The traffic from surrounding cities has been instrumental for the county’s sustained growth. Although the pandemic has affected the community in several ways, it has not slowed down advancement. As it became known that a virus was spreading globally, the value of amenities being located in a more rural area has only increased. Also, the low-density living accommodations allow residents to safely spread out across the county. Following the closures of all non-essential businesses last March, the communities within Finney County were able to bounce back quickly under new social distancing and mask regulations.

With an employee base made up of many essential workers, the pandemic did not have as much of an effect on Finney’s employment numbers, compared to other places of the country. At its worst, the highest that the unemployment rate reached was 5.2 percent, which was primarily due to out-of-work people in the service industry. Fortunately, the isolated county with a production-based economy has been able to keep its unemployment rate at less than three percent since June of 2020.

Workforce development initiatives designed around the area’s requirements have been a priority throughout the pandemic. It added three new programs to its community college courses: a construction trades program, an industrial maintenance program, and an early childhood accredited program.

The construction trades program is vital because, with all of the housing under construction, the county needs more contractors. The industrial maintenance program is designed to serve the food processing and manufacturing facilities. The early childhood program is needed due to the consistent shortage of childcare centers for the population. This has already begun to change as four new childcare centers will soon open, and the county is now searching for early childhood educators to fill these centers.

“We’ve been about 1,000 childcare spots short for the last several years, and being able to open four new centers is huge. That gives us about forty percent of the capacity that we’re short right now. But you have to have employees for those so we had to have a training pathway for it. We’ve seen good success with those workforce development programs that are really geared toward our current needs,” says DuVall.

The Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City is the second-busiest tourist attraction in the state of Kansas. The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and has over one hundred species of animals, many of which are not native to the area.

Recently an endangered baby black rhino was born at the zoo. The zoo was selected specifically to help with regenerating the species and gladly accepts the challenge. It has become well known that pedestrians are not charged a fee to visit the zoo, and there are no plans to change this uncommon feature. “It’s still a free zoo, so folks can go on and walk through all of the exhibits for free, and you can easily spend your whole day there,” says DuVall.

Last year, the zoo completed construction on three new attractions that were all funded after community members voted to pay for specific projects with sales tax raised at local businesses. These projects included the three zoo attractions, a roadway project to expand a two-lane road that has become a major artery, a shooting range for the community and law enforcement, and a third fire station that will also house an emergency medical service station.

For the larger surrounding regions, Garden City is an ideal tourism destination. Many visitors consider the trip more of a ‘staycation’ since the drive is only one or two hours, and they already know the community well. This is one of the many reasons the county did not experience the same impact of the pandemic as many of the urban areas have.

“Our retailers in our community really did take COVID seriously. The city does now have a mandatory face mask requirement, but even before that, the amount of stores and patrons to the stores that were wearing face masks was in the seventy to eighty percent range already,” explains FCEDC Strategic Analyst Shannon Dick.

When making the trip to Garden City, most people also choose to stop for some retail shopping or their weekly grocery trips. It is convenient, and the small-town environment feels safer, particularly while attempting to avoid contact with COVID-19 in heavy traffic areas. “People felt safer to come to Garden City to continue the day-to-day shopping and tourist stuff, which I think is one of the things that really show why we were able to have another record-setting year for sales because people felt safe to come to Garden City and do that shopping,” says Dick.

One detail about life in Finney County that should not be overlooked is that it is culturally varied. Out of its 119 restaurants, many are local restaurants offering every type of food imaginable. “It’s cool for a community of our size to have that much diversity, and we’re very proud of that diversity and celebrate it,” says DuVall.

Located in the center of the United States, the rural region of Finney County offers a high quality of life. Its job market is extraordinarily strong; it experiences moderate weather conditions without very cold winters or a lot of snow, and with a corner on the beef and dairy sector, its community is feeding the world through food production.

“Agriculture is certainly extremely strong in our region, but really, this is a really good place to look for anybody who is looking to build their life somewhere,” says DuVall. “There are a lot of good job opportunities here. We’re well connected to anywhere that folks want to get to, and you get the opportunity to live in a community that’s really tightknit and really culturally diverse.”

The post Rural Development Gets a Boost in Finney County<p class="company">Finney County Economic Development Corporation (FCEDC)</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Batteries power our daily life. Everything from phones to cars, from watches to computers and the toys our kids’ play with, has a battery stuck in there somewhere. But what happens when the phones get old and watches stop ticking, or the car battery goes on the blink?

This is not exactly a new question to Battery Solutions, which has been in the business of battery recycling management for more than 25 years.

“I think the key for us and really for battery recycling overall is that you want to make people understand that they can recycle all types of batteries,” says Thomas Bjarnemark, CEO of Battery Solutions.

So let’s shine some light on our relationship with batteries.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans purchase almost 3 billion household batteries like AA and AAA, and D and C annually. And the stats say that in the same time the average person will throw out eight batteries. Pulling out the calculator, that’s about 2.6 billion dead batteries hitting America’s landfills every year.

These numbers are even more startling when you consider that batteries, generally speaking, can be almost completely recycled. This is where Battery Solutions comes in, striving to recycle all parts of all kinds of batteries.

From batteries to micronutrients
“I’ll give you the top line,” says Danielle Spalding, Director of Marketing for Battery Solutions. “Basically, alkaline is still the most common household battery type used. And when we collect those batteries, we have battery-processing technology onsite that separates the battery, from its casing right down to the actual manganese and zinc inside the battery. And from there, those micronutrients are used for fertilizer.”

Yes, you read that right. Nearly 96 percent of battery components can go back into circulation, including as fertilizer for agriculture. Kind of amazing when you think about it.

Battery Solutions started in 1992 in Howell, Michigan. Back then, the founder would collect, recycle and resell car batteries. Eventually the company expanded to recycling household batteries such as alkaline batteries, laptop batteries and power tool batteries, to name some.

Silent revolution
A lot of things have changed since 1992, including the cars we drive. Now, electric and hybrid vehicles are taking a growing chunk of the automobile market. Not only do these vehicles reduce the amount of emissions released into the atmosphere, but when they come to the end of the road, they’re recyclable.

Recycling electric and hybrid vehicles represents the ongoing evolution of Battery Solutions. The parts that are recycled from vehicles go toward new batteries, and new steel is available from steel recovered from the vehicles.

“This creates a new stream of material in the supply chain for manufacturers and allows them to enhance their products by using material from recycled cars,” Spalding says. “We’re really proud to provide end-to-end management of electric and hybrid vehicles. We pick them up with our fleet of specialized hazmat drivers, then haul them to our facility for disassembling.”

From there, the vehicles’ battery systems are broken down into traceable components including the outer casing, the core and the BMS, or battery management system.

“We bring it down either to a module or a cell level, depending on the need of our customers,” Bjarnemark says. “Some are looking for a certain component. They want to know about their traceability and their recyclability. Others are looking for certain plastics. Ultimately those materials go back into the secondary commodity for reuse.”

Meet the circular economy
When Bjarnemark refers to the “secondary commodity for reuse” he is talking about what’s known as the circular economy. To get a better sense of why the concept of the circular economy is becoming more important, we need to take a mini (and perhaps overly simplified) lesson in the history of economics.

Most parts of the world function within what’s known as the linear economy, which has been the dominant force for several centuries. From the 1700s, the textile industry, which was followed by the introduction of steam-engine power, introduced new systems and technology that greatly increased the output of what we could produce. This period was followed by many other advances, such as the understanding of how to generate, use, and control electricity, and the invention of the automobile.

While we made all kinds of technological leaps, as time went by, we really didn’t change our approach to things. We carried on chopping down, digging up and harvesting resources from the earth, as always. Still today, factories transform these raw materials into things that we want, like home electronics and the latest smartphone. Then, after using them for a while, we throw them away and buy new again.

Needless to say, the environmental impact of the linear economy has not been great for our planet. By and large, people understand that recycling the goods that we use is important, but historically we really haven’t invested much in developing sustainable approaches to manufacturing.

While Canada and many European governments incentivize recycling, for American businesses battery recycling and sustainability efforts are largely an economic decision and a way to support their community. People want to do the right thing, they just need to know how. So, as we transition toward a society that places more emphasis on protecting the environment, we are also seeing more efforts to recycle and reuse materials by both large corporations and small business.

Battery Solutions works with as many partners as possible to make sustainability a priority. Businesses may not only help the environment by providing local depots for the collection of used batteries, they may also support their bottom line by delivering batteries to recycling companies.

And that’s why Battery Solutions is so important to all of us. By focusing on recycling materials and then reintroducing them to new sectors, the company contributes to the “circular economy,” turning recyclables into new “things” in factories.

Use and re-use
“The reuse-market for parts from electric vehicles is a very fast growing market segment within recycling in the circular economy,” Bjarnemark says.

“We do a lot of work with teams that are focused on reuse. One example is working with both our customers and local universities to help reuse electric vehicles. The outer casings are used for garden beds. They’re also using the fertilizer that we provide micronutrients for. So we’re able to not only grow the garden in the actual electric vehicle case, but also get micronutrients for the plants from old batteries.”

Like every other business, the COVID pandemic has impacted Battery Solutions, particularly the move to working from home that so many people have undertaken.

“I think that some of the changes in behavior we’ve seen in the pandemic, such as people working from home, relying more on video conferences and remote working, is here to stay,” Bjarnemark says. “Consumer electronics was already a very big source of batteries for us. And it will be even more so as a result of the pandemic.”

And even though the pandemic has put many things for people and businesses in flux, some things remain constant.

As Spalding puts it: “It comes back to collection and education that are the things that we focus so heavily on. We want to be here to support the sustainability of what we do, and to help the general public understand that battery recycling can be an easy and turnkey way that we can all support the environment.”

The post Powering New Manufacturing Opportunities<p class="company">Battery Solutions</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

The term was coined by American economist Howard Bowen in his book, Social Responsibilities of the Businessman, and brings with it a suggestion that a business enterprise is responsible to more than just its shareholders; that responsibility also extends to employees, consumers, society, and the environment.

CSR relates to the practices and policies that are undertaken by a corporation to advance social and environmental justice, embracing the environment, as well as people of all races, genders, cultures, abilities, sexual orientations, socio-economic backgrounds, and different walks of life.

Effective CSR programs are built upon four pillars: philanthropy, environmental conservation, diversity, and fair labour practices, and also on the promotion of volunteerism. From a CSR perspective, success is no longer measured by profit alone, but also by the wellbeing of its people, the strength of its community and the health of the environment.

Companies used to do good to feel good, and usually benefited from a tax break when doing so, but these incentives are no longer the driving force behind the adoption of a CSR strategy. Gone are the days when CSR was a competitive edge and a point of differentiation, instead, it has become an expectation of the market fueled by consumer demand.

Consumers are becoming increasingly discerning and not only do they prefer ethical and sustainable products, they are willing to pay more for them. People want to feel that they are making a positive impact with the dollars they spend, especially on the things they need.

Positive difference
A Futerra survey published in 2018 found that 96 percent of people surveyed in the United States and the United Kingdom feel the actions they take, such as recycling, conservation and conscious consumerism, can make a positive difference in the world. Likewise, 88 percent of consumers want the brands and corporations they support to help them feel like they are having a positive impact with their spend.

Similarly, research from Mintel found that three in five consumers believe that ethical issues are becoming increasingly important, while 56 percent of American shoppers will stop buying from brands that they believe to be unethical and 35 percent will stop buying a product even if there is no alternative or substitute available.

Consumer behaviour is motivated by a growing dissatisfaction with corporations or governments that consumers hold responsible for environmental destruction or exploitative supply-chain and labour practices. Consumers are increasingly concerned for the wellbeing of people, animals, and the environment and they want the companies and brands that they support to be concerned as well.

In a world where social media holds immense influence and allows public sentiment to be shared freely and openly, essentially giving everyone a voice, these statistics cannot be ignored. Consumers are regularly holding companies accountable and using whatever social media platforms they have to do so.

Top down
CSR strategies are usually directed from the top down and are often dedicated to matters that are relevant to a company’s operations, or to issues or causes that are near and dear to the leadership or team. For the most part it is voluntary, but in some cases, it is mandated.

Mandates like the Toronto Green Standard, which outlines sustainable design requirements for any new, private or city-owned developments in the city is a progressive plan to incrementally increase the stringency of the standards to help the city achieve its desired net-zero emissions outcome. Those who choose to build in the city will be required to adopt a green-construction approach.

This is the way of the future, but it is only one way to adopt a greener approach to doing business. Beyond investing in a highly efficient physical footprint, things going paperless, reducing waste and usage, investing in renewable energy, and purchasing carbon offsets are all ways to increase environmental consciousness at the corporate level and address market demand.

Ford Motor Company is a legacy company that is responding to the changing market sentiment by shifting its manufacturing focus to electric vehicles. The market is trending toward electric, low- to no-emissions vehicles, and the automaker is taking the lead, using existing capacity and expertise to transition its product offerings away from fossil fuels.

Global impact
Of course, the larger the company and its profits, the greater the resources available for CSR initiatives. Large multinational corporations are more likely to take a global approach to CSR, while also supporting localized efforts in the communities they serve, while smaller companies are more likely to have a positive impact on a local scale, reflective of their market reach.

Starbucks is an interesting case study, as it is a global brand with a significant local presence, which is reflected in its multifaceted approach to CSR, including a focus on the environment and ethical labour and procurement policies.

Starbucks ethically sources 99 percent of its coffee and rescues one hundred percent of available food for donations. Likewise, it has worked to eliminate plastic straws from its stores and invested $10 million to fund the creation of a recyclable cup. It also takes every effort to be an equal opportunity employer with targeted programs to optimize engagement with youth, veteran, and refugee employees.

While Starbucks is an example of a large corporation trying to do good while also being good, there is likely to be a locally owned coffee shop in your city or town where you can find fair-trade products at a reasonable price. It is likely that the store will operate with a smaller footprint and your purchasing power would have just as significant an impact, if not greater.

Part of the secret power of CSR is as mentioned above – that when people do good deeds, they feel wonderfully gratified, which is especially important for a company’s culture. By promoting causes and awareness, and encouraging volunteerism, CSR can make life about more than just a paycheque. When employees are engaged and happy, they are more likely to be kind, productive, and go the extra mile in their work.

Shopify Inc. is one of Canada’s Top Employers for 2021 and its story is one of going above and beyond what is expected to ensure the wellbeing of its people, and thus, its business. CSR defines the company, its brand, and its culture.

If you have ever met someone who works at Shopify, you quickly get a sense of how much they love their job and the environment and culture within which they operate. Even before the pandemic, employees had flexible and alternative work arrangements, and the company has been committed to being “digital by default,” ever since to ensure that everyone remains safe and operational.

Shopify also offers exceptional support to new parents, including parental leave, health benefit plans including mental health support, a health and wellness spending account, and the option of a charitable-giving account or a retirement-savings contribution, to name only a few of the perks. They also pay a fair wage which has built trust with employees and customers alike.

Just business
CSR is a business decision that can greatly improve a company’s operations from the ground up. No longer a trend, it is instead an accepted part of doing business that is itself influenced by changing market trends and social movements taking place around the world.

Movements like #MeToo are calling out workplace harassment and outdated business practices that are no longer acceptable and do not align with the principles of CSR. Leaders who are serious in their response to these calls, and serious about ensuring that workplaces are safe for everyone, are providing an important impetus to discussions on social change and social action.

Consumers want to support companies and brands that demonstrate that they are team-workers for the community as well as leaders in the market, and investing in people and the environment as part of a comprehensive CSR strategy is going to be key to achieving market success in this regard.

As such, success can no longer be measured by profits alone, but rather by a corporation’s ability to have a net positive outcome from an economic, social, and environmental standpoint through its CSR initiatives.

It’s good business that’s good for business.

The post From the Top Down<p class="company">The Impact and Reach of Corporate Social Responsibility</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

While spending money is inevitable, mindless consumption is not. Customers are increasingly educating themselves on how companies and their practices affect the planet, both negatively and positively. From the raw material stage to manufacturing, packing and shipping, to appearing on a store shelf, every step impacts the environment, including the essential afterlife of that product, the waste it produces and how it’s recycled after it has outgrown its intended purpose and usefulness. While customers of course do and always will consider price and value in their purchase decisions, more and more they are looking to buy based on ethical considerations.

Conscious consumerism means just that: being mindful about purchases – buyers being aware, taking the time to research and understand what they’re bringing into their lives before they open their wallets. This, of course, means certain companies and businesses will fare much better in the quest for responsible consumption. From food to clothing to cars, as the inevitable awareness of global warming seeps into every facet of our lives, buying better means helping to protect the earth now and for generations to follow.

When buying practices are driven by a commitment to making purchasing decisions with a positive social, economic, and environmental impact, conscious consumerism can also be viewed as environmentally and socially aware customers voting with their dollars and avoiding unethical companies.

This also includes a growing awareness of the ethical treatment of animals and the food we eat, as people gravitate to organic produce and regenerative farming that leaves less harmful waste in the soil and to free-range chickens who live their lives as unstressed as possible, producing eggs that customers feel better about including in their diets. With information readily available at the click of a mouse, customers are researching and making educated choices about every aspect of their purchases.

Companies and businesses play a vital role in drawing in informed consumers by embracing transparency in their production and advertising, letting consumers know exactly where they source their material from, the practices used in production, and if their labour is ethical. Sharing this information with customers can go a long way to building a trusting, long-lasting relationship resulting in more business for the company and a better, healthier planet for everyone.

With more than 73 percent of global consumers saying they would “definitely or probably change their consumption habits to reduce their impact on the environment,” according to data analytics company Nielsen, it only makes sense for companies to make the necessary changes that benefit both customers and the climate.

Millennials in particular seem to be more willing to pay for environmentally friendly products over more harmful alternatives, but it’s not just the younger generation who is paying attention: consumers in the U.S. alone are expected to spend $150 billion on sustainable products by this year, according to Nielsen.

Consumers are also increasingly demanding transparency from the companies they frequent: before 2013, only 20 percent of S&P 500 companies chose to share environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information, so finding that information was a long and difficult process. However, in 2019, as a direct result of customer demands, that number rose to 90 percent publishing sustainability/responsibility reports. In short, customers want — and deserve — to know what companies are selling.

According to a study by IBM, 19,000 customers polled from 28 countries — ranging from Gen Z to baby boomers with ages ranging from 18 to 73 — have some very strong thoughts about how individual shopping ideals are changing. North American respondents increasingly prefer sustainable brands, while 69 percent of environmentally aware purchasers are willing to pay a premium for recycled products. Almost 80 percent of North Americans want to know the origin of their products, and 69 percent would pay a premium for brands that provide this information.

Globally, consumers want products that are not only eco-friendly, but transparent and reflective of their personal values, and they can now find this information via the internet and social media where they can “follow” brands and stay up-to-date on their individual practices. Businesses who want to keep this savvy segment of clients on their side know it’s smart to consider changing. And there are plenty of ways companies can make alterations, big and small, to help both the environment and the conscious consumer while embracing what best reflects the business’ brand and values.

Creating a sustainable leadership team is a smart way to bring those values into the company, particularly when engaging people who are passionate about sustainability. Educating employees on a green business platform and what they can do to help can also create more understanding and awareness. Studying what other companies are doing to both adopt sustainable practices and make an enduring difference in the world through eco-friendly practices is advantageous, along with making some serious and hard decisions about your supply chain: examine the companies you buy products and services from. Are they sustainable? Is the packaging you use recycled or recyclable? If not, consider looking at viable alternatives wherever possible.

Another area to examine is overall recycling practices and how much of your waste goes to landfill. If you strive to be a sustainable business, working to minimize any potential negative impact on the environment means constant re-examination of work practices, eco-friendly initiatives, social and sustainable alternatives, and strategies that work for the company at large.

Even businesses that are already utilizing sustainable practices can make improvements to reduce environmental impact. For companies still on the learning curve, there are plenty of ways to make even slight alterations with a big difference, and potentially draw in more customers. Making sustainability a core mission within the organization can also go a long way to bringing employees on board with new platforms and practices.

Whether you’re a large or small business, being resourceful in your examination of sensible budgets, achievable goals and strategies through communication and education can make a difference no matter the merchandise. The good news is that many companies around the world are striving to make these very improvements in the area of green practices.

A 2017 survey by global management consulting group McKinsey & Company found that, “Nearly six in 10 respondents say that their organizations are more engaged with sustainability than they were two years ago,” with more than eight in 10 respondents working in consumer packaged goods, and three-quarters of those in infrastructure saying the same. Seventy percent of respondents said that their companies have some form of sustainability governance in place, compared to just 54 percent three years earlier.

As more and more consumers become aware and genuinely concerned with what they’re spending their hard-earned money on, it becomes more important for businesses to respond likewise with practices that embrace a true interest in how business is done, and how it adheres to global concern and sustainable product. Creating a positive relationship with both customers and potential customers is the goal of any business, but doing it through concern for the environment and workers benefits not only the bottom line, but the world at large. Creating an atmosphere of sustainability goes a long way to forging trusted and reliable partnerships for years to come, with a transparency of information that customers will appreciate.

In the end, both businesses and consumers have the ability — and the proven desire — to make better, more sustainable choices. This April is Earth Month, and there’s no better time to start engaging in wiser, greener and more sustainable choices in all areas of life.

The post Buyer Aware<p class="company">Enabling Eco-Friendly Consumption</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.