The company’s product line of food equipment includes PizzaMaster electric pizza ovens, bakery equipment, and other cooking equipment used in foodservice and food retail. For the last thirteen years, MPM has supplied Whole Foods with its top-of-the-line food equipment combined with full-service customer support.

After working for two other well-known foodservice equipment companies and eventually getting laid off, Larry Nicholson started the MPM Food Equipment Group in his basement in July of 2003. “I’ve been in the supermarket part of the business my whole career, and so without a job and with three little kids in a north suburb of Chicago, I needed to get back to work. I incorporated MPM Food Equipment Group, and the name stands for Matthew, Patrick, and Mark, my three boys.” He chose the rest of the name to make clear that the business would represent multiple companies.

Approximately one-and-a-half years later, Nicholson moved the business out of the house and leased a 2,500-square-foot building. A couple of key people were brought into the business for administration and sales, and these people are still with the company today. MPM began to grow quickly at this point and soon moved on to lease a 5,000-square-foot building. The growth rate continued to pick up, and in 2014, the company embraced the opportunity to purchase a 48,000-square-foot building in Wheeling, Illinois. MPM leases out half of the space and operates from the other 24,000 square feet.

In 2011, MPM acquired a company called Connecticut Food and Weighing Equipment to further expand its market reach. The new branch manages all of the northeast states for MPM, and the partnership has turned out to be quite profitable for both parties.

“We had growth every year consistently, and we got to the point where we’re a $20 million business, and then about three years ago, we kind of peaked and started declining. Whole Foods was purchased by Amazon and they quit building new stores, which slowed down our growth,” says Nicholson, MPM’s founder and President. At its peak in 2018, MPM had a staff of twenty-four people but was forced to let a few go due to similar patterns with other supermarket chains affecting its growth.

As a result of the pandemic, the decline in sales for MPM did not last very long. “When everybody was staying home, they still went shopping, so supermarkets kept chugging along and replacing equipment, and we stayed alive there. But the big thing was the pizza business,” explains Nicholson.

The pizza section of the food retail market was incredibly active throughout the pandemic. Many restaurants had to shut down but were still permitted to offer carry-out and delivery services. This motivated some restaurant owners to add pizza to their menus, which led to a huge increase in demand for MPM. Its pizza oven sales in 2020 were approximately fifty percent higher than the previous year.

Although the pandemic resulted in significant growth for MPM, some difficulties have followed. Currently, the supply chain for manufacturers, in general, is a problem. The lead times for equipment have extended considerably because manufacturers are waiting for components. When most of the United States shut down and non-essential manufacturers closed their plants, it had a ripple effect throughout many markets. One product that has been less affected by supply chain interruptions is the PizzaMaster electric deck oven. MPM imports the PizzaMaster oven from Borås, Sweden, and its parts are sourced from within Europe.

MPM is the exclusive distributor and provider of the PizzaMaster electric deck ovens in the United States. Alongside the MPM’s Whole Foods buyer, Nicholson met the founder of BakePartner, the supplier of PizzaMaster at a restaurant show in Toronto in 2008. Christer Andersson was working the booth for his Canadian distributor of PizzaMaster ovens, and MPM’s Whole Foods buyer was interested in the product. This was the beginning of the partnership with PizzaMaster. Roughly five years later, MPM was installing PizzaMaster ovens in all the Whole Foods across the country. Whole Foods now purchases only PizzaMaster products for its locations whether it is for a remodel, a new store, or a replacement.

For MPM, the PizzaMaster products are selling even faster in 2021. Currently, sales are forty-seven percent above last year’s numbers. The key factor is that these ovens are electric and there are over 50,000 gas deck ovens in the United States that need to be replaced. The heat capacity of the PizzaMaster is unique because it can reach 932 degrees Fahrenheit, or 500 degrees Celsius, and it has heating elements at the top of the chamber and below the hearthstones.

A gas unit only has burners underneath, and for this reason, the PizzaMaster oven provides more quality and consistency. In addition, unlike the gas pizza oven, the PizzaMaster oven does not lose its temperature as the night goes on and sales pick up speed.

“With PizzaMaster, it’s the opposite. The more you feed it, the happier it is, and now we have testimonials everywhere about how we can increase their capacity during peak times, and it’s got exceptional recovery on heat, so this allows the customer to actually sell more pizzas in the same time frame,” says Nicholson. MPM offers the largest range of PizzaMaster models, with 85 sizes and over 1,500 combinations. Its capacity and flexibility are valuable for quality precision cooking.

“We can do all different types of pizza: Neapolitan from Italy where they need the 900 degrees to cook it high for the large percentage of hydration in the pizza dough, the deep dish, and the Detroit style. We can cook every different type of pizza, and we actually do it better. And our pricing is very competitive,” says Nicholson.

Customers can find food equipment products online at low prices, but these products are not accompanied by any service or support. The MPM sales team has a substantial amount of experience that is hard to compete with.

There is great team camaraderie between the sales and administration departments at MPM. Many of the employees have been with the company for most of its existence. “Each employee takes ownership in their responsibilities when completing their tasks,” says Nicholson, “And we’re very technologically-driven, so we use a lot of technology to minimize labor such as automating a quote into a purchase order through our accounting system, and we have a customized [customer relationship management] system that really helps the sales team.” The culture is friendly and open because everyone is free to be their own leader, and the self-motivation approach works well since the employees are so experienced and goal-driven.

This family-run business and its team of experienced people with integrity enjoy giving back to those in need. It regularly supports sharing parishes that deliver food in the Chicagoland area by donating equipment such as freezers and walk-in refrigerators to their food depositories.

One of Larry’s sons, Patrick, is twenty-seven years old and has Down syndrome. He is an employee of MPM and works two days a week on the pizza demonstrations and helping to close sales. Patrick’s journey has inspired the team to get involved with an association called Misericordia, a campus in Chicago with approximately five hundred adults who have different types of intellectual and developmental disabilities. MPM provides all of the association’s food equipment by selling to them at cost or by donation, depending on the product. “We’re very big into Misericordia because that’s where I hope Patrick might eventually be able to live as he tries to figure out what he wants to do one day,” says Nicholson.

Consolidation in the industry is making it more difficult for smaller dealers to be profitable. To survive amongst the competition, a small company needs to find a niche in the marketplace, and PizzaMaster is MPM’s niche.

“We’re also looking into private-labeling some bakery equipment for supermarkets and wholesale bakeries that we will probably call BakeMaster. We’re looking at doing something like that in 2022. That will give us a couple of product lines we’ll have exclusives on in the U.S., and that will give us that niche,” says Nicholson. MPM has a five-year goal to increase the gross profits year after year with PizzaMaster and its other commercial food equipment.

MPM Food Equipment Group is a one-stop shop for quality foodservice equipment and design services to meet any customer’s unique needs. Prepared for more growth, the company aims to be flexible and adapt to the market, despite the challenges that may lie ahead.

The post Commercial Food Equipment Delivered with Quality Customer Service<p class="company">MPM Food Equipment Group</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

With over 15 years in the industry, as a private sector company, Domino is always on the go, elevating their presence by continuously finding new initiatives to support and lead. Their clients have come to depend on Domino to educate them on new products and services being offered and where the future of electricity is heading.

It’s become apparent, Lockhart notes, that many businesses in the public sector have capitalized on years of complacency, inaction, outdated knowledge and regulations. Domino is committed to pushing past the status quo by forcing the industry to modernize and re-evaluate the way things have “always been done”.

“We recognize the future needs of the industry; that is how we think and operate,” Lockhart says – noting this mindset has guided Domino for the last decade and a half.

Much has happened for the company since its previous feature in Resource in Focus Magazine in early 2020. Lockhart says that, as of last year, Domino is officially the only privately held electrical utility focused critical infrastructure supplier, with stocking locations across the country in almost every time zone. Their suite of vertically integrated services and businesses in the Canadian market has a foothold in both the Pacific and Atlantic regions.

Domino currently has offices in operation or under construction across Canada (in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia), as well as having made the first steps into the continental United States, with a base in Texas. The company has also expanded to Puerto Rico, investing in a new two-story office in the centre of Caguas, and are currently sourcing new regions where they can expand even further.

Lockhart mentions that the company has joined up with RFID (radio-frequency identification) manufacturer Star Systems International to boost its considerable in-house SAAS (software as a service) system. This robust Customer Relationship Management System (CRM) is used by Domino as their centralized database, used across all of their divisions to ensure the client receives reliable and accurate information every time they place an order or request a quote.

Lockhart describes his intention to make Domino the “’Amazon of our industry’ as it relates to our core businesses,” noting that the company is three to six months away from customers being able to view stocked inventory in Domino warehouses, place orders or request services online. Customers will have access to product information, order history and reports, and can manage their own inventory and track their orders. This will boost the high level of customer service Domino customers already receive.

COVID-19 created unforeseen obstacles for many businesses; however, Domino was able to navigate through and ultimately, their efforts resulted in growth. The company did initially experience delays in projects but was able to keep most of their North American employees working. Domino’s in-house software and established procedures helped keep business running as usual, while adhering to both provincial and federal quarantine guidelines.

Lockhart recalls various occasions where Domino went the extra mile, offering employees home-delivered meal programs, rides to work for those who usually take public transportation, and the precautionary suspension of inter-office travel, avoiding even a single COVID-19 case within the company. The Domino team has maintained their enthusiasm and their commitment to support their clients and the industry in general.

The company has placed a growing emphasis on understanding consumer needs, an understanding which has to constantly evolve as new technologies and ideas are presented. Lockhart observes that today’s consumers want innovation, speed, and quality, at an affordable price. Domino sees this demand and proactively sources solutions.

Lockhart enthusiastically promotes Six Sigma, a disciplined, data-driven continuous improvement methodology that aims to improve efficiency and reduce or eliminate errors. The quality and timeliness of product delivery consequently improves, and employee enthusiasm gets a big boost. Domino’s take-up of Six Sigma principles applies to all areas of the company, boosting employees’ understanding of the company, its products, and ways to best serve its clients.

As customers’ demands intensify, a growing trend in the electrical utility industry has been the consolidation and shrinking of former competitors within the market, leading in turn to fewer options for the client and the end user. Domino’s response to both the increase in demand and the decreasing supply option is to ensure coast to coast accessibility, availability of stock, and access to both the domestic and global market space for immediate comparable and competitive pricing for delivery options. Domino gives their customer a customized “made to fit” experience. Domino’s customers receive quotes with multiple options, offering different manufacturers, material, delivery methods, et cetera which best suit their budget, timeline and scope of work.

Domino recognizes their clients’ needs to move away from unsustainable material toward new and innovative products like their Fibreglass Reinforce Polymer (FRP) crossarms, through their division, Transmission Innovations. Domino’s FRP products are lighter to ship and install and add decades to the lifecycle of its application.

Another division within the Domino Group is AllPower Tooling and Rentals. AllPower is a tool and equipment company that offers specialty tools for sale and rent. Lockhart saw the need to alleviate the stress of buying costly tools, for his clients, and quickly added this business to the Domino Group of companies.

Lockhart feels that the electrical utility maintenance and construction industry has been stifled by long lead times, which is why Domino carries over $9 million in inventory in Canada alone. The company’s Major Projects Team presents a global package price to the customer, with assurance from Domino’s Global QC/QA Team that the quality of the products has been vetted and approved for use. The team travels around the world and inspects and audits manufacturing facilities and sub-suppliers – in person – to ensure a safe and quality product that meets and/or exceeds the clients required specifications.

Lockhart believes that it is Domino’s responsibility to provide a product that surpasses the current standards and safety specifications. It is the company’s responsibility to ensure extended factory warranties and that client-mandated increased product lifecycle requirements are met. Meeting these challenges and delivering this type of quality product and service provides, not only to the client but also the end user, a more reliable and consistent means of delivering electricity to their homes and businesses.

Lockhart points to how, decades ago, public utilities had the responsibility of building electrical transmission and distribution solutions and competently devised safe ways to do so, communicating with manufacturers and distributors to create industry standards. With this concern for safety in mind, Domino partnered with ComplyWorks, a compliance management company.

Domino’s collaboration with ComplyWorks has created an ability to see the cradle-to-grave ingredients of every product that is eventually put into service through Domino. “This acts as a centralized library of the global specifications, with historical data, for every product we supply.” If you are a manufacturer, Domino has auditing practices for the types of material used and the processes they go through before being delivered to customer. Those practices may include audits for smelting, forging, stamping, rolling, threading, machinery or equipment, and the transportation of the product. Every stage a product goes through must be approved and documented. “It’s about reducing risk.”

20 to 40 percent of the total cost of a project is in the materials used. It’s above our heads and below our feet every day. The most important thing for Domino is to ensure the best quality is provided to clients at the best price but provides the most current and available safety technology for the end user in day-to-day life. Lockhart asks, “Why are we racing to the bottom price on items that haven’t been updated in 50 to 60 years?”

Lockhart sees remarkable developments in electrical power coming soon to the industry. There is a general trend now toward education and information for consumers. Having a “middleperson” is necessary to deliver, support, teach, and share risk. This is a role that the Domino Group fills perfectly, according to Lockhart.

A trend on the horizon is the move away from massive generation, and overspent public utility transmission supply, and the move to SMRs (small modular reactors). This could mean that, instead of a city or township buying electricity from a local utility as is common, they can buy a few of these reactors to power an entire city with no transmission lines for big generations.

“Someone needs to come up with a new and innovative way to transmit the electricity we generate. Voltage loss on an open-air conductor is huge. So much is spent on making electricity and sending it out, however a lot of that energy bleeds off the line into the air.” SMRs help this problem because they generate power locally instead of across miles, so line loss is minimized.

Beyond this, Lockhart foresees a greater place in the industry for tidal technology, as the planet’s oceans are the largest source of our much-needed energy on the planet. The oceans are much more dependable than wind or solar. As the world has moved toward electricity as a primary source of power over traditional sources, the current infrastructure will need to be upgraded, inclusive of generating stations, T&D and substations.

For Domino Highvoltage Supply, the company’s growth plan includes a move into the public sector. They have secured several utility contracts across the areas they service and operate, which allows them to make further impacts in the electrical utility industry. Lockhart observes that with manufacturers buying each other up, and with the current appetite for M&A within the manufacturing sector, there are fewer than a handful of manufacturers left servicing the public sector market. This ultimately has led to a reduced competitive environment and potential for price gouging.

Consequently, there is opportunity for customer-centric competitive practices in the public sector, although monopolistic practices pose a challenge, as does the education of public utilities that purchases do not need to be made from only so-called “approved manufacturers and suppliers.” The end user loses when there’s no competition.

Latin America is also part of the company’s growth plan. Domino is excited to step into a new world, where they can put their knowledge and practices into place to help improve the delivery of electricity to the end user by providing reliable and sustainable infrastructure.

Lockhart says he couldn’t be more proud of every employee across all of the Domino Group divisions and companies and is excited to see how they will reshape the industry moving forward.

The post Driving the Industry Forward<p class="company">Domino Highvoltage Supply Inc.</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

With multiple partners working for the benefit of the town, residents, job seekers, and existing and new businesses, one of the most appropriate ways to describe Chelmsford is as a partnership.

More than a place where interested businesses are just handed a ‘welcome package’ and sent on their way, the Town of Chelmsford works nonstop with local bodies and institutions – including MassHire, UMass Lowell and Middlesex Community College – on job creation and retention, and on education and other initiatives.

Many of these initiatives focus on those industries that will create sought-after jobs, such as healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and information technology positions.

The role of business development
For almost four years, Chelmsford’s Director of Business Development, Lisa L. Marrone, has played a pivotal role in the town’s success.

That said, she is quick to recognize others for their hard work and initiatives, including Tom Clark, Corporate Education Business Coordinator at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell); Judith Burke, Executive Director of Institutional Advancement at Middlesex Community College; and Peter Farkas, Executive Director at the MassHire Greater Lowell Workforce Board.

“Partnership is what really drives the success of the business for what I do at the local level, and they are regional entities,” she says of Clark, Burke, and Farkas, and their respective institutions. “I can’t do it without them.”

Attractive to young, college-educated graduates, Chelmsford has a population of about 35,000. Owing to a higher level of educational attainment, the town works in coordination with UMass Lowell on a broad offering of platforms, including continuing education and persons seeking to refresh their education.

It’s all part of Chelmsford’s noted friendliness to business, Clark says. “We do specifically speak to workforce development. The work we do is about working with all the businesses in the area, and identifying workforce needs.”

Since workforce development means different things to different partners, Clark welcomes approaches by businesses outlining their needs, or he talks to companies asking what they require. In all cases, it comes down to communication.

Instead of fitting business needs into predetermined boxes, a conversation could result in the delivering of a tailor-made educational program. This could include everything from non-credit courses to three to six courses comprising specific agreed subject matter for employees to become proficient in, all the way to degree-granting programs.

Not all business development needs are the same, and they vary considerably depending on structure, and factors such as the type of business and workforce demographics.

“When it comes to customized training, it is about having those in-depth conversations, and identifying industries,” says Clark. “And sometimes it’s not ‘industry’, but what a segment of an organization needs.”

MassHire
Launched in August of 2018, MassHire – formerly known as the Greater Lowell Workforce Development Board – represents a unified workforce-system branch of the Massachusetts Workforce Development System, and a place where job seekers and companies looking for employees can connect.

There are 16 local workforce development regions in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and each region has a workforce board. With the strength of 29 one-stop career centers transforming into MassHire Career Centers, the state’s commitment to job seekers and businesses is strong, effective, and unremitting.

“In each region, there’s at least one career center that works with both businesses and job seekers,” says Peter Farkas of MassHire, which cooperates widely with employers, industry, and job-hunters. “We like to think we’re demand-driven. Everything we’re doing is reacting to the demands of businesses, whether to its current needs, or to pipeline developments.” This includes assisting with résumé development, working on training grants to meet needs, and retraining/credentials for entry-level and middle-skill jobs to get people back into the labor force.

“There are a lot of community partners seeing what the needs of businesses are, and how we – through the public workforce development system – can meet the needs of business. And by doing that, we’re helping people get jobs.”

Like the rest of America, the State of Massachusetts has had to deal with the legacy of COVID-19. At the height of the pandemic, the local unemployment rate was approximately 18 percent. Most affected were lower-wage earners, the less educated, and those in fields such as retail and hospitality, where working from home was not feasible.

Thankfully, unemployment has now dropped to between four and five percent. Yet the need for retraining remains strong, with some of the workforce investigating other career choices. MassHire is there to get people back into the workforce.

Middlesex Community College
With workforce training, there is some overlap between MassHire, and Judith Burke’s role at Middlesex Community College. Marrone, in her role as Director of Business Development, often sees Burke as the first introduction to a business at the local level.

“I’m bringing forward the message and resources that are available to a business that they may not know otherwise,” she says, of her role in sharing information about MassHire, and using it as part of a welcome kit to new businesses. In Chelmsford, many resources are free or low cost, with the Middlesex Community writing grants for workforce training funds. Says Marrone, “I think the work we are doing is really valued by the business community.”

The upshot is that, for over 30 years, Middlesex has enthusiastically worked with local employers to educate and train thousands of employees in hundreds of businesses, industries, and municipalities throughout the 21 cities and towns of Middlesex County.

“Our goal is to provide the educational and training tools they need to make the best use of their most important assets – their employees – while improving their competitiveness in a global economy,” says Burke.

Representing a diverse student population, Middlesex Community College offers many academic programs, community education and training, corporate education, and more.

“Degree programs, certificates, career development and more are just a few of the offerings to support a talented and strong workforce,” says Burke. “We are committed to civic engagement through the power of partnerships, including the ‘Cross Roads at Route 129’ employers and their workforce development and training needs.”

Welcome to “The Cross Roads at Route 129”
One of the growing areas for businesses in Chelmsford is the Cross Roads at Route 129. A 660-acre business center with remarkable potential, the Cross Roads is an ideal place to locate, develop, and build a business.

With over 70 existing properties already in place, the Cross Roads is home to world-class businesses such as Zoll Medical, Comcast Cable, Brooks Automation, Axis Communications, The Element of Boston/Chelmsford and many others. From its ideal location with direct access to Route 3, Route 495 and the town center, it is located just 30 miles from Boston’s Logan International Airport.

Farkas says that Route 129 – being in Greater Lowell and readily accessible by transportation – is ideal for workers getting to and from their places of employment. “[Our location] is very beneficial when it comes to workforce development – when people are looking for jobs,” he says. “It’s huge.”

In just the past two-and-a-half years, the Cross Roads has seen its vacancy rate cut in half. Owing to its multi-story office structure, one of the key business sectors the area is attracting is life-sciences.

And just recently, the Cross Roads received a commitment from Pressed Café, a popular restaurant chain offering healthy all-day breakfasts, smoothies, raw juices and tonics, coffees and more. The Pressed Café — which will feature a drive-thru — will open later this year or early next.

Among the new businesses arriving in Chelmsford along Route 129 are dataCon, which names ballistic missile defense as its key business segment; Music Elements (offering musical education); plant-based Four Seasons Greenery; and Incompass Human Services. Others choosing to call Chelmsford home include global business venture company Triton Systems and ThermoFisher Scientific, a part of the town’s growing life sciences business segment.

Know your nanotechnology
Designated BioReady by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, Middlesex County remains one of the top five regions for nanotechnology-related businesses, education and research. While acknowledging that UMass Lowell may not have all the answers in nanoscience, Corporate Education Business Coordinator Clark says they know people who do.

“UMass Lowell is not necessarily going to be everything to everybody,” he says, “but we do know that Peter has resources, we know that Lisa has resources, and I think when you look at the combined synergy of the region, we are a very educated region, and a region that values education. And I think that’s part of our mission here at UMass Lowell. We want the Commonwealth to realize we’re here.”

In July of last year amid the pandemic, when most educational delivery went virtual, UMass Lowell was honored for its inclusive educational culture by a Blackboard Catalyst Award.

Presented by global educational technology leader Blackboard Inc., the award recognized the University’s efforts to ensure that “students of all abilities have equal and ready access to the tools and instruction they need to succeed, both in their professional lives and as individuals engaged in their communities.”

For Clark, the award was a validation of UMass Lowell’s commitment to education, and its offering of online programs since 1996. “That goes to show that while nobody wanted this pandemic to happen, were we prepared for it? Absolutely,” says Clark.

While the transition to online learning hasn’t always been easy, UMass Lowell was recognized as being on the front end of leveraging technology, and being fully inclusive of many learners, especially the differently abled and those with disabilities.

“The amount of innovation that is happening in this region is unbelievable,” says Clark. “I think some people tend to look at it as, ‘Oh, that was just a response to the pandemic.’ We’ve been doing this work for literally decades. That motivation to be on the front end, to be at the cutting edge, is why you see industries like nanotech and manufacturing coming to this area. It’s because they value what we have to offer – people who are hungry to learn and forward-thinking.”

The post Partners in Development<p class="company">Town of Chelmsford, MA</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

The Durham, North Carolina-based company is a technology enabled field services company that services automation equipment from mail to robotics with a large install base in north America spanning multiple OEMs and markets. The company also delivers comprehensive solutions in retail, grocery, and pharmacy click-and-collect, automation, and production mail.

“It’s our broad product lines that differentiate us,” says President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Blue. “Most companies in our market space have one solution. They try and shoehorn that product into every application that’s out there. We believe that, when it comes to retail and in the mail industry, one size definitely doesn’t fit all.”

Bell and Howell’s top-notch service is a key differentiator in all its businesses, and its geographic coverage gives it a clear advantage over the competition. “We are in all fifty states,” says Senior Vice President of Service Solutions Jim Feely. “The high quality service I provide someone in New Jersey is the same service they get in California and Texas. They don’t have to use multiple providers.”

The company’s North American footprint guarantees a quick response time, no matter where the client is located. “In service, the most important item for any customer is response time,” he points out. “It’s all about how quickly we can get there and fix the machine. If you have a contract with us, we can guarantee a four-hour response time, and in many cases, we’re averaging two hours to get there.”

One of the core strengths of Bell and Howell services is its remote monitoring capability. The company’s Remote360 platform, an IoT-enabled remote monitoring, diagnostic, and repair solution, monitors connected equipment 24/7, and automatically creates service calls based on algorithms. Automated escalations are built-in for “roll the truck” on-site repair when required. This Remote360 technology has helped tremendously in servicing Bell and Howell’s “essential business customers” especially in retail, grocery, and production mail industries during the pandemic.

“The goal is to capture potential problems before they go south and well before a tech needs to be dispatched,” Feely says. “We’re able to capture issues before it results in equipment downtime and in many cases, find and correct the matter before the customer knows there’s a problem,” he shares.

“We can now diagnose and repair 99 percent of service calls remotely on our grocery pickup systems,” he says. Across all of Bell and Howell’s remotely covered equipment, three out of every four service calls do not require the company to send a technician onsite and, even when one is required, remote technology ensures that they will be well-informed of the situation before they reach the site, thereby achieving a greater first-time fix rate.

When onsite, technicians can troubleshoot with help from headquarters via the same technology. “All technicians carry a handheld device that tracks their progress and allows audio-visual communication with our expert home office support staff. If a technician needs assistance, Technical Support can suggest what needs to be done in real time to simplify and speed the process. My specialists could be halfway across the country, [yet] literally on my tech’s shoulder assisting them, and seeing what they are seeing,” Feely says.

“A lot of companies say they’re a 7X24 operation, but a lot of those require prearrangements or standby,” he says. In contrast, Bell and Howell’s service is available around the clock. “You place a call here at 2:00 pm or 2:00 am, someone will answer, and you will get a service tech dispatched immediately, with no prearrangement required.” This gives customers peace of mind, especially those with machines used during non-traditional hours. “We can service it no matter what time they run, day or night.”

A sophisticated parts management system keeps the service team well prepared. The warehouse technology automatically restocks parts as they are used, so technicians never have to worry about placing orders or monitoring the stock. “Our inventory is so accurate, we have not had to complete a physical inventory in nine years,” Feely says.

Another advantage is that the company’s parts are stocked in locations throughout the United States and Canada, in proximity to customers no matter where they are. “So, someone in California does not necessarily have to wait for a part to come from Durham,” he says.

Bell and Howell, as part of its digital transformation, has invested heavily in technology, tools, and processes to improve its service execution. The new field service management software deployed this year has powered skill- and geo-location-based technician scheduling and dispatch among other things. Customers can create service calls, schedule appointments, track estimated technician arrival times, and see notes, parts used, and reports using a web-based customer portal in real time. Bell and Howell’s data analytics team continually refines the algorithms used for remote monitoring and predictive maintenance thereby increasing the service efficiencies both for customer and Bell and Howell.

Bell and Howell’s average technician tenure is fourteen years, making it a highly experienced service team. “We try to create a great environment for our associates to grow within the organization, myself included,” Feely says.

“I started literally at the very bottom while completing my degree in electronics from DeVry. Like many in Bell and Howell Service, I worked my way up through the ranks to now lead the entire Service organization. It is that kind of opportunity that keeps people here. Our employees know we work hard to promote from within, and that is what makes our team so strong. Keeping that tenure and that experience within our organization is absolutely huge and a tremendous value for our customers.”

Training is emphasized for both new recruits and the company’s most seasoned hands. “We’ve been ranked in the top one hundred training companies globally by Training Magazine eighteen years in a row,” Blue says. “So, we take it pretty seriously.” In addition to focusing on mechanics, electronics, and software, customer service interaction skills are a focal point of the company’s top-ranked training program. “We continuously train on how to provide the highest quality customer service and communication, because the one thing that we always find brings maximum value is not just our technical skill, but our ability to communicate and generate a trusting long-term relationship with our customers,” Feely says.

“We start every single class we have—every type of class no matter what it is—with one-hour customer interaction skills training,” Feely says. “We never want to lose focus on what matters most, and that is taking care of the customer.”

At the onset of the pandemic, Bell and Howell rapidly ramped up its remote learning capabilities, successfully migrating 95 percent of its in-person training to instructor-led virtual learning. “Utilizing this training methodology, we can train our technicians on new original equipment manufactured (OEM) products faster and more efficiently.” Bell and Howell is also experimenting with augmented and virtual reality training programs.

Bell and Howell is at the forefront of automated grocery locker technology. “Our solutions provide better access and an improved customer experience in getting groceries to consumers,” Blue says. This technology is particularly beneficial to food banks. “A lot of food banks are staffed by volunteers, so they may only be there two hours or four hours a week, and that’s your window to go pick up.”

Such restrictive hours can be a barrier for food bank clientele. But with Bell and Howell’s solution, food banks can load up a locker once a week and give clients quick and easy, round-the-clock access to fit their schedule.

“The added advantage is you don’t have the stigma of waiting in line at a food bank,” Blue says. The company’s commitment to fighting food insecurity extends beyond technology; the team also donates to local food banks. “We think this is a very important social issue for the country and for companies to address,” he adds.

The company’s automated grocery locker technology is also advantageous for the farm-to-table market. “For those farm-to-table companies who are trying to look at ways to get their goods to the end consumer without going through middlemen, this offers a direct-to-consumer way to provide those goods in both a convenient as well as high-quality way,” Blue says.

The next-generation service and technology that Bell and Howell provides are critical and increasingly in demand, particularly due to the global pandemic. “COVID had a big impact on that, accelerating the number of people who shop online and then go pick up in-store,” Blue says. “We’re going to see an expanded presence in automated pickup as consumers really demand that level of convenience from the stores they shop at.”

The number of consumers who shop for groceries online rose from less than five percent to around twenty percent during the pandemic. “That’s still only one in five consumers who are shopping online for groceries, so there is significant opportunity for added convenience and added sales around online grocery purchase and pickup,” Blue says.

The opportunity extends to pharmacies as well. “Prescription pickup itself is a relatively new market, but the data indicates there’s a lot of pent-up demand for after-hours and extended-hours pickup,” Blue says.

The team is eager to be at the forefront of these industry advancements and emerging opportunities. “Having a geographically distributed, highly-skilled mechatronics technical team that can get there in hours and keep that equipment running is the real advantage that we have,” Blue says. “And we think that that advantage is going to continue to drive our growth as more and more market segments automate.”

The post A Next-Generation Service Organization<p class="company">Bell and Howell</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

With any project, the company employs a method of quality assurance it identifies by the acronym ‘R.I.S.K.’, in which it rapidly identifies both risks and opportunities within an assignment, implements processes to ensure compliance within the necessary safety and regulatory guidelines, satisfies its customer’s expectations, and reinforces knowledge of its quality procedures throughout the company to ensure product and service uniformity.

Elcon has managed to grow substantially within the past year, and growth is forecast to accelerate with the recent refresh of its branding and website. As part of the refresh, the company surveyed its employees, customers and prospective customers to help more clearly define its values.

“We have invested in new technologies that allow for greater design freedom and faster production,” company Marketing Analyst Nikki Do explains. “We are not stagnant; we grow both internally and externally to provide customers with what they need.”

Elcon continues to increase the amount of research and development on the materials it uses through partnerships with local universities. This move also falls in line with the direction of the brand in that it is looking to develop better processes and a greater understanding of materials. Do mentions one such partnership with the Material Science Department at UC Davis that has led to new understandings of the dynamic properties of refractory materials. Elcon anticipates that this will lead to new customers, especially within the aerospace industry, as refractory metals are very resistant to heat and wear and can survive in the extreme environments of outer space. As the new branding increases awareness of Elcon’s capabilities, opportunities for growth increase in scope and importance.

Do and the Elcon team are excited about opportunities for partnership with non-profit organizations like India-based ‘Explore The Space’, an agreement that gives the team international exposure to space exploration. This past June Elcon’s president hosted a webinar targeted at university STEM students on the future of materials in space technology – what materials will be needed to not only explore space but to sustainably live there as well. In September of this year, they will host another webinar focused on the manned Artemis mission to the moon planned for 2024. The webinar will discuss and explore topics such as what systems are a part of the Artemis program, what challenges are posed in this mission, and what breakthrough technologies are needed to set up human colonies in space.

During its rebranding process, Elcon, like all other businesses and manufacturers, found itself amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It was certainly not unaffected by this but, because its products and services are important to the medical and national defense sectors, it continued operating at full capacity with virtually no slowdowns. The company recognized the importance of an engaging online presence, especially due to the lack of opportunities for employees to interact in person with customers during this time. The team developed a new website while conducting further research on customer markets to gain a greater understanding of the company’s value to prospective customers and the overall market. “We revamped how we communicate our value and our mission in order to give our customers a better experience,” Do explains.

Elcon honors the client-business relationship in as many ways as possible. The company values long-term partnerships in which it can be completely transparent with its client from the start of a project to production, with the goal of being the vendor of choice on new projects. It values client participation throughout its processes to ensure successful products, especially in high stakes industries like aerospace and medical devices.

Do cites the company’s work on projects like NASA’s recent DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission, creating key components for the NEXT-C solar electric ion thruster, and manufacturing parts that play important roles in satellite communication. Do lists refractory metal components, photo-chemically etched hemispherical grids and vacuum relay switches for radar systems as examples of how aerospace clients have sought the expertise of the company.

Do feels that the company’s Silicon Valley location is important to both its identity and success. Since its founding over 50 years ago in San Jose, Elcon has been surrounded by an innovative and problem-solving work culture which in turn permeates the company.

Silicon Valley is also a magnet for employees with diverse backgrounds and expertise, which helps the company attract independent thinkers who are unafraid to dive into new and complex applications. Do adds that Elcon is formed by a team of material scientists and fabrication experts who offer knowledge in specific materials that positively affects the success of the customer’s end applications, and this is something that Do feels a lot of companies today overlook.

Although Elcon is a key player in its industry, company officials are noticing a lot of recent consolidation among competitors. Do clarifies that current customers continue to grow organically and with new products but the pipeline of new customers is also growing in new technology areas like mobile energy storage, production space centers, automation and renewable energy. The challenge remains in figuring out what developing markets need or will need in the future.

Elcon is focused on moving several development projects into production before the end of 2021 and on investing in new production equipment and technologies. To achieve this, the company is hiring experienced engineers and technicians with experience in multiple industries.

“We didn’t lose much time in 2020 so we expect our projects in aerospace and medical to be particularly strong through 2022… a lot of our current projects are headed toward that direction,” says Nikki Do of the positivity felt within the company about its prospects. As momentum continues, Elcon Precision is breaking manufacturing boundaries by not only expanding its online presence, but also its technology, capabilities, and international market reach.

The post Exploring Opportunities<p class="company">Elcon Precision</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Globe Food Equipment is headquartered in Dayton and has a warehouse in Canada to stock material for Canadian dealers. Globe’s main product categories are slicers, mixers, scales, cooking gear, and other food preparation items, all sold through a dealer network rather than directly to customers.

Foodservice businesses like restaurants and delicatessens and food retail establishments like grocery stores are the two biggest markets for Globe’s wares. The company’s market reach within these sectors has greatly expanded since we last spoke in 2018.

“Now that we’re part of Middleby, it opens up some international opportunities because Middleby is an international company. We were a little limited on what we were doing internationally prior to Middleby. Middleby operates companies pretty much around the world, which will open up some new opportunities,” says Todd Clem, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Globe Food Equipment.

Globe already has an established presence in domestic markets. “We’re pretty well represented [in the U.S.] except for food retail right now,” he continues. The company recently hired a food retail business development manager to help expand this segment for the company.

“We build very good products. We’re not the cheapest, but we’re not the most expensive either. The value for what you get is unsurpassed,” says Clem. “We told people: ‘Do you really want to buy the cheapest thing you can get and then be replacing it in eight months, or do you want to spend a little bit more money and have something that’s going to last you fifteen to twenty years?’”

On top of this, the company offers comprehensive customer support. It has a team of authorized service providers who handle repairs, maintenance tasks, and installation as well as a huge spare parts catalogue that can be accessed through its website.

The attention to quality and customer support is a natural outcome of the company culture. The firm prefers to hire new team members who fit these values and adhere to its mission, vision, and core beliefs.

“We promote teamwork a lot. We have open communication within the company. We operate openly so people know what’s going on within the company. We promote activities that strengthen teamwork—outreach activities that involve the entire company. We hire from within whenever possible. One of the things we’re looking for is people that are looking to grow within our company,” Clem explains.

Globe has introduced several new products since 2018, including immersion blenders which have proven to be top sellers. “We have also added a tabletop power drive unit and replaced a thirty-pound scale with a newer version and [reduced the price]. We also added a new slicer,” he says.

The company also recently launched vacuum packaging chambers, designed to remove air from a package before applying a seal. Adding vacuum packaging chambers further solidifies Globe as one of Middleby’s leading food prep equipment providers.

Having Middleby for a parent company was beneficial when the COVID pandemic hit hard in March of last year. Clem credits Middleby with providing direction to the companies it owns to ensure that everyone stayed healthy.

“We sent a lot of people home to work from there. Those necessary functions that had to be performed in the building were spatially separated. We had very strong protocols in place. Every time you walked into the building, there were certain things you needed to do, such as get your temperature taken, wash your hands. There were requirements to sanitize your personal work area every day. Masks were required. Visitors were not allowed into the buildings. Slowly, we brought people back from working at home. We also made sure there was cleaning that went on by an outside cleaning company on a weekly basis, and travel was limited,” he says.

The company has recovered its footing, however, and is now flourishing. Revenue for 2021 is so far exceeding revenue from the same period in pre-pandemic 2019, according to Clem. With COVID hopefully receding and overall economic conditions improving, Globe is looking to grow the team and anticipates having “maybe fifty-five workers by the end of Q3,” he adds.

He attributes the company’s ability to survive and thrive during the pandemic to a variety of factors, such as pent-up demand from reopening businesses like restaurants, which were temporarily closed when the virus was rampant, as well as its extensive inventory and the quality of its products. While COVID disrupted supply chains around the world, “we had inventory and could get inventory faster than most,” he notes.

That is not to say Globe has overcome every logistical hurdle thrown up by the pandemic. Moving products “is the biggest challenge we have; it’s not being able to build the product,” he continues. “The hardest part is just getting it from point A to point B. Some of our manufacturing partners are overseas, and trying to find space on a container ship right now is a challenge.”

Product design is done in-house, while manufacturing is split between Dayton and partner firms in other countries, and this leads to another reason why business at Globe did not collapse in the face of COVID.

COVID also had a major effect on sales and marketing. Most trade shows and industry events were cancelled, and many clients did not want to meet in person. As a result, sales representatives began communicating with clients virtually or over the phone, and the company enhanced its internet presence. Globe has a blog, website, and social media accounts and hosts online training sessions, some of which are based around activity in a test kitchen. The aim is to create lively, engaging online content.

“We’ve developed a pretty strong virtual presence. We’ve done a lot of virtual training,” says Clem. The company tries to establish “some back and forth interaction between people. Generally, that has worked very, very well, instead of someone standing in front of a camera and narrating for thirty to forty minutes… We have found a lot of value [in online promotion]. I think some of that has helped our sales escalate.”

Amid the pandemic and all the accompanying challenges, Globe became involved with Varimixer through the Middleby Corporation, a foodservice equipment giant headquartered in Elgin, Illinois which serves as the parent company to both firms. Middleby acquired Varimixer in June 2017 then purchased Globe later that same year. It was decided that Globe would take over North American distribution, marketing, and sales of Varimixer products starting January 1, 2021. The partnership has been a big success, says Clem.

As its name implies, Varimixer is completely focused on mixers. “Varimixer designs products that take hygiene and ergonomics to another level—above anybody else in our industry right now. They build machines that are ergonomically [designed] to be simpler for the customer to use. The machines are built in such a way that there is little to no external hardware to clean around,” he says.

“With Globe, you have a stronger sales network. We have closer ties to the rep groups. We have a much stronger marketing group. There were a lot of advantages in Globe taking on Varimixer in North America in terms of marketing and selling,” he states.

Globe has no intention of resting on its laurels and is determined to innovate and introduce new products. “There are four products that we’re working on right now.”

As for the future, Clem says, “I see Globe becoming a leading food prep company for Middleby. That’ll be our focus—strengthening our food prep equipment. I see Globe expanding our international presence and expanding our food retail presence.”

The post Moving Forward<p class="company">Globe Food Equipment</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

One of the most obvious consequences of the pandemic has been the dramatic shift away from brick-and-mortar shopping. E-commerce was already gaining substantial ground before the shutdown, but the pandemic drove more consumers online, leading to an additional $105 billion in U.S. online revenue in 2020. Online sales reached a total of $791.70 billion that same year, up 32.4 percent from $598.02 billion the previous year, Digital Commerce 360 reports.

It is worth noting that the trend has continued into 2021, and some of the figures certainly reflect the spike in COVID-19 cases in January of 2021, suggesting that consumers may continue to take advantage of the convenience online shopping provides.

Online sales increased 39 percent year over year in the first quarter of 2021, almost three times the 14 percent increase in the first quarter of 2020, and faster than the third and fourth quarters of 2020, according to Digital Commerce 360.

As of March 2021, consumers made 43 percent of their monthly retail purchases online, according to Square Inc. In response, retailers have continued to bolster their e-commerce options, with 88 percent now selling online. This shift has become imperative in today’s retail landscape; among retailers that sell online, 58 percent of their revenue is made up of online sales, Square Inc. reports.

There is increasing pressure for retailers to adopt new technologies and methods to woo consumers who have abandoned traditional in-person shopping or who want an in-person shopping experience with less contact and more convenience.

Virtual shopping is one innovation that gained a strong foothold during the pandemic and will likely remain popular. Last year, many quarantined shoppers, particularly those in Asia, got their shopping fix from live stream technology when deprived of traditional in-person shopping sprees, Brandwatch reports. These shoppers enjoyed interacting via a blend of platforms including live chatting on social media, live streaming, and DTC live selling. Hosted by popular influencers and celebrities, these interactive shows featured everything from makeup and skincare to fitness and healthy eating—any topic with a related product to sell. More than one in three retailers will invest in live stream shopping this year, Square Inc. reports.

Consumers are not ready to give up in-store shopping entirely, however. More than nine in ten consumers “still crave the thrill of shopping inside a physical store,” Square Inc. reports. Of these consumers, almost 50 percent say they miss browsing and “getting out of the house.” Two in five miss getting a purchase instantly, rather than having to wait for shipping.

But, today’s consumers expect a next-generation in-person experience, rather than traditional brick-and-mortar shopping. In short, they want the best of both worlds. Shoppers want to browse aisles, enjoy unexpected finds, and choose their own products—but they also want to keep many of the new conveniences that retailers have had to adopt since the onset of the pandemic. The result will likely be a symbiotic relationship between e-commerce and in-person shopping, where one complements the other, Square Inc. points out.

At the onset of the pandemic, retailers began offering consumers the option to try on makeup and apparel virtually. ‘Virtual try on’ is one area of technology that continues to show promise, even as social distancing restrictions ease. Forward-thinking clothiers are rolling out digital fitting rooms that utilize virtual technology to enhance and simplify the traditional fitting room experience.

Mango is one of the latest fashion retailers to offer an ‘Internet of things mirror’, Current Daily reports. Shoppers simply scan clothing tags to request different sizes and colors or to view suggestions of pieces that would complete the look they hope to create; sales associates receive an alert via a digital watch.

Mango is currently testing the technology with the hope of implementing it in the brand’s top stores around the world. The Spanish clothier is just the latest retailer to demonstrate an interest; Rebecca Minkoff, Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger have also been experimenting with the new technology, Current Daily reports.

Touch-free checkout is a technology that today’s consumers have come to expect as they return to in-store shopping. Amazon became a trailblazer in this area with the implementation of its Just Walk Out technology, which lets shoppers grab the products they want and then, as the name implies, just walk right out of the store. The process is remarkably simple for on-the-go consumers. They enter the store using a credit card, the technology detects what items the shopper takes from—or returns to—a shelf, and then, after the shopper leaves the store, Amazon bills their credit card.

While not as dramatic as Amazon’s Just Walk Out experience, other retailers continue to expand their contactless and self-checkout options. One of the most popular solutions is mobile cashier or mobile scan, in which shoppers simply scan items with their phones and pay using an app. In addition to upholding public health precautions during the pandemic, the technology saves shoppers time since they skip checkout lines.

‘Buy online, pick up in-store’ and curbside pickup are also likely to remain popular post-pandemic. These options were available before COVID-19 hit, but the introduction of social distancing really made these shopping experiences take off. More than half of consumers in the United States who bought online and picked up in-store in 2020 reported that they expect to keep using the service in the future, according to a McKinsey & Co. survey.

Shoppers flocked to big box stores during the pandemic. These retail giants had money to invest to improve the shopping experience, and they offered a variety of options consumers needed during the shutdown, including online shopping, contactless checkout, delivery, and ‘buy online, pick up in-store.’ For shoppers who had to venture into a brick-and-mortar store, the broad range of wares in big box stores allowed them to limit trips out, reducing potential exposure to COVID-19.

Last year, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, and Costco all enjoyed growth ranging from “very solid to explosive,” Retail Dive reports, explaining that the pandemic “had the effect of accelerating a longstanding trend of consumers ditching specialists for generalists as a matter of convenience and price.”

On the flip side, the pandemic also created some advantages for local retailers that may come into play in the future. Almost three out of four consumers prefer delivery over pickup when they are online shopping, Square Inc. reports. But, only 37 percent of retailers provide same-day delivery. Local retailers have an edge in this area because their proximity to the consumer allows faster delivery, and their smaller size may allow for a more efficient turnaround. We have yet to see if local retailers will manage to take full advantage of this opportunity and woo shoppers back or if consumers will continue to choose the big retail generalists in ever-increasing numbers.

While the race between local retailers and the retail giants is still on, one factor is clear. The retail landscape has been reimagined during the pandemic and retailers of all shapes and sizes will have to evolve to keep up. From virtual reality to Just Walk Out technology, the store of the future is here today, and as modern demands continue to drive the industry forward, this is only the beginning.

The post Next-Generation Shopping<p class="company">The Evolution of Retail Under Pressure</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

While essential workers were risking their lives, there were those deemed non-essential. These were forced to stay home, their businesses shuttered, and their livelihoods put on hold, while the government attempted to navigate the pandemic.

What makes a worker essential?

Considered critical
Basically, essential workers represent many sectors and include those who perform services and manage infrastructure considered critical to the maintenance and preservation of public health, safety, security, and economic wellbeing.

Among those who were deemed essential were health care workers and first responders, energy and utility workers, critical goods providers such as pharmacies and grocery stores, IT and communications tech support, manufacturing, government, transportation, financial services, restaurant workers, and hospitality staff.

To be on the front lines meant vastly different things to workers in different professions. Healthcare workers were tasked with cruel demands on their lives and faced with the stark realities of the loss of life, and in many cases, a working experience of sacrifice and sheer hardship. Reality became something circumscribed by long hours and unrelieved by any idea of when reprieve would be granted.

But something of the same stress was experienced by the grocery store employee who was managing panic buying and supply issues, as well as a fearful and emotional consumer base. Just like healthcare workers, they approached each day with a fear of contracting the virus or bringing it home to vulnerable loved ones.

Although masking and social distancing mandates are in place, enforcement of the rules is patchy, as many have discovered firsthand. When grocery store employees have asked customers to follow masking guidelines they have frequently been met with anger and confrontation. This attitude ultimately puts employees at greater risk of transmission from infected individuals who choose not to comply, and exposes them to hazards not commensurate with their rate of pay.

What is “Essential” worth?
For a period, essential workers were true heroes. While the general public shared their appreciation through public displays of synchronized clapping and flickering lights, the government and employers showed their support in different ways including wage increases, bonuses, priority access to vaccinations and even the implementation of childcare programs.

How do you put a dollar figure on a person’s health, safety, and wellbeing? In some cases, it was a $2 hourly increase, for others it was $4. Whether they were funded by government subsidies or voluntarily by employers, many of these wage increases were temporary and ended before the pandemic did.

Federal funds were leveraged at provincial level in Canada and at state level in the U.S. to support essential workers, and healthcare workers were some of the first to receive wage incentives or bonuses. Funding mechanisms like the Heroes Fund or the American Rescue Plan were instituted, but did little to help the most vulnerable, including part-time minimum wage earners.

In the retail sector, Walmart offered cash bonuses, a temporary pay increase of $2 per hour and an additional bonus as the pandemic persisted. The size of bonuses varied depending on whether or not employees were full- or part-time.

Grocery stores in Canada also instituted a pay raise for employees commensurate with time worked. Empire Foods, responsible for brands like Sobeys, Safeway, and Fresh Co., paid its employees bonuses of $10 to $100 per week depending on the hours they logged.

Longo’s offered its employees a $2-per-hour premium that was instituted during three distinct periods over sixteen months. Loblaw offer a one-time appreciation bonus, a discount program for employees and paid time-off to get the vaccination. Kroger in the United States temporarily raised wages as well.

While some essential workers have received and benefited from wage increases and bonus programs, others are still waiting for their wage increases to be paid retroactively. Some have been overlooked completely, no pay increase promised or delivered, and little to no recognition given for risking their lives to keep the economy functioning.

The essential inequality
During the pandemic, some essential workers undertook the role from a sense of duty. Many others did it more out of the necessity of survival, in particular those in the lower income brackets. And of those, especially, women and people of colour.

It was ironic that, for decades, many of the people who were now considered essential had been all but invisible.

What the pandemic did was further highlight systemic inequalities and inefficiencies in the economy. Blue-collar and white-collar workers faced quite different realities during the pandemic. White-collar workers could more easily transition to work-from-home scenarios, whereas blue-collar workers didn’t have that privilege – the privilege that could help screen them from the worst of the pandemic’s impacts.

The same can be said for union versus non-union employment. Pressing for decent treatment of workers during the pandemic was nothing new for the unions, as these entities have long fought for workers’ rights and improved working conditions. The pandemic further strengthened union efforts to ensure workers have access to safe workplaces and things like personal protective equipment (PPE) and hazard pay.

It is clear that unionized workers have enjoyed the most protections and the greatest job security during the pandemic, especially as we know that some government bodies and employers have used the pandemic as an excuse to suspend or temporarily alter labour laws.

The pandemic gave unions an opportunity to represent their members, but many workers still have to do without the effective support and strategy that experienced unions can provide. Women and people of colour were the likeliest to join unions, but they were also at risk of the greatest job losses during the pandemic, thus necessitating the push to unionize. Proof of the pudding is that nearly half of non-union workers would join a union if they could.

Labour re-evaluated
With the new division of labour between essential and non-essential workers, society underwent a reevaluation, reprioritizing which industries and professions were essential and the value of these positions from an individual and collective standpoint.

Some places, like Ontario, have yet to fully reopen their economies; however, some of the bonus schemes linked to the “essential” category that were officially instituted have already come to an end. How is it that while the threat of COVID-19 is still real, and certain employees are still deemed essential, they are no longer compensated as such?

Despite the increase in wages and bonus programs, grocery stores posted record profits, meaning the increase in wages was, in fact, sustainable. But although businesses that were deemed essential are experiencing their highest-ever profits, they are also experiencing challenges.

Certainly, there are risks associated with outbreaks and sick days, but one of the major challenges being faced by employers is a shortage of workers. Restaurants and retail operations, specifically, are having a difficult time finding employees.

Partially due to fear and stress, many employees have decided that their health and financial wellbeing are not worth the risk of contracting an illness. Others have utilized the government assistance programs available to those whose income has been impacted by the pandemic.

This has become a very divisive topic, as there are some who blame the government stimulus as the reason for workers choosing not to return to their jobs. However, given the free market principles upon which the economy operates, is it not up to employers to increase wages to make employment more attractive, thus attracting supply during a time of scarcity and great demand?

As Jim Stanford noted in the Toronto Star in his article Restaurants and stores say government aid is to blame for a labour shortage — but the hard data tells a different story, “Wages in stores and restaurants remain very low, and are not rising, which should happen if labour was genuinely scarce.”

There is a clear need to re-evaluate, or revaluate, what it means to be essential – to ponder again what that is worth.

If government stimulus is equal to, or relative to, a low-wage earner’s income, perhaps it is time to reconsider minimum wage in favour of a living wage or universal basic income programs, especially if the workers in question are, or have been, considered essential.

The post Temporarily Essential<p class="company">The Plight of Essential Workers in the Time of COVID</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.