2010 – 2011 Q1…Where are we headed?
We’ve wrapped up the first quarter and by all measures it was a dramatic improvement over Q1 2010 with growth ranging from 20-40% in all segments of the business. It’s not just a rebound from a bottoming in 2010. Some segments in 2010 were up 30-50% for the year. What’s driving this growth and can it continue? We’ve done several things at Tiffin to drive growth. New... [Read more of this post]
2010 YTD – Q3 Perspective
It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away. It’s a good time to reflect on the past year and to look ahead to 2011. From our perspective, we certainly have seen some improvement in 2010 over 2009…at least, in total. Forestry is up 50%. In fact, it’s the best year we have seen in this segment of the market since 2004! Other markets we serve are up over 30%... [Read more of this post]
Out in the field…June 2010
I was at an all day training session for a new Barko dealer. Barko, our sister company, makes what many consider to be the finest loaders in the industry. Two of Barko’s application engineers conducted the training for the dealer’s technicians and sales people. It was great to see the knowledge being exchanged in the room and the hands on time with the equipment that this level of... [Read more of this post]
Complexity versus Simplicity…
Technology is complex, but yet it can be so simple. Tiffin has a new phone system. It offers us tremendous capability, yet we can choose not to use it. Listening to customers, no pun intended, provided us with the answers we needed. We have the ability for an automated attendant to direct calls where they need to go, but we heard from our customers that they didn’t want to have to go through... [Read more of this post]
We measure what we do…do you?
One extremely bright individual that I had the opportunity to work for had a saying that hit home: “There should be no metric without an objective and no objective without a metric.” She made a good point and it has stuck with me over the years. If you have an objective, how do you know you are meeting it consistently or making progress toward the goal unless you measure how you are doing... [Read more of this post]
Out in the field…April 2010
This week I’ve been in the great state of Texas. I drove from Dallas to Houston and back. I was told that Spring blooms from Houston to Dallas at a rate of 20 miles a day…the blue bonnets, yellow wildflowers and red clover were spectacular. There is also a feeling that typically Texas goes into a recession last and comes out last. The oilfield industry is picking up. The optimism is unlike... [Read more of this post]
Change is a must…to stay healthy!
I had the opportunity to work for a brilliant individual for a number of years. It seemed as if from the moment I met him, the organization was constantly undergoing change. Sometimes it was radical and at other times hardly noticeable, but there was always an underlying current. He had a saying that has stuck with me over the years: “If you do what you always did, you’ll get what you always... [Read more of this post]
Tiffin Polls – What our customers are telling us…
If you haven’t noticed, since launching our new web site in June of last year, we have been running Polls on topics that we thought would be of interest and that our customers would want to weigh in on. Some things you have told us are surprising! What is your most important buying criteria? -Availability – 37% -Quality – 30% -Price – 22% What is the telehandler utilization rate in your... [Read more of this post]
Out in the field…March 2010
Last week I was in California and Oregon calling on customers. Most were Rental Equipment Companies and Engine Parts Warehouse Distributors. As I found in Alabama and Georgia in February, at best, cautious optimism rules the day. Most feel we’ve hit bottom, but many have yet to see improvement in the markets they serve. They expressed what we have been hearing for the past year. One manager... [Read more of this post]
Outside one’s comfort zone!
I had a great opportunity back in 2002 to participate in an Outward Bound program on Thompson Island in Boston Harbor. It was in April and the weather was unusually hot…in the 80s. It’s like it was yesterday…in my mind…certainly not weather-wise! My most profound takeaway from the experience was that to truly grow and develop, people have to step outside their comfort zone. In fact,... [Read more of this post]
Foreign Agricultural Service – Forestry
The US Department of Agriculture has a commodity based export office know as the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). The FAS collects export data on Wood Products and other products exported from the US. There are 32 different Forest Products Groups and many more Forest Products Subgroups that the FAS tracks. The subgroups are broken down into all types of hardwood and softwood products, flooring,... [Read more of this post]
Weird, Wacky Weather
Whether the weather has been good or bad depends on your perspective. Most would agree that it’s been a tough first six weeks of the year. I was in Alabama and Georgia last week calling on customers and got out the day before the snow hit! Of course, I came home to colder temperatures and more snow than most can imagine as you can see in the picture. Hawaii was the only one of the 50 states that... [Read more of this post]
Out in the field…February 2010
I’ve spent the past few days calling on customers in Alabama and Georgia. Most were heavy equipment dealers and some were independent repair facilities. At best, cautious optimism rules the day. The general sentiment seems to be that once the weather clears that logging activity will be up in the Spring over last year since the mills are in dire need of wood. Once their needs are met, there... [Read more of this post]
Biomass as a boiler fuel…
The EPA is rewriting the regulations for industrial boiler emissions. Some power plants that want to convert to biomass may delay their conversions until the regulations are clearly understood. Some details should come out in April 2010. (Note: The EPA regulations that are being developed are called Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) rules.) Wood chips are a common fuel for industrial... [Read more of this post]
Direct Marketing is a must!
I use direct marketing to connect with my customers. It helps me to stay in touch when I can’t be there in person, to offer specials and to help keep Tiffin in the front of their mind whenever they need something we offer. I believe that for a small business like an independent repair facility or a dealer to maximize their sales, they need to use direct marketing as a tool to reach out to their... [Read more of this post]
Can being smaller be better?
“There are certainly some businesses and some projects that don’t work unless they’re huge, but in your case, I’m not sure that’s true. Big enough is big enough, biggest isn’t necessary.” This is a quote from a post on Seth Godin’s blog. He’s one of the most prolific and thought provoking business writers today. This thought really hit home. Tiffin Parts... [Read more of this post]
A time to Reflect…and Help!
This past Sunday, I had the opportunity to attend a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration. It was inspirational. Did you know that his birth name was Michael. His father changed both their names after a trip to Germany. The beginning of the New Year is always a good time to reflect and with MLK Day following just a couple of weeks into the year, it offers a chance to help put everything... [Read more of this post]
Who comes first?
Who's on first? Who’s most important when making a decision…your customers, your company, yourself? In business, is making a decision based solely on one’s own self interest ever the right decision? I think not! It’s what allowed the Financial industry to get the world economy in trouble. Incentives that encouraged individuals to make decisions that were high risk for their business, but... [Read more of this post]
Blue Angel Speaker
I had the honor of hearing John Foley, a former Blue Angel pilot, present at our parent company’s annual meeting. He shared the framework that the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angel flight demonstration team uses to achieve such high performance. We’ve all heard about and practiced goal setting, planning and execution strategies (my words, not his), but how many of us have debriefed with our team after... [Read more of this post]
The Market…
What a year we have all gone through in 2009. Most of us follow the “market” or the “economy” and many of us read industry journals…more and more online. Where have we been, what happened and where are we going? We may not have all of these answers for years to come. I think what’s important is that we get a more focused view of the markets we serve. I just read the other day where many... [Read more of this post]
The Latest Tiffin Parts News
