Testimonial
End to End Visibility at Powder Coating Technologies
Identity & metadata
Video title
End to End Visibility at Powder Coating Technologies
Customer name
Powder Coating Technologies
Title & company
Chad Fifield, Owner, Powder Coating Technologies
Matt Dady, Production Manager, Powder Coating Technologies
Adam Grossi, Shipping and Outsourcing, Powder Coating Technologies
Matt Dady, Production Manager, Powder Coating Technologies
Adam Grossi, Shipping and Outsourcing, Powder Coating Technologies
Date recorded
2024
Product/feature
Steelhead ERP; end-to-end visibility; job tracking; lead time tracking; customer communication; quoting; inventory visibility
One-sentence summary
Powder Coating Technologies uses Steelhead to gain real-time visibility across the business, shorten lead times, improve customer communication, and save significant time in daily operations.
Problem described
The business lacked clear visibility into parts, shop status, efficiency, and customer communication, relying on manual filing systems that made it nearly impossible to get an accurate picture of operations.
Solution described
Steelhead centralized job tracking, communication, quoting, and inventory visibility, giving the team instant access to the information they need across both the front office and the shop floor.
Quantified outcomes
• 30-plus years of industry experience
• Business purchased 7 months prior
• Adam had been there 5 months
• Learned Steelhead in 5 minutes
• Saved about 25% of the day in some areas
• Other systems took 6 months of training
• Business purchased 7 months prior
• Adam had been there 5 months
• Learned Steelhead in 5 minutes
• Saved about 25% of the day in some areas
• Other systems took 6 months of training
Emotional tone
Confident, practical, impressed, energized
Full transcript
Speaker labels
Every speaker is identified inline with name, role, and company before each segment.
Timestamps
Not included for this transcript.
Key quote callouts
[QUOTE] “It took me about five minutes to learn how to use Steelhead.”
[QUOTE] “Honestly, I’ve saved about 25% of my day.”
[QUOTE] “My favorite part about Steelhead is the end-to-end visibility I have over my business.”
[QUOTE] “I would equate it to going from using a hammer and chisel on a stone tablet to using an iPhone.”
[QUOTE] “Honestly, I’ve saved about 25% of my day.”
[QUOTE] “My favorite part about Steelhead is the end-to-end visibility I have over my business.”
[QUOTE] “I would equate it to going from using a hammer and chisel on a stone tablet to using an iPhone.”
Filler/redaction notes
Transcript reflects edited spoken dialogue with no timestamps added.
Transcript
Chad Fifield, Owner, Powder Coating Technologies
My name is Chad Fifield. I am the owner of Powder Coating Technologies, located in Plymouth, Minnesota. Powder Coating Technologies is an industrial coater with 30-plus years of experience serving the greater metro area of the Twin Cities. We specialize in short production runs of heavy, bulky metals.
In the industrial sector, customers come to Powder Coating Technologies for our reputation in quality that has been earned over a period of 30-plus years. It's a part of our culture, and we insist on high standards here.
The second reason I would highlight is our capabilities. Practically speaking, we have the largest curing oven in the greater Twin Cities metro area. And last but not least, our lead times. Our lead times are short. That is one benefit of utilizing Steelhead. We can measure them now, and no longer is it a hope that we can meet lead times—we know what they are and can plan around them.
Why did I decide to transition to Steelhead? Upon buying the business seven months ago, I came from a background at Amazon where automation, technology, and software were deeply embedded. Coming into this role, there was a clear lack of that. It was very difficult for me to understand what parts I had, where they were, and whether we were winning or losing from an efficiency standpoint—both administratively in the front office and operationally on the shop floor. Having to go from filing cabinet to filing cabinet to put together the picture was essentially impossible.
From a customer experience perspective, this has become non-negotiable. Steelhead has streamlined our ability to communicate accurately and in a timely manner with our customers—and that’s what they expect.
Matt Dady, Production Manager, Powder Coating Technologies
I'm Matt Dady, and I'm the production manager here at Powder Coating Technologies. I would equate it to going from using a hammer and chisel on a stone tablet to using an iPhone. I can just put the information into Steelhead, into the template, and it produces it in such a way that the customer can open it up, look at it five minutes later, and know exactly what's going on. They know whether they want to move forward with us or not.
Adam Grossi, Shipping and Outsourcing, Powder Coating Technologies
Hi, I'm Adam Grossi. I've been here for five months now. I work in the shipping and outsourcing part of the warehouse. It took me about five minutes to learn how to use Steelhead. I simply move parts, rack them, un-rack them, and get them ready for shipping.
We send out emails through Steelhead, contact customers, and handle any other details we need—everything is right here. I learned the system in five minutes and basically became an expert. Other systems I’ve worked with took six months of training just to use, like at Excel Energy, and that was a bit much for me. But this is awesome.
Honestly, I’ve saved about 25% of my day. Everything I need is at my fingertips. Instead of having to physically leave the office to check the status of something or the inventory level of a certain powder, all of that can now be done through Steelhead. It’s all centrally located. Ease of operation is by far my favorite part.
Chad Fifield, Owner, Powder Coating Technologies
My favorite part about Steelhead is the end-to-end visibility I have over my business—both at a high level and with the ability to drill down into the more detailed parts of what's happening on the shop floor day to day.
Matt Dady, Production Manager, Powder Coating Technologies
I'm Matt with Powder Coating Technologies, and our shop runs on Steelhead.
My name is Chad Fifield. I am the owner of Powder Coating Technologies, located in Plymouth, Minnesota. Powder Coating Technologies is an industrial coater with 30-plus years of experience serving the greater metro area of the Twin Cities. We specialize in short production runs of heavy, bulky metals.
In the industrial sector, customers come to Powder Coating Technologies for our reputation in quality that has been earned over a period of 30-plus years. It's a part of our culture, and we insist on high standards here.
The second reason I would highlight is our capabilities. Practically speaking, we have the largest curing oven in the greater Twin Cities metro area. And last but not least, our lead times. Our lead times are short. That is one benefit of utilizing Steelhead. We can measure them now, and no longer is it a hope that we can meet lead times—we know what they are and can plan around them.
Why did I decide to transition to Steelhead? Upon buying the business seven months ago, I came from a background at Amazon where automation, technology, and software were deeply embedded. Coming into this role, there was a clear lack of that. It was very difficult for me to understand what parts I had, where they were, and whether we were winning or losing from an efficiency standpoint—both administratively in the front office and operationally on the shop floor. Having to go from filing cabinet to filing cabinet to put together the picture was essentially impossible.
From a customer experience perspective, this has become non-negotiable. Steelhead has streamlined our ability to communicate accurately and in a timely manner with our customers—and that’s what they expect.
Matt Dady, Production Manager, Powder Coating Technologies
I'm Matt Dady, and I'm the production manager here at Powder Coating Technologies. I would equate it to going from using a hammer and chisel on a stone tablet to using an iPhone. I can just put the information into Steelhead, into the template, and it produces it in such a way that the customer can open it up, look at it five minutes later, and know exactly what's going on. They know whether they want to move forward with us or not.
Adam Grossi, Shipping and Outsourcing, Powder Coating Technologies
Hi, I'm Adam Grossi. I've been here for five months now. I work in the shipping and outsourcing part of the warehouse. It took me about five minutes to learn how to use Steelhead. I simply move parts, rack them, un-rack them, and get them ready for shipping.
We send out emails through Steelhead, contact customers, and handle any other details we need—everything is right here. I learned the system in five minutes and basically became an expert. Other systems I’ve worked with took six months of training just to use, like at Excel Energy, and that was a bit much for me. But this is awesome.
Honestly, I’ve saved about 25% of my day. Everything I need is at my fingertips. Instead of having to physically leave the office to check the status of something or the inventory level of a certain powder, all of that can now be done through Steelhead. It’s all centrally located. Ease of operation is by far my favorite part.
Chad Fifield, Owner, Powder Coating Technologies
My favorite part about Steelhead is the end-to-end visibility I have over my business—both at a high level and with the ability to drill down into the more detailed parts of what's happening on the shop floor day to day.
Matt Dady, Production Manager, Powder Coating Technologies
I'm Matt with Powder Coating Technologies, and our shop runs on Steelhead.
Taxonomy tags
Industry
Powder Coating; Manufacturing; Industrial Coating
Company size
SMB / Mid-market
Use case
End-to-end visibility; job tracking; lead time tracking; customer communication; inventory visibility
Stage of journey
Post-purchase / Advocacy