We have many different processes here, from product intake, to hanging it, to media blast, washing, drying, powder coating, baking, quality assurance process, and packaging. Steelhead has helped us track our profitability, follow things through, and know the efficiency of all employees using it. I'm Scott Francis, editor of Products Finishing magazine, and I'm here with Dana Schnepf. Starting in 1013, Dana worked to build the company from the ground up. Today, the company has 15 employees and offers a variety of Powder coating services.
Can you tell us a little bit about what implementing a software has done for you prior to having Steelhead?
We did have some customers that we were losing money on, which we've had to reposition and change and get out of that. We also have a Target margin and with the Steelhead, we found out that there's a lot more margin out there than what we had anticipated, it's really made our profitability explosive.
So we've talked a little bit about the transformation of the company and how hard you've worked to get it to where it is. Tell me what you're most proud of?
What I am most proud of is my employees. They are family, their teams, and social. Our team here is number one.
Tell me about working with the folks at Steelhead, what that experience was like?
Workers there have felt like they are on our team, like they're one of us. They've helped us grow, and we've helped them grow. It's been a great relationship. When we've had any issues, problems, or changes, they usually work on it overnight, and we have a solution within 24 hours. Great partnership.
So we learned about D&K powder coating. Let's take a look at Steelhead Technologies and learn a little bit more about the software. We're here with Dean Halonen, Dean's head of sales for Steelhead. Dean, tell us a little bit about working with D & K. What were some of the opportunities you saw?
So my colleague Travis and I first came down here last January. One thing we were struck by was that they have a large team here, and there is a level of chaos out there. They were looking to distill that chaos and get the numbers from their business, and figure out what it's going to take to grow. They've grown a lot in the last nine years. Their vision for the future was very strong in the next two to four years.
So, tell me about the initial process of setting this up with a company like D&K. How do you go about familiarizing the employees, getting everyone used to the system with Steelhead?
At Steelhead, we're a software service company, and the service is a huge component of that. So in the early innings, we meet with the key leadership structure of each work center. And what we try to figure out is what they want out of their work center, inside of Steelhead.
So, when we think about trends in all of manufacturing, one of the things that sticks out is labor shortages and a need for skilled employees. Are there some features inside the Steelhead Software that address that?
There are a few things that address the labor shortages. No one has a lot of time, so when it comes to deployments, onboarding, and migrating from their current system to a new system, it has to be done very efficiently and quickly. Otherwise, it's not worth it. Everyone has a pile of work outside, and they're already behind in terms of their daily activities. Whatever we do, it has to be fast.
You can reach out to us at www.gosteelhead.com
We'll set up a demo, we can customize the demo to your needs. As well as, discuss if Steelhead is a good fit for your plants.