THE "INSIDE" SERIES |
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DAP Shares its Profitability Success
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OnThursday, July 11, 2002 approximately 60 attendees from small and large area firms were invited to DAP’s worldwide headquarters in Canton as part of the Inside Series program, a partnership between Maryland’s Regional Manufacturing Institute (RMI) and the World Trade Center Institute (WTCI). “DAP’s willingness to host this program allows us to share their experience with smaller firms who can benefit from such a mentoring effort,” said Deborah Kielty, President of WTCI.
In a year when many corporations are reporting depressed earnings, DAP Chief Executive Officer John McLaughlin has something to cheer about. “Business is terrific, we just finished the best year in DAP’s 137 year history,” he said. DAP is publicly owned by RPM, Inc. and he notes that DAP’s revenues now range from $250-$300 million.
Attending firms heard from the CEO and other company officials about DAP, primarily known for its caulk, adhesive and sealer products. The firm sells 600 different products and, aside from smaller hardware retail stores, uses major mass retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot and Lowes to reach their customers throughout the U.S.. DAP also distributes its products throughout Canada and exports to 53 overseas markets.
The fact that DAP’s Chief Executive Officer, John McLaughlin, took the time to welcome participants to his Canton facility and then finished by getting the attending firms in the audience to join him in a D-A-P cheer, says a lot about DAP. Four years ago, DAP decided to come to Baltimore from Dayton, Ohio. “As we looked at different locations we actually sought out Baltimore and fell in love with the space at the Can Company location in Canton,” said Mr. McLaughlin.
Long time Baltimorean, Gary Hankin, Industrial Manager with Acme Paper and Supply Company, commented that DAP’s coming to Baltimore was a great boon to Canton’s business district. He notes that DAP renovated the previously dilapidated Can Company building into a beautiful work-space and it’s now obviously an attractive place to work. Since DAP came to Baltimore four years ago, they’ve hired 130 employees at the Canton facility and now staff 325 employees in the state of Maryland. DAP has proudly stated that they have a no lay-off goal and hence, they hire temporary employees to meet their cyclical demands.
“At the DAP headquarters building, the executives sit in the inner office space and provide the exterior window space to the rest of the employees,” he said. “Ninety five percent of other executives do it the other way, but we’re just different.” Business casual is the norm and the DAP’s open ceiling office design is indicative of the open office approach and team concept that is nurtured at DAP. “Our visit to DAP was very educational for me,” said Mr. Hankin. “I now have a better sense of what they do and how they do it, but more importantly I learned that DAP is a progressive and innovative company,” said Mr. Hankin. “No wonder they’ve become so profitable!”
Ken Iwanowski, General Foreman at Bethlehem Steel and RMI Board Member said that the visit to DAP was a “real eye opener.” “I had no idea that DAP’s business was so diverse, it is much more complex than I previously thought. DAP’s diverse product base, global distribution and internal demands are extensive and are ever-present reminders of what it takes to survive in a global economy.
Much of DAP’s success stems from its ability to respond to client demand and ensure their suppliers are in sync with their supply chain management. “We deliver 120 million tubes of caulk a year and are in a constant struggle between a lean manufacturing approach and TPM,” said Mr. McLaughlin. Scott Macdonald, RMI’s Chairman of the Board commented that manufacturers are being forced to shrink their lot size and run them more frequently to meet client demand. In addition, manufacturers must address the fact that lead-time is shrinking. “One of the things that DAP reinforced is that lean manufacturing concepts are here to stay and if you can’t match these requirements you’ll be out of business,” said Mr. Macdonald.
Bill DeLoache, Senior Project Leader from O’Neal, a Towson-based engineering and architecture firm complemented DAP’s effort, “it’s really useful to see a healthy leading edge company growing in Baltimore.” Many attendees felt similarly and that the seminar provided some good insight on the competitiveness of the consumer product industry. “It was really helpful to learn how DAP is dealing with the requirements from the Home Depots and the Wal-Marts (two of their major clients),” said DeLoache.
While many of the attending firms learned from DAP and are taking some tactics and approaches back to their own firms, the networking was equally valuable. Mr. Hankin of Acme Paper and Supply Company made some contacts with DAP that may help them breach some barriers regarding their distribution needs.
The Inside Series allows RMI and WTCI to share corporate success stories from Maryland firms like DAP with their collective membership enabling them to incorporate new ideas and make new connections to help their business. “Our companies want to hear from corporate leaders on how they have adopted the latest thinking on just-in-time management (jit) or total productive manufacturing (tpm) which have increased productivity while positioning them to compete more effectively on a global basis,” said Mike Galiazzo, Executive Director of RMI.
For more information the upcoming Inside Series events at Northrop Grumman on September 12 and Phillips Seafood on November 14 call Matt Huxley at 410-576-0022.
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