When Andrew Greenlee joined US
Farathane Corp. as director of sales more
than 11 years ago, the company was in
disarray.
It had no strategic focus, and there was no
accountability at any level. Turnover was high,
mismanagement had fractured the corporate
culture and employees didn’t believe in the
company, in management or in the ownership.
Greenlee began to address these problems by
learning the business, working on the manufacturing floor to determine what changes
needed to be made to turn the company
around. He suggested to the owner changes
such as more collaboration among sales, marketing,engineeringandmanufacturing,andthe
needtoacquiretalented,motivatedemployees.
He also focused on developing relations with
vendors and suppliers to increase efficiency in
the manufacturing process and to bring in
more work.
And he convinced the reluctant owner to
divest the company of its negative margin
urethane business before moving on to suggesting acquisitions that would add value to
the company.
Today, US Farathane leads the automotive
market in the development and manufacture
of highly engineered plastic parts and materials, and the company is thriving with
Greenlee as its president and CEO. Sales are
steadily increasing, and the company’s more
than 900 employees work out of eight locations. Greenlee has reduced US Farathane’s
debt, eliminated unprofitable product lines
and lowered employee turnover.
As a result, the company is now an industry
leader and has regained its credibility in the
industry and with its employees, its bank and
its board of directors.
HOW TO REACH: US Farathane Corp., www.usfarathane.com or
(586) 978-2800