No doubt, it sounds pretty impressive that high-profile manufacturers in the rubber, plastics and polymer industries rely on an independent Akron sales and marketing organization to market and distribute their products.
The question is, why?
That’s simple, says Jeffrey Buda, president and CEO of Harwick Standard Distribution Corp. By focusing on a formula for excellence, Harwick Standard has become known nationwide as the premier provider to its industry. And superior manufacturers want to partner with exceptional distributors, he says.
DuPont Dow Elastomers, Union Carbide, General Electric Silicones, U.S. Borax, Akzo Nobel, PPG Industries and Ferro Corp. — these are just a few of the big name principals that Harwick Standard represents. The product portfolio includes high-quality chemical additives that resin manufacturers, custom mixers and fabricators use to produce a final product.
And it’s a strategic four-part formula, says Buda, that enables Harwick Standard to set the standard of excellence for its industry.
The principles of chemistry
Over the course of seven decades, this Akron-headquartered organization has built a national network of sales offices and warehouses and has become the nation’s No. 1 distributor of additives to the rubber and thermoplastics industry.
Originally established as Standard Chemical by Curtis Harwick in 1932, the business was incorporated as Harwick Standard Chemical Co. in 1946. (See sidebar.) In a 1997 reorganization, the manufacturing side of the business was sold, the name was changed to Harwick Standard Distribution Corp., and the company refocused its mission:
We, the employees of Harwick Standard, are committed to helping you, our valued customer, be successful by providing quality products, superior service and excellent technical assistance.
Today, Harwick Standard is a privately held sales and marketing organization that’s owned and operated by select shareholder employees. What’s notable is that, bolstered by its foundation of chemical expertise, Harwick applies the principles of chemistry to build relationships with principal suppliers and customers, and maintains full-service capabilities to support a complete line of quality products.
Harwick’s company brochure assures, “Satisfaction is the most important product we offer.” Buda says that satisfaction results from a focus on exemplary sales and marketing strengths, and superior customer service buttressed by technology and regulatory expertise.
The logistics of sales
Typically, sales agents or distributors will represent a specific manufacturer’s products by calling on a particular industry, in a limited region. Logistically, Harwick represents a supplier’s products throughout the entire United States, and in parts of Canada and Mexico.
More significant, says Buda, “There isn’t a rubber company in the nation that is compounding rubber that Harwick Standard doesn’t call on, so our salespeople have full industry coverage.”
To offer first-choice additives for polymer compounding, Harwick has aligned itself with the most recognized names in the supply-chain industry, choosing to represent only the most reputable manufacturers.
That choice is mutual, says Ken Daye, industrial segment marketing manager for PPG Industries Inc.’s Silica Products business unit.
Daye says that, as PPG’s exclusive distributor into the U.S. mechanical rubber goods market, Harwick is an integral part of PPG’s overall sales and marketing effort.
“Harwick has a very strong management, marketing, sales and customer service team that has developed solid relationships in the industry through their customer focused selling approach, and we are very pleased to be associated with their organization,” he says. “They make every effort to understand our mutual customers’ needs and then promote the product and service offering that will meet the needs of that specific customer.”
Harwick is also the “one-stop-shopping supermarket for the rubber industry,” Buda says.
“Our salespeople are excited and motivated because they can offer the most comprehensive line of additives to the industry — everything from the rubber itself to the plasticizers, accelerators, antioxidants, fillers, flame retardants, polymer modifiers and lubricants,” he says.
The value to the rubber compounder is that, rather than ordering 15 materials from 15 companies, Harwick has it all.
The company has also built a national arsenal of sales and distribution facilities to ensure ongoing product availability and timely, cost-effective delivery. This saves the customer time and money, because a purchasing agent can order 15 materials and arrange for one freight carrier to pick up the entire order from one location.
“It’s like going to Giant Eagle vs. going to several specialty stores,” says Buda.
“And if, for some reason, we don’t have the product a customer needs, we will recommend where the product can be acquired, even if it’s a competitor’s material,” he says. “That’s because it’s the right thing to do, and it’s part of our emphasis on integrity and relationship building.”
Proactive vs. responsive marketing
Plain and simple, says Buda, the crucial elements of successful marketing include defining and understanding your market, and addressing customer needs and desires.
With that in mind, Harwick hires only the best sales and technical representatives, professionals who have keen insight into industry trends and customer needs. In communicating with their customers, these representatives funnel the knowledge they glean from customers back to Harwick product managers, who serve as sole liaisons between Harwick’s sales representatives and the manufacturers.
“Since our product managers work one-on-one with the salespeople and the suppliers, they have access to all the documented information and can provide a quick, accurate response so nothing is lost in translation,” Buda says. “That’s much more effective for the customer, the principal and the salesperson.”
Harwick also maintains customer profiles that include the customer’s key people, the types and volume of additives being used, the equipment used to compound the end product — even the customer’s markets and end-users. These detailed profiles are valuable to Harwick’s salespeople, suppliers and customers because the data pinpoints customer need.
“We might see that if a customer is using 10 million pounds of a type of rubber, he should also be using a million pounds of a particular type of process oil, and we can provide that to him. We may even be able to come up with something more technically and economically attractive for the customer,” Buda explains.
The profiles also help Harwick publicize advancements in technology.
“We know our customers in depth, so if there’s a new technology or additive being offered by one of our principals, we can direct market to the customers we know can use those new products,” says Buda.
Harwick also works with advertising agencies to create product campaigns and promotional materials for its suppliers. In many cases, it is the sole marketing agent for those products.
“We may represent a key principal who is expert in paint and coatings but doesn’t have a clue as to who their customers are and how their products are being used in the rubber industry,” says Buda. “They depend solely on Harwick to bring their product into the industry and to advertise and market it as well.”
Adrion Studer, lubricants market manager for the polymer additives division of Ferro Corp. in Walton Hills, says Ferro banks on Harwick’s expertise.
“We don’t really have knowledge of a certain market, and Harwick does, so they’re basically our experts in the elastomer market,” he says. “We rely on them to market our products in the markets they go to, and it’s their very strong business ethic that’s allowed us to trust them.”
Technical in totality
When suppliers hire Harwick to represent their products, they’re not just hiring a distributing, sales and marketing arm; they’re securing a full-value resource that supports their products.
Buda notes that most distributors merely resell a product or ship it direct from the manufacturer. While Harwick is a sales and marketing organization, its infrastructure is equivalent to that of a manufacturer.
“We have a technical department, a regulatory department, a health, safety and environmental department, and an information technologies department. So, when a customer purchases a principal’s product from us and needs assistance, instead of calling the manufacturer, the customer calls Harwick for our expertise,” he says.
Since many of the company’s polymer chemists and technical salespeople have backgrounds in the rubber industry, they have extensive hands-on compounding, specification and raw material offset experience. This enables them to assist customers with data and product solutions — everything from raw material selection (including laboratory studies, formulations, usage levels and compatibility issues) to application offsets, process suggestions and troubleshooting.
Considering that Harwick averages about 60 technical assistance calls daily, manufacturers benefit because Harwick saves their time and resources.
Without them, we’re nothing
Expounding on Harwick’s resources, Buda emphasizes the value of the company’s employees.
“Certainly, our most important resource is our people. We look for the very best, we hire the very best and that’s what makes us successful … because 95 percent of your success in life is how you deal with people,” he says.
Buda refers to qualities of Harwick’s “ambassadors” who reinforce the organization’s integrity.
“The people that are in front of your customers every day must be able to provide a comfort level and a trust that builds relationships,” he says. “And whether they’re technical or not, they must have excellent listening and communication skills, so they can get the facts and get accurate answers back to the customer. That’s the type of people we have.”
When principals look at Harwick, says Buda, it’s the people they see in the big picture.
“Sales, marketing, technical expertise — all those things have allowed us to grow our business. But without good people, you’re not going to sell your products,” Buda says.
“It’s because of our people that we’ve been able to maintain the reputation of the highest integrity and credibility. And I know of very few distributors that bring that type of value.” How to reach: Harwick Standard Distribution Corp., (330) 798-9300; www.HarwickStandard.com
Selling in depth
“In today’s marketplace, you can’t just call on a purchasing agent or a technical person. You need to sell in depth,” says Jeff Buda, president and CEO of Harwick Standard Distribution Corp.
“That means you need to get to top management people and understand what their business truly is, and what their business pressures and market demands are,” he says. “When you can communicate with your customer and share industry issues and creative ideas, you can develop a relationship and grow your businesses together.”
Judi Rogers, vice president of purchasing for Preferred Rubber Compounding Corp. in Barberton, says Harwick does just that.
“I agree with Jeff in that, to be effective and successful, you need to interface with your customer on various levels so you have a broad overview of customer needs. Harwick helps us grow our business by working very closely with us as a customer,” she says.
Rogers says that since her business is driven by the technical needs of her customers, she appreciates Harwick’s offerings and expertise.
“We buy thousands of raw materials, and they have an extensive product line, but despite that, Harwick’s salespeople are very detail oriented. As vice president of purchasing and one of the managers of this business, that’s very important to me,” she says.
Rogers notes that the combined elements of Harwick’s product quality, pricing, availability, customer service and technical support are rare in the industry.
Buda agrees, referring to what he calls “catalog salesmen.”
“They go in with a catalog and they say, ‘Do you buy this? Or this? How ’bout this?'” he laughs. “We go to a customer and say, ‘Tell us what you’re doing — we want to learn about your products and your markets.'”
If a customer runs into a snag in the design or manufacturing process, Harwick can make explicit process suggestions to help the customer successfully develop the product.
That’s where Harwick’s integrity comes into play, says Rogers.
“In our industry, it’s hard to keep information confidential. When you’re working on something you feel will give you an edge, it’s crucial that they maintain confidentiality,” she says. “I’m confident in Harwick’s ability to do that, because it’s a company of integrity.”
Harwick history in the making
- 1932 — Curtis J. Harwick, a BFGoodrich employee, establishes Standard Chemical in Akron as a reseller of carbon black.
- 1946 — Harwick incorporates his firm as Harwick Standard Chemical Co.
- 1948 — After Harwick’s untimely passing at age 48, his wife runs the family business until the 1960s.
- 1968 — The company is sold to Chemetron Corp. and the name changes to Harwick Inc.
- 1971 — In a leveraged buyout, 15 employee managers purchase the $15 million company and change the name to Harwick Chemical Corp. The manufacturing side of the business — specialty dispersions of additives and color concentrates — grows through technology and acquisition; the distribution business evolves through broadened representation and distribution of new products for the rubber industry.
- 1997 — Approaching the $200 million sales mark, Harwick sells the manufacturing side of the business and reorganizes as Harwick Standard Distribution Corp., an independent sales and marketing organization.
- 1999 — Savvy Technologies LLC is launched to market Harwick’s internally developed software and provide consulting and training services.
- 2000 — Harwick Standard forms Cadreco Inc., a holding company to umbrella Savvy Technologies, and Harwick’s newest technology business, Tritech Laboratories (as well as future businesses, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions). Harwick is headquartered at 60 S. Seiberling St., Akron, and has a national network of five sales offices and 15 warehouses, and employs more than 100 people.
