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Host Sean Frost is joined by experts in the manufacturing industry to discuss bringing big ideas to life. Join us every episode for a deep dive into manufacturing trends, processes, innovation, and how to be successful in the ever-changing world of manufacturing.
Ep17_BrianWeber_final
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Sean Frost: ~ Welcome back to our second episode. Still, still the same beers, but But ~ [00:00:00] welcome back to our second episode of our happy hour with Brian Weber. ~We're~ we're having a lot of fun here. We decided we're having so much fun that we thought we should make this into a two part episode So this has been a lot of fun.
We're digging into manufacturing stories value that we've brought to customers in different ways, the importance of our associates and we're just going to keep going. So we appreciate you joining for the first part. Thank you for tuning in ~to, ~to part two cheers to the second round of our manufacturing happy hour inspired by the manufacturing [00:01:00] happy hour podcast.
So, with no further ado Brian Weber, our chief operating officer is still here and back ~and and, ~and cheers, Brian. Cheers. Thanks, Sean. ~Yep. ~
We're sitting here with these 75 year ~75 year in, ~in business Polo cups. Imagine that we're toasting the hundred year Polo cups. What do you hope that you're going to say ~in that, ~in that toast?
Brian Weber: Wow I hope the fishing and the,~ and the, ~golf's been good because I'm, you know, I'm probably going to be well retired.
Sean Frost: be doing a wheelchair wheelie.
Brian Weber: You know, what would I say ~after, ~after a hundred years of Polo being in business? Similar to what I say with us being in business 75 years. What an accomplishment. There's not a lot of companies ~that can ~that can say or ~to ~claim that they've been in business this long and there's a lot of reasons why companies are no longer in business.
Polo has weathered the storms. I like to think that we've done [00:02:00] that because ~we, again, we talked about in the earlier podcast that, you know, ~we were careful, we're opportunistic, ~we ~We ensure that we're not taking too big risks. And~ you know, ~at a hundred years, I certainly hope that the company culture is the same as it is now.
And that is that you know, ~our, ~our most important resource ~is, ~is our employee and~ we, ~we have a diverse customer base and we serve a lot of markets and there's a lot of products. ~You know, one of the most, ~one of the things I'm most proud of ~is, ~is a part of the cog in the Polo machine, so to speak, is I see our products all the time and they never say Polo on them, but, you know, I call it out in the wild. ~You see, maybe ~You see a motorcycle going down the road with a product that we made on it, ~or, or you see a, ~I recently went to a pancake breakfast in my hometown ~to, you know, ~to support the, ~the fire, ~local fire department and they have all their equipment on display and ~I'm, ~I'm able to say, oh, you know, we make that, you know, we help design that. There's just so many things that Polo has made and done over the years.
I'm certainly proud of, and I hope our customers and ~our you know,~ our associates ~are, ~are also proud of the work we did.
Sean Frost: ~Seeing, ~[00:03:00] seeing the products out in the wild is always gratifying. I want to point out for this episode, since we kind of touched on it the last time that we do have these classy glasses.
But we're also here to party. That's right. We got Busch Light.
Brian Weber: It's the ying and the yang, right? Yeah, it's like a tuxedo t shirt. Right, exactly. Well, I appreciate the nod to Iowa, you know, with the Iowa water. That's right. I am an Iowa boy born and raised. Can't find a better place to raise a family.
One of the things I wanted to say is, you know, it's exciting to be part of this podcast series that you guys put on because I,~ I, ~I've seen ~the,~ the other guests that you've had. And I think, why the heck would they want me? Because the experience ~and the, ~and the expertise of your guests, wow.
Pretty impressive. And I'm just glad to be part of it.
Sean Frost: So if you had to describe Polo custom products, Using only movie titles or movie lines, what would you go with?
Brian Weber: [00:04:00] That's a hard one because if you're just talking titles you know, I think that's, that's tough.
There's, there's I think a movie called For All Mankind. I'm kind of a space buff. ~Yeah. ~And again, we just mentioned it, how proud I am that that doesn't matter what market or what product we're talking about. You see our products out all over the place, different things. And people are using them in different ways.
And essentially they're all benefiting, you know, it's just making life better. So, you know, that's if you're talking about a movie title, but if you're talking about a movie, ~you know, ~I'd have to say something like Forrest Gump, because he's in all these different scenarios ~and,~ and it doesn't matter what comes at him, he kind of makes lemonade out of lemons.
~And, ~and. perseveres and overcomes ~and, ~and it's just an all in all good person. And I think ~when, when you're, ~when you're good and when you treat people right, good things happen. And I think that was the, ~you know, ~kind of the underlying theme of that movie. And I think ~that's, ~that kind of embodies [00:05:00] Polo's corporate culture.
~And, and, you know, ~a lot of companies have a culture and ~it's, you know, ~it's a banner that they hang ~in their, ~in their buildings or whatever, but I can truly say that Polo ~you know, ~lives and breathes ~and ~the culture. And if somebody doesn't fit with the culture, they're not with the company very long. So, yeah, that would be ~my~ my answer to that question, I guess.
Sean Frost: That's a huge part of what's made Polo successful is our reputation with our customers and, ~and the. And they, they feel that ~they feel that, ~you know, we're, we're, ~we're good people here to ~do, ~help them deliver their products to the world, help them grow~ and for all mankind.~
I love that. I mean, this should be a HR recruiting tool, ~I think for, ~for our culture. You're either going to fit or you're not.
Brian Weber: I had the opportunity recently to talk with one of our customers. ~Like I, ~I'm glad to have the opportunity to talk with a lot of our customers frequently. And I got to tell this customer the story and it made me proud. I was recently ~at my ~at a college graduation and I was sitting in the stands waiting for the ceremony to start.
And an older gentleman walked up the aisle right to my left. I was maybe. And I happened to notice [00:06:00] that he had a, he was wearing something that I recognized as a medical product that really allowed him to come to that event and participate in whoever he was watching graduate, you know, I'm guessing a grandchild based on his age but I don't like to assume so ~he was, ~he was able ~to, ~to attend that where otherwise he may not have been.
And ~I, you know, ~I was able to, ~I would ~nudge my wife and say, Hey, ~you know, ~look at that. ~We, ~we make a part of that, ~that he's using ~and it's allowing him to be here. ~And ~those are the kinds of things that when you see that, it makes all the challenges and all of the, work's never easy. It doesn't matter what job you have.
It's, there's always challenges and there's always things that go on and ~you know, ~you may be frustrated or ~you may be ~wore out ~or whatever. ~But when you see something like that and ~you ~think, wow, ~that, you know, ~we allowed that guy to go see his grandson, granddaughter graduated from college, which is pretty cool.
Sean Frost: What's the funniest or most embarrassing mistake that you've made at Polo? And how can you laugh about it [00:07:00] now?
Brian Weber: Wow. ~You know, I don't, I'm trying to think of, of an embarrassing moment. ~You know, I remember when I was a young engineer ~and again, I, ~I was hired as ~a, as I was ~an industrial engineer by education ~and.~
I was hired as a manufacturing engineer, so my job is, ~you know, ~lean initiatives and efficiency improvements. ~But ~I happened to also be a motorcycle enthusiast at the time, and we had the opportunity to go visit a customer of ours, a motorcycle manufacturer, ~and ~we were working on a project, and I got to go along, and that's where I met.
You know, on the sales reps that ended up being a mentor and we got an opportunity to make a product. And so I came back and I worked with a product development team to design what I thought was, you know, this, the ultimate product. And I didn't know what I didn't know. ~I didn't, ~it was really the first time I'd been involved with product development and this kind of thing.
And I remember taking back this sample that in hindsight, I am so embarrassed about, ~and the, you know, ~it was a prototype, so it wasn't meant to be perfect, but, ~and you know, ~everything about it in hindsight to me seems like, wow, how [00:08:00] I should be embarrassed that I even took that in.
Now it evolved into a product that to this day, I still see on motorcycles and. They still sell. So that's 20 some years, 25 years. But those are the kinds of things that I may be embarrassed about, or maybe I shouldn't be embarrassed about, but I just think, wow, I shake my head. But luckily there hasn't been anything that overtly somebody, somebody said, how could you have done this?
~Or what were you thinking or anything like that?~ I'm the kind of guy that I just kind of own it. If I, if I do something stupid, I guess it's what I did. But that I, I occasionally think about that, especially when I see one of those~ you know, ~on a motorcycle and think where, you know, the evolution of that product, the first round sample, ~you know, ~the material that I selected and the, You know, 'cause I was trying to give it a leather look but have a, a low price point.
So I picked this kinda cheesy synthetic leather
~and~
the bulkiness of it ended up being very streamlined and platform. I just think, wow, it came a long way ~there, ~there, hey, ~it's~ it's not one I [00:09:00] would hang. It's hanging the, you know, in the showroom say
Sean Frost: it's come a long ways just like all of us.
So, yeah, I mean, that's interesting coming from the line of work that you're in too. 'cause. I just look at like my writing or an email or something, an early podcast or whatever, you know, and I'm just like, Oh God, what was I thinking then? ~And~ and so, that's pretty cool though, to see it evolve to what it is today, something that's still.
Still flying around on, these motorcycles. If you could instantly gain one superpower to help Polo in your role, what would it be? And how would you use it?
Brian Weber: ~I'm not~ I'm not a fan of, ~of, of the,~ The superhero type movies. So I don't know all of them, but I do know one of Flash and I don't know all his powers, but I know he's very quick and can get from one place to another. And that's, you know, being the fact that we have plants in Iowa and Topeka, Kansas and Louisville, Mississippi and headquarters in Kansas And plants in affiliate [00:10:00] plants in the Caribbean and Southeast Asia.
I don't feel like I get to any of them as much as I'd like to. And it would be nice to be able to, you know, be in Monticello, Iowa from 8 to 10, and from, you know, Topeka from 10 to noon, and then in Louisville in the afternoon, and then back in my bed for, for the evening. So, definitely on when you have a company as, as spread out as ours the logistics can be tough and the travel can be tough.
You know, I was in Iowa this morning, I'm in Kansas right now, and I'll be in Mississippi tomorrow and you know, so it's, it is a lot of travel, but ~it's, ~it's worth it ~to, ~to be able to interact with our associates.
Sean Frost: I try to get out to them as often as I possibly can as well.
~So, ~so yeah, that's a great one.
Well, that concludes ~our, ~our formal questions that we've prepared for. Is there anything else that you'd like to discuss over a beer?
Brian Weber: You know, we talk a lot about ~our you know, ~our successes and, points of which we thought, you know, what were we doing?
And it occurred to me earlier that based on one of your questions, [00:11:00] you know, when we were in the COVID times ~and, and.~ Polo at that time with our connections in Southeast Asia, we're able to provide, ~you know, ~standard surgical masks, which were in very short supply to ~our~ a lot of our customers, including some of our medical customers, surprisingly~ and, ~and that was so successful and there was such a demand.
We looked at designing and building an automated system to make N95 surgical masks. We certainly felt like we had the expertise. We had the supply base ~already part of our, you know, the supplier is ~already part of our supply base. And the expertise to design the automation and we partnered with the company and they had already done some work with Ford or General Motors to develop this.
And so we got very close to~ you know,~ pulling the trigger ~on,~ on equipment that would make millions of these masks and about the time that we were ready to place the P. O. for the equipment we were also lining up all of the test equipment we would need because as an N95 mask there's a lot of test requirements to make sure that it is [00:12:00] truly an N95 type mask and we found out there were a lot of companies buying this equipment and And I think that's another example of where Polo ~you know, kind of ~re evaluated the trajectory we were on and said, ~Hey, ~is this really the smart thing to do now?~ You know, ~By the time we, ~you know, ~call it six months of ~camera ~lead time, I think it was about six months, we would get these things, you know, Is the pandemic going to be over? Is there still going to be a demand? But it seemed to us that given all the equipment that was being purchased that there was probably going to be a lot of people entering this market.
~And we, maybe it's not, even though it's something we could do, maybe it's not the right move for Polo.~ Sure enough as an executive team, we decided, yeah, ~let's~ let's pull back. Let's reevaluate. Let's abandon that plan. And sure enough, probably within three or four months, the masks that were ~You know, ~15 cents a piece pre pandemic that had jumped to $4 a piece.
And we thought, ~you know, ~maybe it beats out for a dollar fifrty, two dollar. By the time, you know, that sick, the end of that six months, that would have been our lead time roller on those things where everybody was making so many of them that they were less than 10 cents [00:13:00] a piece. So the price was actually lower than pre pandemic.
So just another example of where Polo, I think
~Did the right thing, you know~ Thought about what we were doing didn't rush into something Even though ~we could you know, ~we knew we could do it, we realized it wasn't the right move for us ~And we try ~and we try and take that same approach, ~you know ~on behalf of our customers all the time
Sean Frost: Mutual contact of ours that worked for an automation company showed me his colleague that sold a lot of those automated machines ~and he, he, he showed me him ~and explained his role to me with a fair amount of resentment because of all the machines that that guy sold and all the money he was counting as a commissioned salesperson.
Brian Weber: I'm sure the machine manufacturers had nothing to worry about. There was no risk for them. There was a lot of risk for us. ~I you know, ~I have to give kudos to our sales team, ~your, your, ~your team. ~You know, ~They evaluated the landscape, ~they, ~they re evaluated the landscape, they~ you know, ~put a pencil to paper and [00:14:00] realized ~the, ~the potential wasn't there anymore.
And even though we had approval, you know, we were ready to write the check. Cooler heads prevailed. It wouldn't have been disastrous to Polo, but it certainly wouldn't have been a financial win for Polo to invest in that equipment, because it was very specialized equipment. Yeah, that was~ you know, ~all the talk of the pandemic ~and, and, ~and some of the things that we've done right and wrong and maybe embarrassing moments.
And, you know, that just got me thinking. ~You know, ~that's a good example ~of, ~of consideration that we gave after the fact, that it was the right move.
Sean Frost: You know, avoiding that strong thing says a lot about the leadership of this company. And I appreciate the kudos to the sales team. I do need to acknowledge the fact that I feel like we are standing on the shoulders of giants and that includes, our retired chairman of the board, it includes the retired CEO you mentioned, it includes you, it includes the current leadership of our company that's been around for a long time ~and and you know, I, I definitely feel.~
Fortunate to be at Polo at this time when you guys have established such an [00:15:00] incredible culture, such an incredible track history ~and, ~and really accomplished quite a bit. And we're just taking advantage of that and selling it. So you make our job easy and we appreciate that, Brian.
Brian Weber: Yeah, well, we appreciate you and it's, it's neat to have been engaged with so many different companies well known companies that you say the name, everybody knows who you're talking about and knows what they do, the products they make and it's interesting to, you've seen it, I've seen it, where all of a sudden you run into somebody that you worked with at this company, and now they're in a different company that we're working with, and it may be because they, suggested Polo, or it may just be happenstance that we were already working with them, and ~but it, it, ~you realize ~how ~how small of a world it is, even in a global manufacturing environment, ~and you know, ~The things that we do, ~there is, there is some, ~it is a niche manufacturing process and glad to be part of it.
~Glad to,~ glad to work with you and your team.
Sean Frost: Those trade shows get smaller and smaller, you know, X person from that company, you know, who supplied that to what? And, and it just, the circles get [00:16:00] tighter and tighter. And~ it's, ~it's a really fascinating world I'm honored to be a part of it with you too.
So cheers. for a happy hour podcast. It's great. ~Yeah.~
Brian Weber: You need to have a home like this. ~Yeah, I think so. ~This is a new rule. We're going forward. We'll attract a lot more people.
Sean Frost: If you tuned into part one you heard the most unique product line that we've ever discussed on this podcast. So thank you for joining. ~If you, ~if you joined us for part one and part two, kudos, extra brownie points subscribe, like, comment, what you want to hear more of.
We really appreciate you listening and yeah, this has been a lot of fun. Thank you, Brian. Thank you. We'll see you. Cheers. Cheers.