CURRENT ISSUE
| Cover Story |
| Columns |
| Mixing Quality and Luck |
| Profile | |
| By Staci Davidson | |
| Wednesday, 01 August 2007 | |
 A focus on quality and changes in the market have allowed Wellmark Co. to become a leader in Gas management products. “This company definitely had humble beginnings – at first it was just two individuals getting together with an idea to focus on quality,” says Dick Pfieffer, executive vice president. “After 26 years, the company progressed from an idea to become a leader in the marketplace.” Wellmark worked to provide durable and reliable products to improve customers’ operations. One of its main efforts was to focus on improving the collection of natural gas. “In 1998, we started taking a closer look at our products,” says Joe Dennis, president and COO. “As a rule, the type of valves we make and that are available throughout the industry allow natural gas to bleed into the atmosphere. This isn’t a big threat to the environment, but it’s not great, either, and it causes our customers to lose gas. Now, that wasn’t a huge problem when gas was so cheap, but now natural gas is at a much higher price. Now, 90 percent of wells are drilling for natural gas, not oil. “When we first introduced our product that would keep gas from escaping, there wasn’t a huge demand for it,” he adds. “It was strictly luck that natural gas prices rose and the market needed something like this.” In an effort to design a product that didn’t hurt the environment and allowed customers to control leaks, Wellmark created the Mizer in the late ’90s. Dennis says this is the only product on the market that prevents natural gas from escaping from pipelines. “The Mizer is economically favorable to anything else that is on the market right now,” he says. “Companies are retrofitting their equipment to include this. It is one of our more expensive offerings, but the Mizer will pay for itself in three to six months because companies are able to save more of their gas. The product prevents 96 to 99 percent of emissions, so it is a definite benefit to the environment and our customers’ pocketbooks.” Dennis notes he is proud that the Mizer will benefit the entire industry and that it is a part of the company’s extensive offering. Wellmark has become a leader, he adds, not only because of its products, but also because it focuses on its marketing and shipping efforts, which many of its competitors lack. “We do better than our competitors in shipping our products on time with the same or better quality,” he says. “It is our goal to be more dependable, which will help us maintain long-term relationships.” Marketed under the Wellmark, Cemco and Major brands, the company strives for its products to be better than the competitions’. To this end, Dennis says, the company uses non-corrosive materials, such as stainless steel, to ensure the products last, but it also adjusts its materials to the needs of the market. “We spend a lot of money chasing nickels on quality control, but it is important to us,” he says. Continuous Improvement Wellmark has three or four competitors, Dennis estimates, but it is the only company that produces both safety relief valves and level controls. The company’s goals are to be a one-stop shop for its customers, competitive with other companies’ best products and continuously improve its existing lines to ensure it provides customers with the best. “We are just as good at quality control as our competition – if not better – but none of us are as good as we could be,” Dennis says. “We hired an expert from the automotive industry to help us improve. This is one of our top priorities – to become much better at quality control than anyone else.” Wellmark’s drive for superior quality is propelling its growth plans. The company has doubled its business in the last three years, and now plans to expand its market into China and India; those markets are using so much oil and gas, Dennis says, that supply soon will not meet the demand. He says Wellmark is very profitable, has no debt and operates lean, so it should have no problem doubling its business again in the next three years. In anticipation of this growth, the company is adding 22,000 square feet to the 35,000 square feet of manufacturing space it already has. “We see ourselves as the Wal-Mart of our industry because we have a more-rounded product offering than anyone else,” Pfieffer says. “We offer competitive pricing, on-time delivery and strict quality control, so we believe we will meet our growth goals. “We maintain personal contact with all of our potential and current customers because we want to understand what they are currently using and what improvements they’d like to see,” he continues. “This is important in our ability to grow and maintain our leadership position.” |
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