MarketScale Manufacturing

World Water Day, a UN-sanctioned holiday set to celebrate it's 27th consecutive year, arrives March 22nd, and Jennifer Cisneros, vice president of marketing at BioMicrobics, Inc., joined host Daniel Litwin to explain what the holiday represents, it's key goals in 2020, and what it means for the industrial water industry. Cisneros, who's been with BioMicrobics for 12 years now, is a passionate celebrator of World Water Day which was founded to educate industry and communities on stats and strategies relating to the conservation of freshwater.

All human activity is tied to water, Cisneros said; “All the water we have is all the water we will ever have.”

Cisneros talked about her experiences and brought up examples of her work and how each kind of water treatment issue can be a new but exciting challenge. For context, she spoke about a project with a winery that recycled and treated their water and how she won an award for top project of the year. Because of the work her and BioMicrobics were able to do with the winery, it was able to survive a stressful period in drought-stricken Napa Valley.

Cisneros talked about the challenges that a project might face in water treatment and reuse, and tied the conversation back to World Water Day and bringing these conversations to the mainstream, to inform businesses and push governments to enact useful change.

BioMicrobics tries to embody the mission of World Water Day every day, and this year the holiday is focusing on climate change.

"There is a growing need” for water conservation because of climate change, Cisneros said. We have enough water on the planet, but it is about managing our usage and treatment of it, and that challenge is only going to get more difficult without focused action. Cisneros gives her perspective on what that action looks like for individuals, businesses, and industries.

Cyberwarfare increases the threat of attack from adversaries on military targets. Radiofrequency technologies used to conduct cyber-induced warfare on exposed, high-value assets are very common. Electronic interrogation, jamming and geometry to performance determination are some of the threats posed against Navy topside systems and other military applications.

Jeff Vold, Vice President of Industrial and Government Business Development for Transhield, Inc., and Dr. David Sharman, Senior Military and Technical Advisor for Transhield, talked to host Tyler Kern about these threats and RF shielding technology developed to combat them.

“We’ve been working with the military for 20 years now, providing them environmental protective covers, and we’ve been able to respond to customer needs and come up with solutions rapidly,” Vold said. The Navy approached Dr. Sharman a couple of years ago to help develop a technology to shield high-value assets from all radar frequencies.

Today, there is an increased number of small and powerful devices that can use RF frequencies to scan a military ship and determine that ship’s systems or radar capabilities.

“In some cases, these devices may even be able to introduce a virus into these systems through a targeting package,” Vold said. Dr. Sharman added this is not the typical type of cyber warfare people think about, but it is a threat, nonetheless.

RF shields are not just for military use.

“There are plenty of commercial and industrial companies that need protection for their key operating systems,” Dr. Sharman said.

Change is Mike Coons’s business.

No, literally. Coons’s business is change.

For the last 17 years, he’s been with Standard Change-Makers, a company founded in the 1950s making the machines you may have grown up seeing at arcades that can frequently be found today in laundromats, vending machines and car washes.

With such a diverse spectrum of clients, Standard Change-Makers has had to adapt to each groups’ individual needs while also recognizing the common threads that bind business owners together.

“The buttons you need to push, those emotional selling points you’re trying to get across: security, reliability. Each one of them wants that, because they’re in a public place, but how they go about their business, how they audit their machine, it’s all a little different from place to place, industry to industry,” said Coons, the Vice President/National Sales Manager at Standard.

“It’s part of the challenge of doing business for everybody these days, but being able to build some versatility into our product (has) become a bigger part of what we do.”

They’ve also been making sure they stay relevant in the modern economy, pivoting from a heavy load of print advertising and features in trade publications to more digital products, but also relying on a throwback approach of mouth-to-mouth and making sure the members of the distributor network are well-versed on what each decision-maker is looking for in a change solution.

At times, Coons said he’s approached by Standard’s in-house engineers, who realize they can add a new feature, but must first check with those in the field to see if those bells and whistles would be truly in demand.

“Sometimes I don’t know that, so that’s when I go to the sales reps and say, ‘Hey, this is what they say they can do. Talk to your customers and let me know what they think,’” he said. “And they all have a dozen or two dozen distributors they have really good relationships with who have helped us in the past in those situations. They’ll talk to those guys and get the ‘Yeah, I could probably sell that,’ or ‘No, I’m not interested in that.’

“That kind of feedback is pretty special.”

Whether it’s making sure people putting a bill into the slot are getting their four quarters or keeping up with the latest digital innovation, Standard Change-Makers is sure to continue adapting for years to come.

Women are changing the way the world does business for the better as they inhabit roles of leadership, jobs in engineering and careers in traditionally male-dominated industries.

This is no truer than in the world of food processing and manufacturing. MarketScale’s Food & Beverage Podcast explores how women are making waves in this realm, fighting for new ideas and establishing a female presence.

Guests Kate Rome and Mary George, co-chairs of the FPSA’s (Food Processing Suppliers Association) Women’s Alliance Network, share personal stories and informed opinions about women instigating much-needed change in food processing manufacturing.

Rome and George both agree that it all starts with education. With the overall cultural push for girls to go into STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) careers, the industry of manufacturing is feeling the trickle-down effect of seeing more women in engineering and leadership roles.

Rome told the story of her own father failing to realize her potential to lead the family business, citing the deep need for a cultural shift in what women see as possible. FPSA’s Women’s Alliance Network helps women help themselves by bolstering females with belief, possibility and opportunity.

Overall, women are bringing diversity to the industry of food processing manufacturing, and, as George said, diversity breeds creativity. A multitude of minds must sit at the table for great ideas to be born.

When a customer calls and requests a quote on a construction project like repairing or replacing a roof, there’s no way to know anything about the site until arriving there. Nearmap changes that. At the International Roofing Expo, Amanda Marchetti, a Project Manager at Nearmap, explains how the technology is modernizing industries like roofing and creating new efficiencies.

Marchetti explains that Nearmap represents “a new era of aerial imagery.” The company takes aerial photos annually of neighborhoods using high-resolution technology. With a 5.5cm resolution, the images are sharp enough for contractors to use them to calculate area, take measurements, and spot details about job sites. The technology offers a vertical birds-eye view, an oblique side view, and, for 50% of sites so far, a 3D model as well.

Considered “remote reconnaissance,” Nearmap helps contractors prepare in advance so they can provide better estimates and prepare more efficiently for projects. Roofers, along with other contractors, can count on new technology like Nearmap to increase efficiencies within their companies as well. Being able to view the same exact data, including job site images, at the same time, from anywhere in the country, unifies efforts.

Learn more from Amanda Marchetti about Nearmap and the latest and greatest in tech trends for roofers. Tune into our chat during the International Roofers Expo and keep up with the latest in the industry by subscribing to Marketscale’s Engineering and Construction channel.

Some services have to be conducted on-site in residential homes. Roofing, for example, requires one, if not more, visits to private residences. Often, there are multiple visits to check the roof, offer an estimate, prepare for the work, complete the repair, install, or replacement, and more. All of those trips are costly, and problems with paperwork cause financial leakage.

James Waite, the Vice President of Marketing and Partnerships for Leap, recently talked about this issue with Marketscale’s Tyler Kern while at the International Roofing Expo. Leap is a point of sale application that is popular among roofers. The application is designed to reduce common inconveniences field staff face, like errors in contracts, additional work orders, or miscommunication between the office and the staff in the field.

Integrating estimates, contracts, and analytics into one app that syncs with customer relationship management software (CRMs), Leap digitizes common processes contractors and other field staff face.

Learn more from James Waite about Leap and the value of digitizing point of sales. Tune into our chat during the International Roofers Expo and stay on top of what’s trending by subscribing to MarketScale’s Engineering and Construction channel.

Last week, stakeholders and professionals from the roofing industry gathered in Dallas at the 2020 International Roofing Expo. Marketscale was there to cover all things roofing, including hearing from Josh Strehle, Marketing Coordinator for RoofSnap. RoofSnap provides a robust software platform that allows roofing companies to measure, estimate, contract, and order from one central hub.

The roofing industry is evolving, and technology is becoming a must-have tool. That’s easy to see when you look at some of the attendees of the expo, such as RoofSnap, which is bringing intuitive, easy to use software to roofing companies.

Josh shared, “We’re in the market to bring technology to the roofing industry, which is still about 10 years behind other industries. Many roofing contractors still rely on paper methods to measure and estimate, leading to inefficiency and risks of human error.”

So, what does a digital company actually get out of coming to in-person events? Roofing is still considered an old-school industry, in the way that they interact with customers and vendors. To get them excited about technology, engaging in in-person conversations can help them make the leap.

“Talking to customers and professionals in the industry face to face still has great value in the digital world. What I take away most from these opportunities is what I hear from customers regarding their needs. That feedback helps us better align our software with their requirements,” John said.

Hear more about the expo and RoofSnap by listening to the podcast.

The International Roofing Expo is the industry’s biggest event, and Marketscale is bringing you snapshots from the show. We had a chance to chat with Sam Beiler, CEO and Co-Founder of Boostpoint, an easy to use application for creating and launching targeted social media ads. Sam, a veteran marketer in the roofing industry, founded the company because of the disconnect he saw in the industry.

“Roofing contractors were struggling to transition from traditional to digital marketing. They needed a solution that was easy to use and worked. That’s where the idea for Boostpoint started,” Sam said.

Roofers aren’t marketers, but they certainly understand the need to drive more leads and traffic to their site. Social media advertising offers a hyper-targeted way to do so, but it can be overwhelming. Sam shared, “Our app is easy. We do all the background audience targeting; they simply choose the area. They can then select from multiple proven to be engaging templates for their ads.”

Learn more about Boostpoint’s impact on the industry by listening to the podcast.

The safety of those who work on rooftops is of utmost importance for those at International Roofing Expo 2020. Having guardrails that stop accidents from happening is key in preventing injury or loss of life.

"Falls are the leading number of fatalities and injury in the American workplace...It's a huge issue. And the most surprising thing about that statistic is that it's on the rise," said Dan Huntington, National Sales Manager for Kee Safety. "We have to change at an industry level to make sure we do something different."

Kee Safety prioritizes keeping workers safe without sacrificing the aesthetics of the building. By using powder coatings to match colors or horizontal lifelines for added visibility they're able to seamlessly marry those two priorities.

Be sure to visit MarketScale Engineering & Construction for more coverage from International Roofing Expo 2020!

The expectation on the part of most customers is that this engagement will occur digitally. However, many contractors still prefer utilizing paper-and-pencil methods of conducting business.

Ben Kreaden from Broadly spoke to MarketScale at the International Roofing Expo 2020 to explain how technology can help fill the communication gap for roofing contractors.

"There's a gap in the way that roofers do business ... and the expectations that the typical customer has," Kreaden said. "If they're writing everything down on paper and the customer's expecting a text message, there's a gap there."

He explained how Broadly provides a solution that helps contractors connect with potential and current customers and manage reviews and feedback.