®
GOOD
T MES
Bay Shore, NY • Santa Fe Springs, CA • Fairfield, OH
Vol. 30 • No. 2 • April 2008
The Best“Plans
Laid
Plans
are of little importance, but planning is essential.”
“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower
“Measure twice, cut once” is the phrase that came to my
mind when I read the two quotations above. These sayings
all convey the same message: planning is of utmost importance. With adequate planning, a good ending is virtually
guaranteed. This is true in both business and life. I discovered the connection when the five people in my family
tried to plan a vacation week!
Putting together a corporate plan and planning a family
vacation pretty much follow the same formula. First, in business, a company objective is determined.This is akin to the
family deciding where they want to go. Often, this step in
determining destination, for both a business and a family,
requires the most thought and is the hardest upon which to
decide.
Once the objective, or destination, is adopted the strategy for reaching that goal must be determined. This is all
about the road map: how do we get where we ultimately
want to be? Do we want to take side trips or do we take
the direct route? Usually, in business, the direct route is
selected. Everyone gets in on the brainstorming. Hopes,
dreams, previous training, prior experience, information
from books and the Internet all get added into the mix.
It is essential to do your homework and go through all
necessary information.
The plan may be revised numerous times. Availability of
resources affects planning. For a business, and a family,
financing can often make or break the project.
Responsibilities of the players are an important factor, too.
Not to be overlooked is determining who is responsible
every step of the way for reaching the destination. Tasks
need to be assigned, and a chain of command for overseeing implemented. For our family vacation, driving would be
assigned to me, navigating would, naturally, be assigned to
my wife, Peri.
Moreover, risks must be weighed and external factors
reviewed. Unforeseen events may arise. Anticipating the
unexpected is key. Proper planning can help lessen the
potential damage caused by the unexpected. Duro Dyne
spends an inordinate amount of time researching its
customers’ needs and preferences. Our sales force gets to
know our distributors and their customers intimately. And,
by always keeping in mind a clear view of our goal, we can
better anticipate the requirements and expectations of our
customers.
Winston Churchill
At the end of the second quarter last year we observed a
market being created for covering the ends of ductwork,
which prevents dirt and/or bacteria collection prior to the
final installation of the system. At first glance it looked liked
the shops were stretch wrapping the ends of the duct. Our
sales management team felt that this would be a good addition to the Dyn-O-Mate product line and that the ability to
service our customers, along with their other Duro Dyne
needs, on a single shipment, would be a great service.
We quickly put forth a national market survey to qualify
and quantify the needs and usage of the product. We
learned that it was not just stretch wrap yet it was a film
with an adhesive coating, which allowed for quick and
easy installation and most importantly would release when
it was time to install the ductwork without leaving behind
any adhesive residue. We learned there were many different thicknesses of film, different lengths and widths of
rolls, different colors (some of which were UV resistant)
and some had the adhesive side wound like a standard roll
of tape, with the adhesive wound down while others were
reverse wound with the sticky side up. Some products
were shipped in bulk with a plastic bag around each roll;
others were boxed individually. This new product idea
was more complex than we originally observed, “contractors were just shrink wrapping the ends of the duct”!
We made our decision to go forth and found manufacturers who would produce the product for us and meet
our design needs in order to best serve our customers in
the market. Then the Accounting team got involved with
inventory levels, cash flow and of course projected revenues and profit. Our Media Design Manager put together
the literature, price sheets and introductory advertisements and updated the website. The IT Department loaded
all pertinent information into the computer system,
Operations got the plan together to be able to feed all locations with the product, allocated the space for the inventory and arranged for the best freight deals available. Sales
Management got samples and goals into the hands of our
territory managers and the product was launched on
schedule on September 15, 2007. The Team put the plan
into motion!
The introduction of Dyn-O-Wrap was flawless and has
proven to be a successful and profitable part of Duro
Dyne’s product line. This scenario exemplifies
the need for having a goal and spending the
The following scenario demonstrates one of Duro Dyne’s proper time to plan, plan, plan. In this case,
latest “road maps” that resulted in the launch of a new suc- the planning paid off and we proudly
cessful product.
continue to take this product to great heights.
GOOD
T MES
Published by:
DURO DYNE CORP:
81 Spence Street
Bay Shore, NY 11706
631-249-9000
Milton Hinden, Founder (1922-2000)
Randy Hinden, Publisher
Susan De Simini, Editor-in-Chief
DURO DYNE WEST CORP:
15005 Marquardt Ave.
Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
562-926-1774
DURO DYNE MIDWEST CORP:
3825 Symmes Road
Fairfield, OH 45011
513-870-6000
DURO DYNE CANADA CORP:
5030 Francois-Cusson
Lachine, Quebec, Canada H8T 1B3
514-422-9760
This Month’s Giveaway:
This efficient and very practical EMERGENCY
GUIDE will bring you,
and those who are in
your home, a sense of
security and safety by
providing a concise
“all in one” method
of having those very
important phone
numbers available to
you and yours when
needed. Just fill in
your Emergency
Contacts, Important
Phone Numbers and
Utility Companies.
Then, peel the
sticky tape on the
back and adhere
right near your
household phone.
Keep safe with
Duro Dyne’s
compliments!
Spring is Aurora Season
ScienceDaily (Mar. 10, 2008)
What are the signs of spring? They are as familiar as a blooming daffodil, a songbird at dawn, a
surprising shaft of warmth from the afternoon
sun. And, oh yes, don’t forget the aurora borealis.
Spring is aurscientists, the weeks around the vernal equinox arora season. For reasons not fully
understood by e prone to Northern Lights.
Canadians walking their dogs after dinner,
Scandinavians popping out to the sauna, Alaskan
Huskies on the Iditarod trail -- all they have to do
is look up and behold, green curtains of light
dancing across the night sky. Spring has arrived!
This is a bit of a puzzle. Auroras are caused by
solar activity, but the sun doesn’t know what
season it is on Earth. So how could one season
yield more auroras than another?
“There’s a great deal we don’t understand about
auroras,” says UCLA space physicist Vassilis
Angelopoulos. For instance, “Auroras sometimes
erupt with little warning and surprising intensity.
We call these events ‘sub-storms,' and they are a
big mystery.” What triggers the eruptions? Where
is sub-storm energy stored? (It has to gather
somewhere waiting to power the outburst.)
And, of course, why springtime?
To answer these questions and others, NASA has
deployed a fleet of five spacecraft named
THEMIS (short for “Time History of Events and
Macroscale Interactions during Substorms”)
specially instrumented to study auroras.
Angelopoulos is the mission’s principal investigator.
Launched in February 2007, THEMIS has already
observed one geomagnetic storm with a total
energy of five hundred thousand billion (5 x
10^14) Joules. “That's approximately equivalent
to the energy of a magnitude 5.5 earthquake,”
says Angelopoulos. “This storm moved twice as
fast as anyone thought possible,” crossing an
entire polar time zone in 60 seconds flat!
THEMIS may have found the storm’s power supply:
"The satellites have detected magnetic ‘ropes’
connecting Earth's upper atmosphere directly to
the sun," says Dave Sibeck, project scientist for
the mission at the Goddard Space Flight Center.
"We believe that solar wind particles flow in
along these ropes, providing energy for geomagnetic storms and auroras." Sibeck likens them to
ropes because the magnetic fields in question
are organized much like the twisted hemp of a
mariner’s rope. Solar wind particles flow along
the ropes in whirligig trajectories leading from
the sun to Earth.
It turns out that magnetic connections between
the sun and Earth are favored in springtime. It’s
a matter of geometry: As Earth goes around in its
orbit, Earth’s magnetic poles wobble back and
forth. (The poles don’t really wobble, but the
combination of Earth’s 23-degree polar tilt plus
orbital motion makes the poles seem wobble
from the solar point of view.) Around the time of
the equinox, Earth’s magnetic field is best oriented for “connecting-up” with the sun, opening
the door for solar wind energy to flow in and
spark Northern Lights.
Duro Dyne Around the World
Mostra Convegno EXPOCOMFORT
Milan, Italy
But wait, there are two equinoxes, spring and
fall, with similar magnetic geometry. Indeed,
autumn is aurora season, too. Geomagnetic disturbances are almost twice as likely in spring-fall
versus winter-summer, according to historical
records.
THEMIS is just getting started. The five spacecraft
are on a two-year mission to explore Earth’s magnetic field and they are only now settling into
their optimum science orbits.“With five satellites,
we can map the complex ebb and flow of energy
during geomagnetic storms better than any single
satellite ever could,” points out Angelopolous.
“There’s no telling what we might learn.”
For This Month’s Lucky Winners
Congratulations! Duro Dyne is pleased to offer
our winners this month the MEGABRITE Super
Bright LED Retractable
Key Chain Light. This
super bright LED has no
bulbs to replace and
comes with a convenient clip and retractable
cord. There are four
key chains in the pack
and each one gives
20,000 MCD of brightness. So keep safe
when you’re leaving
your car and need a
light to help you find
your way. Batteries are
included along with
our compliments!
CSMCA Show 2008
Chicagoland Sheet Metal Contractors Association
Please call,mail or fax us to claim your prize.
THE WINNERS ARE:
Victor Ovenden
Dan Roehl
Jerry Nelson
Diane Bancheri
Bob Gade
Kim Raub
Chuck Oteaviani
Pat Jasper
Bobby Thomas
Kathryn Cregier
Mark Baldino
Alvin Brown
John Duggans
Rod Joslin
Sean Allen
Michigan Temp. Supply
Thrifty Supply
Longmont Winair
S W Anderson Sales
Paramount Supply
York Corrugating Co.
Milwaukee Stove/Furnace
M S I HVAC
Thomas Supply Inc.
Coastline Distribution
Furnace & Duct Supply
Roof Top Systems
ETTC
CANADA DIST
Ecco Htg Products LTD
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
Duro Dyne Midwest
Lansing, MI
East Wenatchee, WA
Longmont, CO
Farmingdale, NY
Lincoln, NE
York, PA
Milwaukee, WI
Las Vegas, NV
Lake Charles, LA
Hendersonville, PA
Providence, RI
Carrollton, TX
Chattanooga, TN
Kelowna, BC
Hamilton, OH