2018 is winding down and the office is very quiet this week. As I plan for 2019 Marketing, I like to look back and review what worked well in 2018 and plan on where to improve. Each division and the company as a whole had a busy year.
ITS Corporate
We kicked off the year with a fun employee event, a Super Bowl chili cookoff. Even though the Packers were not in the game, we had a great time sampling 10 or so different chili recipes!
In 2018, Continuous Improvement continued to be a focus and we completed 5S projects on 6 areas in the shop. The most notable to me is the maintenance area which is a complete transition for the better.
During the summer, the entire ITS team spent an afternoon volunteering around the Milwaukee area. We helped out at Cristo Rey High School, at the Hunger Task Force farm, at a park and at the VA Center. we also collected cereal to for a Thanksgiving food drive. This was a new initiative for ITS and we plan to continue in 2019.
Our first annual sales meeting was held in August at the Pabst Brewery complex. It was a great success and opportunity to bring the entire sales team together.
In 2018, Tom Stricker was promoted to President and brought new, strong talent into ITS and promoted team members to new roles.
We ended 2018 with our annual Christmas lunch hosted by the Executive Team. Always a fun afternoon and great food – shrimp, lobster, and steak with an ugly sweater contest and raffle.
Washer Division
It was a good year for the washer division. We branded the entire washer line with the name TruClean and added Cabinet Batch Washers to the product line. We expanded the number of standard conveyor washers to 4 sizes and worked with many new customers in 2018. We created a guide on Navigating the manufacturing process of an Industrial Parts Washer.
Battery
Matt Zea was promoted to General Manager of the Battery division and had a great year installing new HydroCure and Flashmaids all over the world.
Industrial Products Ovens and Furnaces
2018 was a good year for the Ovens and Furnace group as well. We increased the number of standard batch ovens available which allows us to turn around quotes quickly and offer a shorter lead time for delivery. We attended new trade shows in 2018 including CAMX and Cast Expo. Look forward to adding SAMPE to the list in 2019.
Metal Packaging – Two Piece Can
We launched an improved Can Washer called the Trident and developed a low profile Pin Oven. ITS continues to bring innovative ideas to the market.
Customer Support Services
A big change for 2018 was a new name for our Aftermarket division to Customer Support Services (CSS). Vince Hebein joined ITS as the new General Manager for the division. We added a 1-888 number so customers can call the Support department directly. Online Parts Store is open 24/7 for your orders.
Marketing
2018 was a good year in the marketing department. The strategy for the year was to connect with customers. Our website was re-designed and will be tweaked again in 2019. We added more videos and informational articles. We attended trade shows which is great learning. I look forward to 2019 to continue the momentum and help ITS grow relationships and communicate why ITS is the best equipment choice.
Cheers to a happy and healthy 2019,
Lori Phillips
