McCordick Glove and Safety Inc. serves a who`s who of corporate

McCordick Glove
and Safety Inc.
serves a who’s
who of corporate
clients
John Huck, president
of McCordick Glove
& Safety Inc.
Recipient of the Best Western
International’s “Best of the Best”
Awards 2003 & 2004
PHOTO: JON ROHR
Corporately appointed guest rooms
& attractive meeting facilities
12
l
exchangemagazine.com
l
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005
MOVER & SHAKER
hen it comes to meeting
clients’ requirements for
consistent quality and
customer service, McCordick
Glove and Safety Inc.’s products
fit the need, like a glove.
That’s a cliché, of course, but
an appropriate one. Over
McCordick’s long track record of
consistent growth and customer
satisfaction, gloves are a fitting
metaphor for the Cambridgebased company. After all, that
product is not only synonymous
with McCordick’s history, but is
responsible for the lion’s share of
the company’s revenue. Founded
over 25 years ago by current
president, John Huck, McCordick
Glove and Safety Inc. bears testimony to how a family-run business, starting with a single product, can successfully expand its
product lines while remaining
true both to its roots and to its
legion of loyal customers.
McCordick Glove and Safety has
come a long way. There’s undeniable
pride in John’s voice as he explains
how the company has grown
literally “from nothing” based in a
2,500-square-foot facility, into a
THE PRODUCT
W
FITS THE DEMAND
BY
BY PHIL
PHIL WRIGHT
WRIGHT
continued on page 14
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005
l
exchangemagazine.com
l 13
MOVER & SHAKER
Call us for all your cleaning needs;
▼ General Janitorial & Office Cleaning
▼ Carpet Cleaning
▼ Floor Stripping & Waxing
▼ Interior/Exterior Window Cleaning
▼ Ultrasonic Blind Cleaning
▼ Construction Cleanup
▼ Factory Cleaning
▼ Computer Cleaning
We will help protect
your Real Estate investment
Tel: (519) 884-9600
Waterloo, Ontario
Fax: (519) 884-8699
Toll Free: 1-800-983-6661
www.jdicleaning.com
BONDED & INSURED
Member of the Canadian Franchise Association
and Better Business Bureau
Discover
B lairP ark
M eadows
And you’ll find twenty-one
exclusive estate properties near
Langdon Hall in the historic
community of Blair.
To lean more call:
519.568.8032
WINGELAAR
E S T A T E
H O M E S
BUILDING AND RENOVATING HOMES SINCE 1978
AUDIO • VIDEO • LIGHTING • STAGING
Complete Selection of
A/V Equipment including:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
LCD Projectors
Screens
Podiums
Wireless Mics
A/V Carts
Technicians
Delivery/Setup
(519) 745-6154
124 Ottawa St. S, Kitchener
www.sherwoodsystems.com
RENTALS • SALES • INSTALLATION
14
l
exchangemagazine.com
l
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005
wet in the glove and safety business at
Huck Glove, which was founded by his
grandfather, Joseph, in 1906. Kitchenerbased Huck Glove remains one of
McCordick’s local competitors.
PHOTO: McCPRDICK GLOVE & SAFETY INC.
PROFESSIONAL JANITORIAL
SERVICES FOR BUSINESS
Specializing in Commercial,
Industrial and Institutional facilities
prospering business with a coast-tocoast presence. Aside from the spacious 45,000-square-foot Cambridge
head office the company has occupied
for less than a year, the glove and safety gear distributor boasts branches from
western Canada, in Surrey and Edmonton, to the east in Boucherville, Quebec.
The Jamieson Parkway company has
become one of the largest safety gear
distributors in the country, with an
enviable customer list that reads like
the corporate who’s who of Canada,
including corporate luminaries such as
Toyota, Magna, Noranda, Stelco and
Kitchener’s Kuntz Electroplating.
Despite its growth, McCordick
remains very much a family operation.
Founder and family patriarch, John, is
president. Two of his sons, David and
Phil, are executive vice-president and
industrial sales manager respectively. A
third son, Paul, runs a similar distribution business for first-aid supplies in
Kitchener. Though Paul’s business is
similar to McCordick’s, it was Paul’s willingness to “set up his own business,”
according to David, that led him to go
launch out on his own. John got his feet
Recently back from Hong Kong, David Huck,
vice-president of McCordick Glove & Safety
Around 1980 John went into partnership with the Henderson family of Montreal to form McCordick Glove and Safety. The McCordick name was derived
from a separate Henderson family venture. To cover start-up costs, the two
men financed the new venture personally. Within 15 years the Hendersons sold
their shares of McCordick to Huck and a
group of a half-dozen employees. It was
around that time that the company
decided to expand beyond gloves to
safety products including hearing products, eyewash, cleaners and apparel.
The company has not looked back.
The reception area offers evidence of
McCordick’s successes. Plaques from
suppliers including 3M and DuPont, recognizing McCordick’s contributions,
adorn the walls. Prominent in these
awards are plaques from nearby Toyota
for “outstanding supplier performance”
among Toyota’s more than 300 suppliers
of “supplemental products” for both
2002 and 2003. Such recognition isn’t
surprising considering the priority
McCordick places on customer service.
In fact, the importance of customer satisfaction is a recurring theme in any
conversation with John, who has been in
the glove and safety business for over 50
years in a variety of capacities. To prove
the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,
son David, whose forte is product development and who has been with the family business for more than half of his 39
years, echoes his father’s sentiments.
In their efforts to foster supplier relations and to evaluate product quality,
both John and David have made
Take on the high road
or the low road.
2005 Hummer SUT and Chevrolet Corvette C6
No matter what road you choose Schlueter Chevrolet Hummer helps
you travel in style. From the versatility of the new Hummer SUT to the
300 Weber Street North, Waterloo
519.884.9000 or toll free 1.800.465.8003
gmontario.com
performance of the re-designed Corvette C6, we’ll take your driving
experience to a new level. Come into Schlueter Chevrolet Hummer
and test drive the vehicle that suits your route.
numerous overseas trips over the
years, to Asian plants where many of
McCordick’s gloves are manufactured
to their specifications. “I’ve made 20
trips to the Orient and 12 trips around
the world,” says John about his globetrotting. With labour being significantly
cheaper in Asia than domestically, significant portions of McCordick’s gloves
are produced offshore. However,
despite Asian gloves being cheaper,
McCordick has a number of domestic
glove suppliers. Regardless of the
product’s country of origin, strict CSA
standards are met on every product,
emphasizes David.
The transition from exclusively distributing gloves to providing broader
safety gear was partially just an evolutionary process, says John. “We got into
gloves and we got into safety products
Perfecting the art of relaxation
PHOTO: McCPRDICK GLOVE & SAFETY INC.
relax your body,
free your mind...
Phil Huck, industrial sales manager.
Producing colour documents should be easy.
Now it is!
Introducing the Konica Minolta BIZHUB C350.
Fast, affordable colour / Black & White.
Print, copy, scan & share documents,
Even make professional looking booklets.
Get Konica Minolta. And get started.
Give I.N.S. a call. 746-0631
75 Northland Rd., Waterloo, ON.
16
l
exchangemagazine.com
l
INFORMATION NETWORK SYSTEMS
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005
as well.” Considering their largest selling product is gloves, it’s not surprising
that McCordick’s catalogue boasts an
array of gloves in numerous styles.
Gloves can be constructed from natural
rubber, split leather, grain leather and
liquid proof material, to name just a few
of McCordick’s product offerings. “We
carry all different styles of gloves,” says
John with obvious understatement.
Gloves can be used as an effective
marketing device – given that
McCordick is synonymous with work
gloves, that product can be used to
soften clients to additional safety offerings. “What we want to try to do is take
it and become their (client’s) single
source,” explains David. “We can manage all the commodities for safety and
put them all together.”
Since safety is more of a priority in
industry than in years past, McCordick
offers a wide range of products, from traffic safety apparel and equipment to respiratory protection and earplugs and safety
glasses. “We are head to toe,” explains
David. “We do the complete line. We’ve
MOVER & SHAKER
PHOTO: McCPRDICK GLOVE & SAFETY INC.
developed everything in our
Despite the company’s
Work
Horse
brand.”
uninterrupted growth, the
McCordick’s internally proHucks are resistant to taking
duced annual catalogue
McCordick public, says
exceeds 50 pages.
David. It’s not just a matter
With a diverse product line
of a family losing at least a
and manufacturing undertakdegree of control in the
en elsewhere, McCordick’s
company they have nursales force represents the
tured for the past 25 years.
company’s largest group of
The company prides itself
employees. Approximately 20
being a family operation,
sales reps are distributed
not only in the literal sense,
among McCordick’s head
but by extension as well. A
office and branch network.
handful of employees with
The company’s markets are
proven loyalty and commitThe shareholders of McCordick (left to right) Terry Jones, VP Western
nearly exclusively domestic. Region, Mark Chilvers, VP Finance/Operations, David Huck, Vice Pres- ment have an ownership
“We do a little bit of business ident, John Bouctsis, Marketing Manager, Bob Train, VP Sales, Chris
stake in the company. The
in the States, but not a lot,” Danielczak, Purchasing Manager, Bryan Kugler, Overseas Purchasing
remaining employees –
Manager, John Huck, President and Phil Huck, Sales Manager.
explains the elder Huck. With
David estimates there are
tions. David estimates that eight to 10
a number of competitors, both nationally
60 employees, coast-to-coast – are
new styles of safety glasses are introand locally, the company concentrates its
treated as family members as well. The
duced annually. Seasonal promotions,
sales efforts domestically. The American
Hucks are justifiably proud of their
which include the Christmas season and
market, though attractive, is not an
company’s success and feel their colthe arrival of spring, are prepared nearly
immediate target, says David who advolective experience has served
eight months in advance.
cates a cautious approach to internationMcCordick well. “We manage our busiThe Huck family maintains a majorial markets. “It’s a big market. It’s a huge
ness very, very well,” says David with
ty position with McCordick’s ownermarket,” he says. “It’s a market we’re
unmistakable confidence.
ship. A handful of employees own the
definitely going to go after, but I want to
Gloves have a wide range of applicaremaining minority position in the
make sure the timing is right. I want to
tions, and McCordick’s customers are
company. As a privately owned compamake sure the systems are in place.”
equally diverse. The company divides its
ny, the Hucks are unwilling to reveal
Aside from a growing sales force,
clientele into industrial and retail. Virtualthe company’s sales figures. But, with
McCordick has an expanding adminisly any manufacturing facility has a need
the growth in product line and employtration department and its own in-house
for safety gloves. And with gloves having
ees and with a sprawling facility, it’s
art and marketing department, respona relatively short life span, regardless of
safe to say McCordick Glove is flourishsible for product development and prestheir durability, clients need to be well
ing. And John realizes it’s far more than
entation. More than in times past, fashstocked. “Hard hats can be worn for
just family that is responsible for its
ion plays a larger part in safety product
months,” explains David Huck. “But,
success. “We’ve had good growth and
lines. For instance, safety glasses are
gloves can be damaged between shifts at
mainly our growth is attributed to havconstantly being redeveloped to adapt
a plant.” Partially because of the relatively
ing good people and the latest in techto customer requests, which can include
inexpensive cost of most safety equipnology,” he says.
style presentations and colour variament, customers occasionally overlook
For Release: January 1, 2005
Attention: Event managers, PR companies, Executive Directors, CEO’s and Entertainment Organizers
New website launched to broadcast area news to the world
January 2005 – Waterloo Region, Guelph, Wellington County - Exchange Business Communications Inc., a leader in B2B and
B2G communications is pleased to announce the launch of XQuarterly.ca a online news service covering Canada’s affluent
Southern Ontario. “The new XQuarterly.ca compliments our visitor.on.ca event listing website launched January 2004,” said
Jon Rohr, President of EBC. “visitor.on.ca version 2 is to be released at the same time January 2005. XQuarterly offers free
posting of news related items including press releases and corporate announcements.
Go to xquarterly.ca
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005
l
exchangemagazine.com
l 17
MOVER & SHAKER
their depleting inventory of such equipment. Regardless of its cost, a client’s lack
of safety equipment has been known to
shut down production lines, says David.
For that very reason customer service is
essential for McCordick. “We have to
have excellent quality,” says John. “We
have to be responsive and have to have
next-day delivery, which is important for
industrial [customers],” he says.
The retail sector accounts for nearly
half of McCordick’s annual revenue,
says David. With big-box retailers such
as RONA and Home Depot being customers, along with famed Canadian
retailer Home Hardware, a diverse,
attractive and affordable product line is
a necessity. Popular retail offerings
from Huck range from gardening gloves
to first-aid kits and multi-paks. David
estimates that McCordick has nearly
8,000 different product skews. An individual skew is not a product, but an
individual version of a product. For
instance a medium-sized split-leather
glove represents one skew. Recently
introduced by McCordick are safety
glasses featuring logos of National
Hockey League teams. For products
with the NHL label, royalties are paid to
the league’s licensing arm. “The campaign has been successful,” says David.
“It has worked out very well.”
The main reason for the company’s
relocation from its previous Franklin
and Sheldon Avenue location was the
need for additional warehousing space.
Surrounded by an abundance of property, McCordick can expand their head
office operations if and when the need
arises. The current warehouse includes
ceilings nearly 40 feet in height, to better allow vertical storage. The current
outlet, housed within the building, is
stocked largely with seconds and endof-line products. It is used primarily as
the shipping source for client, or
prospective client, samplings. In most
cases McCordick Sales representatives
e-mail requests for samples to the outlet where the order is picked and packaged for the interested party.
For inventory purposes, McCordick
utilizes a Purolator shipping system
where orders can be precisely tracked.
“We can trace orders at any given time,
wherever they may be,” explains David.
Inventory is real time, Dave adds, and
is automatically dedicated to specific
orders. If a customer’s order cannot be
filled from Cambridge, the order can be
filled from any of the other three
branches. Currently, the company is in
the process of implementing a bar code
system to even more accurately track
and record inventory, says Dave.
“We’re trying to get better and better,”
says Dave.
High order fill rates are a source of
pride at McCordick and a factor that
differentiates the company from its
competition, explains David. “All
orders placed today are delivered
today. Customer service is really number one. Our fill rates are extremely
high and we don’t rest on our laurels.”
Within the large McCordick building
is a pool table. David says the table is
useful as a “stress reliever” as new
product ideas or modifications to existing products are debated in sometimes
a heated manner. But, similar to a family dinner table, differences are discussed, resolutions discovered, and
everyone promptly moves on. Perhaps
such family-oriented methods are the
secret to McCordick’s continued success. It’s the personal touch and an
unwavering commitment to customer
service that sets this company apart.
FREE No Cost Evaluation
Why pay to have your company’s monthly costs reduced?
We can help.
PRODUCTS & SERVICES
• Local Business Line
• T1, BRI, PRI
• Outbound Long Distance
• Inbound 800 Toll Free
• High Speed Internet Access (DSL,Wireless)
• Audio Conferencing
Grant Kuhn
One Company.
One Solution.
18
l
exchangemagazine.com
l
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005
Let’s get started. Email me at:
[email protected]
Tel: 519.743.5131
Fax: 519.743.7935