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Clay & Lorisa |
Greetings!
Welcome to our Spring 2011 edition of our newsletter. Whoever said "What don't kill you makes you stronger", must have been talking about this past winter in Alberta. I figure that apart from the occasional red tailight while traveling, I spent at least 8 hours each week staring into sheer whiteness, enveloped in sheer blackness. Mud has become my favorite color.
On the upside, most farmers are surely going to welcome full dugouts, flowing creeks and the reduced fire hazards. We don't want to age ourselves here, but it has been a loooong time since we've seen that much snow, coupled with that much cold weather. Any domestic or wild creatures that have survived a winter like that are worthy of a good summer. Those that haven't ... well, that's nature's way, isn't it? Maybe the Pine Beetle might learn a lesson from this and retreat back west of the Great Divide.
I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest spring has sprung and summer is coming next. And with summer comes summer things - like baseball. And this summer we'll be supporting one of our local communities by participating in their annual Red Eye Tournament on the July long weekend. You may remember last issue my telling you about the awesome facility they have in Gadsby (about 15 minutes east of Stettler on Hwy 12), and how METALEX (and many others) contributed time, expertise, labor and/or materials to complete the facilities for their village centennial. The Gadsby District Ball Association hosts this event, and the amenities are great! Twin fenced, regulation diamonds, full kitchen/bar, washrooms, showers and plenty of parking. And adjacent to the diamonds is a large, well-treed campsite (no services). We'd love nothing better than to see you rally your team, come on out and have a few laughs. Why you might even take home a trophy!
You may just see some celebrity ball players!
THE LOW-DOWN ON THE HOE-DOWN:
GADSBY DISTRICT BALL ASSOCIATION
RED EYE TOURNAMENT
Thursday, June 30 at 6:30pm - July 3 at 3:00pm
24 teams @ $350.00 per team
Contact Rachelle @ 403-741-9141 for details after 5:00 pm
3GG - NO JACK BATS ALLOWED
Another sure sign of summer is the monthly METALEX Social Club BBQ, held the first Friday of each month during the summer. If you are going to be in the vicinity, please stop by and enjoy a smokie, hot dog or hamburger on us.
On the business side, it's been a pretty great winter. We have continued to add staff, but ensuring they meet our high expectations for quality and service. We've had some challenging projects presented to us and I like to think we have met each one of them with the same enthusiasm that we are famous for! We've increased our metal forming capabilities with the addition of a larger CNC, and our efforts to strengthen our safety program over the past year has resulted in improved safety statistics. And thanks to all of you out there that have assisted us in achieving these rewarding goals!
With breakup upon us, it'll be a few weeks while the roads and fields dry out enough to lift the road bans. Despite all the melting, there is still an awful lot of moisture out there. We will keep busy as always despite the road bans, but keep in mind the forecast is for a busy summer. If you've got some projects in mind and are going to need building services, whether it is Foam Panel, Self Framer, Combination Units or Pre-Engineered Structure, please let us know and we can help ensure it comes off on time and on budget!
Feel free to give us feedback anytime! And not just on our newsletter, but our products and service too! Send your comments in total confidence right to the top - Lorisa@mmbi.ca or Clay@mmbi.ca.
Please visit our updated website and meet some of our staff, view some of our products and let us know what you think. |
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THE VALUE OF SMART PHONES
"Value has a value only if it's value is valued"
- Bryan Dyson - Former CEO of Coca Cola
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Bryan Dysan
Invaluable! |
Wikipedia defines a smart phone as one that has more features than a conventional phone. Bryan Dysan (pictured at left), however, might argue that point.
Some of us can remember when a phone only did one thing, and it did it quite well, almost without fail. The new iPhone is capable of doing about 350,000 things, if you downloaded all of the Apps available for it. Few will argue that the Blackberry has become the defacto standard for business and social communication. And there is an endless list of smart phones streaming onto the market.
As a business there is little doubt that our adoption of the Blackberry has added value to what we do. We can have instant communication between field staff, office computers, vendors, our transportation crews and any of us can recieve automated notification of a variety of events that shape our workday.
But does it make us more competitive? Do we have to do it just to stay in the game? Does it improve our production or quality? Are our workers safer or smarter as a result? In short - does it add value?
"Value" may be a relative term. And so may "Smart" when used with "Phone".
As Mr. Dysan points out, Value only exists if someone applies value to some item or service. You can polish that rusty wheelbarrow all you want, but until someone figures it's worth something, there is no real value. That's why here, at METALEX, we treasure our customers, especially when they let us know they have found value in something we have done. And we try to let our suppliers know when we find value in something they have done for us. Having value added through the entire supply chain results in the best possible end result any end-user could expect. As long as you don't confuse value with "cheap", or "fast" or any other singular descriptive - it's typically a combination of these "values" that fit the end-user's needs best. That's what we strive to do, so if you order a building from METALEX, it helps if you can relate to us what your greatest values are.
 | | Dumb Person + Smart Phone = Dumb Phone |
Which brings us to Smart Phones(!). Personally, I believe they should be called "Capable" Phones. They're not really smart - only as smart as the person that buys them, gets them working properly (sometimes that's pretty darn smart!), downloads the necessary Apps, and then uses them in the right time and place. And how smart are they if they fail? And trust me (our apologies to RIM, Apple, et al), they DO fail. And if I, as a worker, rely on a tool that fails me on occasion, how smart does said tool make me look when it fails and lets down my customer?
This is where the "percieved value" comes in. If the value added is marginal at best, and can't be counted on 100% of the time, and takes substantial time and money to implement, then maybe the real value doesn't match up with the percieved value. I often wonder if we wouldn't be further ahead to sell all of our Blackberrys, buy a bag phone for each truck, and live without texting and email in the field? Nah, part of being a quality supplier is mastering technology, so we'll stick with it for now.
But we are also very aware of technology, and are always evaluating what it can add to our "real value".
Do you have a favorite App that adds value to your operation? We'd love to hear all about it! Drop us a line - info@mmbi.ca
METALEX Metal Buildings is anxious to hear from you. Call us to experience "Value" derived from years of fine-tuning. Or let us know what we could be doing better. Consider us for your next bid request for any Metal or Steel structure requirements, and put our dedication to "quality-first" to the test!
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KISS
(Keep It Simple Stupid)
Well, we've never built a building quite like the one above, but we have seen some designs that makes one question how much thought has gone into the purpose and design beforehand. We understand that the purpose of the building, or the contents it is to house often change as the deadline for erection looms nearer, and sometimes these changes are not effectively communicated, and we accept such instances as the exception rather than the rule.
It should be said that sometimes suppliers of certain manufactured components develop only "manufacturing expertise" and are best-suited to follow a predetermined design or template. These mass-production facilities are often extremely adept at cranking out multiples, but they go into convulsive shock when you ask for a design variance on individual units, or if you ask for a single unit only. And that is the way it should be. They are setup such that the first unit gets all the attention, and pity the poor fool that doesn't make sure it is perfect before the assembly line rolls.
Other manufacturers work the other end of the spectrum. They can make multiples, and many of them do well at it, but they are not familiar with staged purchasing deliveries (JIT), point of consumption inventory, product jigging, assembly-line production practices, etc. So while they stand to make a decent profit off of mutliples, its not as wide as the first example. Where they shine is in the "one of" market, especially if the customer relies on them for inherent standardized design.
As a vendor, I also think it's important to read and understand what a customer is requesting, and to quote it exactly as specified, or get permission to deviate from the specifications. Leaving out an item to drop the price and then expect it to be paid for later lacks integrity. Most of our customers appreciate that they get what they pay for, and that at METALEX, Value is guaranteed.
We won't cut corners to reduce the price, because that is not what our customers have come to expect from us. And we won't use inferior components to reduce the price, unless a certain brand of component is specifically requested. And we won't grind our staff and expect them to work for nothing - they appreciate the work, we appreciate their dedication, and that relationship serves us both well through growing market share.
We have developed some extensive expertise in regards to building design solutions, and can offer quite a variety of options on everything from doors to windows, insulation and flooring, color and finish, environmental options and varying load capabilities. Unless you have specific design requirements, we can find the greatest value for you based on our experience and as a certfied CSA A660 manufacturer, you know we are capable and recognized.
We like to think our processes are pretty streamlined. Our little shop may not look like NASAs, but then again, neither does our budget! We liken ourselves to a finely tuned engine, and we are always ready to meet the competition. As long as the playing field is level!
Bring us your challenges, and make competition a part of your standard operating procedure! |
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Western Canada Drilling Stats
If you draw any relation between your business, the economy, and the amount of drilling activity in Canada, these drilling statistics might interest you. Below, you will find the latest week this year compared to last year.
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Double the fun in Alberta! |
Comparing a single week, year to year (2010 to 2011), Alberta is up nearly 100% over last year's activity. The rest of the provinces are very close to this time last year, with BC down about 12%.
Is Alberta "up" because of a stalled breakup season?
Or is the $112.00 bbl price driving activity?
I'm betting it isn't natural gas running the show, although at today's price ($4.37), it's over a dollar more than the $3.30 it traded for this time last year.
(Drilling rig activity statistics courtesy of CAODC and Divestco) |
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Absolutely Trivialicious
Most American car horns honk in the key of F.
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CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL -
Thank you to the Metalex Team for your support. My issues on the separator skid packages were resolved in a satisfactory time frame with professional and accommodating servicemen.
Jim Kinch
Contractor
Nexen Inc. |
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Come see us!
(and don't forget to bring donuts!) METALEX Metal Buildings Inc.
Box 1058 4204 - 46th Avenue Stettler, AB T0C 2L0 Phone: 403.742.1300 Toll Free: 866.913.1300 Fax: 403.742.1308 info@mmbi.ca |
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