Speaker 0 00:00:00 Automation systems are sometimes designed around conveyors and why that is completely backwards.
Speaker 1 00:00:09 Hello everyone. And welcome to the 83, the robot industry podcast. I'd like to welcome the listeners all over the world from Frankfurt, Marsay, Oakland, and London. Thank you for subscribing to our podcast. I'm glad that you're here. I'd like to introduce my first, my guest today, and that's Kevin Mauger and Kevin, um, is an entrepreneur. He's a father, he's a fisherman. He's a graduate from the university of Delaware with a bachelor of science. And Kevin was a systems engineer at NCC for a dozen years. And like they say, in the commercial, you like the company so much that you bought it. Kevin, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 0 00:00:46 Well, thank you. And, uh, it's good to be here, Jim. I have to, I have to say something. So that systems engineers in our company would probably roll over in their grave. Uh, thinking about me being a systems engineer, I was a sales engineer, right? So the sales engineers get it close to system engineers and make it work
Speaker 1 00:01:07 From an old applications engineer in my background too. I'm sure there's a lot of people rolling their eyes out there right now, too. So Kevin you're president of a bunch of different companies. Uh, you started at NCC automated systems. Uh, you you've, you've also got a couple other things going on in your life just to let our audience know what some of those are.
Speaker 0 00:01:26 Well, it's a, it's a life full of lots of things. Uh, you know, first and foremost, I'm a, uh, a parent and a husband. I have three kids. Um, my son, Kyle 29, my daughter Madison 25, uh, in about two weeks. And Kelsey is 19. My wife, Danielle, who is a fitness instructor, a nutritionist and health coach. So she keeps me happy. And uh, and then of course the elephant of NCC, right? So, um, NCC I've worked here my entire career. I literally graduated on a Friday and started at what was then Northeast conveyor corporation, the following Monday. So, um, I didn't even, I had the weekend off and, uh, it's literally the only thing I know I've been working here, my entire career, uh, NCC as a base company is a manufacturer and an integrator in, uh, two main industries. Uh, the largest industry for us is the food industry, food and packaging. And we also do quite a bit of work in the <inaudible> industry. So two distinct segments. And from that base of NCC, we've started some other companies and, uh, glide line is one of them side drive conveyor company has a gunner one, and we have another one starting to be announced mid this year.
Speaker 1 00:02:50 And so you founded glide line and that's one of the reasons I've having you on the podcast today. Um, as one of the most flexible work piece palette and panel handling precision conveyor systems
Speaker 0 00:03:00 On the planet. And so how did that come about? Yeah, good question, Jim. Um, so again, the background with NCC as an integrator, um, we, we buy resell, customize and make our own custom conveyor essentially to support customer's needs. And, you know, they're all different all the time. Very rarely is it an out of the box catalog solution? There's always some element of customization. It's the role of an integrator. Everybody knows that. And, uh, we weren't in the assembly market at all. Uh, however we had, um, we had one machine that we built for the optical market and it used a twin strand style conveyor didn't even use a workpiece pallet. It's just a twin strand style of conveyor. And, you know, frankly, we had trouble getting it right. And as an integrator, um, the conveyor is a commodity, right? It's, it's basically just something you need.
Speaker 0 00:03:55 And, you know, we, we, we're seeing lead times from who we were purchasing that from, that were, you know, just, just crazy. I mean, 12 weeks, I'm like a six foot conveyor. So, um, we designed our own, uh, not with the intention of turning this into a product line. And by the way, it looks nothing like what our product looks like today. It was just, Oh my God, we can't get delivery. We've quoted and accepted an order on this delivery. We need the conveyor before it. So I guess we'll just make our rounds. Right. So, uh, we did that, um, as a complete coincidence, we had another customer work walking through our shop, going to an fat and he stopped at this machine that had this conveyor inside of it. And he said, Hey, where did you get that conveyor? And we said, well, we kind of told him the story.
Speaker 0 00:04:45 It turns out he buys from the same suppliers having the same problems. If I buy 120 of these a year, just like that, can you make them for me? So sure. Okay. So we, uh, we started ramped up a little bit on it. Um, you know, still really didn't have any intentions, but once we learned about that market, you know, as an integrator, we know what the market wants, right? They want to very quickly, they want them to good value. They want them flexible. They want somebody who's easy to work with. And, and frankly, that segment of the overall automation industry, uh, the main supplier wasn't necessarily those things, there are many, many great things. It's a good company. Um, but they're very big company and they weren't fast, flexible or easy, right? So we literally designed our company around fast, flexible and easy as our heritage, as an integrator told us, we knew what they wanted and we started learning the industry. And we said, you know what? This is, this is an interesting industry. We've got some baseline technology that would really work. We've got the right experience, skillset, manufacturing force, et cetera. And the industry can really meet this. So self-serving at first. And then we said, you know, we could probably make a business out of this. And there we are.
Speaker 1 00:06:02 And I have to disclose to the audience too, that we are friends and that in the early days I helped you out with some projects. So I just want to get that out on the table right away.
Speaker 0 00:06:11 Well, Jim, I think you could probably say that for most of the industry, at least the friends part, anybody listening knows that's true.
Speaker 1 00:06:19 I know that you're a fishermen because we actually exchange fish pictures every once in a while over Instagram. Right? So glide wine kind of started as your own internal need. And then with clients now asking for the conveyors, uh, you started building, uh, configurations, uh, and based on this fast, flexible and easy. So what's, uh, what's happening and who's your target audience.
Speaker 0 00:06:43 We sell to integrators. We don't do any integration in the assembly automation industry. So our targets are integrators in the assembly automation industry, which of course is a horizontal over many verticals. And, um, most of the time that is a, a private firm doing work for their end user. It's probably 90% of our customers, but some end users actually have, um, their own integration groups and we will sell to them on those occasions as well.
Speaker 1 00:07:18 And so what were some of your biggest obstacles getting started? I mean, for, for yourself, it's easy, right? You can, you can be a little bit late or you can have some challenges, but what's, what were some of the, your startup obstacles?
Speaker 0 00:07:29 Yeah. That's you raise a really good point. Um, and actually supplying to ourselves was a really, really good soft start into the industry because you're right. We have more flexibility. Um, and we ended up finding a use for it internally that ended up being quite a bit of use in the optical industry. So we got a lot of volume and a lot of learning as we built our brand. But to answer your question, the hardest thing was, was building the brand, you know, who, who has guideline, right? And, and, uh, you know, these, these, um, engineers are doing work for, you know, very large companies and, and didn't want to take risks with something they don't know. And, you know, engineers aren't paid to take risks. Engineers are paid to avoid risks. So, um, that was, uh, an interesting thing I've always been, you know, in the integration world presented with a challenge, how good your challenge is from a solution set cost set, delivery set, meeting the customer needs. That's when you get the work well with, with, with, um, selling the product is a whole different thing. So you really had to really had to build up that trust and credibility. And that was, that was a little bit of a challenge took longer than we thought.
Speaker 1 00:08:41 I think it's like everything. When you're building in the automation industry, everything does take longer than you think, and you want to build standard and the customers want to build a custom products. Right. And so tell me some about your innovative solutions that you're able to do, because I think you're able to do things quite swiftly and quite creatively.
Speaker 0 00:08:58 Yeah. That's a, that's a great thing. And there's really, there's two elements in there. Um, there's, there's speed and there's the ability to customize. Um, and both of those things work hand in hand with the solution that we developed. We had that in mind, we knew that people wanted at least configurable solutions, potentially customized solutions, because that's just the nature of the world. You know, people aren't designing their systems around conveyors. Um, they are designing their systems around the application and the conveyors need to fit in. Right? So, um, we did a couple of things there. Uh, number one, we, we automated the design process. You know, a lot of times when a conveyor manufacturer gets an order, it then goes into engineering and then engineering does their thing with it. Then they release it to the shop and the shop does the thing. Then they ship it.
Speaker 0 00:09:45 So basically we've created software internally that allows us to cut out the engineering process. So when we say fast necessarily because we, we run faster or we work harder, I mean, maybe we do. Um, but, but, but the reality is we cut out steps of the process. So we can go right from, uh, Ray, from sales directly to the shop is we've cut out that step. And actually that, um, the tool that we use, we also have a customer version of that it's called impact. And we can give customers that, and that is a modeling, an application and a pricing tool. So everybody calls these things configurators, but our configurator is completely different than any other configurator on the market. And it takes a little while to get it. But if you think about the best configurators in the conveyor market, they're, cloud-based you go online, you fill out a really nice wizard.
Speaker 0 00:10:37 It creates, uh, basically specifications. It creates a quote, creates a price. It creates a model. You download the bottle, you put it in your assembly. Everything's good. And there's absolute, there's zero wrong with that process. It works. The problem is when you change it, right? When you insert quote unquote, a dumb model into a master assembly, you know, you're, you're setting it up in solid works. You're, you're, you're, um, attaching mates and references. And then if you, if something has to change, sometimes a model blows up. And by the way, that model, it's a dumb model. So you can't really easily change that. And by the way, if you do, it's a new part number. It's a new price, maybe a new lead time. So ours is basically a native solid works model that has all of that intelligence, the pricing, the part number, how it applies built into the model. So we have a nifty interface with Excel. You configure it in either solid works or Excel. They talk to each other, you always have a current bomb and then a current price, and you can always check your application. So it's, it's, it's a native live dynamic model.
Speaker 1 00:11:43 Well, I'm an applications engineer. I create a system for a client opportunity. And then I find out that I need station number seven, expanded. So now I have expand it. So it's an easy peasy mix, right?
Speaker 0 00:11:56 Yeah. And, and it it's, it's, uh, it works. You're exactly right. And it, it, you bring up an important distinction because for an applications engineer, they use it differently than a design engineer. Right. So what I described kind of works for both, it really does an applications engineer. The beauty is the speed. They don't have to send it back to us. They don't have to necessarily go back online. They can do everything they need to do really, really quickly to get it close. Right. So they can get their proposal out the door with an accurate price and the design engineer, well, same thing. They, they can, they can model it around. We give dead accurate models with complete part number. So their bomb is now correct. They already know the price. So you don't have to, while you're designing things, go back and forth with the sales engineer. I mean, you can, if you want, we're here to support that. But basically, you know, we give them the power and the tools to do it in their environment. They're already comfortable with. So if you know, solid works in Excel, you know how to use impact, right. You gotta set it up, but it's, it's very simple
Speaker 1 00:12:57 And it's all about reducing the risk, right. So everyone knows that, that you can, as an apps guy, you can, you can take that, send that up to your purchasing department or design department. And there's low risk in the model. I love that. I think it's very, very clever. So I'd like to switch the conversation a little bit to kind of some of the things that you're seeing, uh, you know, as a, uh, are you seeing some bigger jobs or smaller jobs I know speed to market and some of the other trends you might be seeing?
Speaker 0 00:13:24 Yeah, great topic. I think, you know, the Amazon effect has really infiltrated our entire industry. Everybody wants everything immediately, you know, everything from support to questions to chats, to answers, to, to delivery. So it, it seems like the industry is extremely busy. It seems like they want faster and faster deliveries. And, uh, in general, I feel like the, um, the industry is, is, is dramatically expanding many, many fronts. So, you know, you see some technologies in the industry that are, you know, dying a slow death and you see other ones that are just coming out of nowhere,
Speaker 1 00:14:04 But that affects everyone like that Amazon effect. So it's affecting your end customer, your integrator and yourself. So you're seeing that as a big, uh, a big thing that is not likely to change.
Speaker 0 00:14:14 I think so. I think, I think it's just, it's a mentality. It's just, everything has sped up and in our world, everything is immediate.
Speaker 1 00:14:23 So things are rolling along and you're selling a lot of these systems to integrators, and then you do something very unusual in the market place and you make glide line and employee owned company. So why did you do that? And tell me a little bit about that.
Speaker 0 00:14:39 Well, that's a, there's a lot of answers to that question. So a lot of questions around that answer, I think that, um, overall, um, I've had, uh, been very lucky in my career and, um, you know, it got to the point where I said, all right, what do I want to do with the rest of my life, the rest of my career? Am I happy where things are, or do we want to shoot for the moon? And, and a huge part of me wanted to be happy with where I was, because I want for nothing. I have everything that I need. Um, I'm very, very blessed with, um, with luck, frankly, right? So w you know, we're, we're in this good situation as a family and as a company, but, you know, there's an old adage that says, if you're not getting better, you're getting worse.
Speaker 0 00:15:29 If you're not getting bigger, you're getting smaller. And, and, you know, frankly the, the, the best people on your team really want to be challenged and our purpose as a company. And, and basically the, the end of the story is, as I discovered what I wanted to do, I somewhat discover myself, uh, to kind of figure out what, what really speaks to me. And it's, it's really the, what is the most fulfilling. And, and I came to the conclusion that, um, I wanted to create an inspiring and positive experience for both our employees and our customers. And we had the ability to do that. We had a, we had a, um, a model that works. We we've done this a few times. We've proven this, we've created this, um, this model of a company that basically allows us to get to the next level. Right?
Speaker 0 00:16:22 So, however, comma, in order to do that, you know, it's not for the meek of heart, right? It's, this is not an easy thing. We, we publicly say that we want to take our company to a hundred million dollars. We're, we're a little bit over 30 now, right? So that's a pretty tall order. And by the way, there's a huge glass ceiling, somewhere in the, you know, somewhere in the 20 to $30 million range, when a company grows from, you know, um, adolescent to mature or turns into a real company that wasn't just, you know, a small company operator operating like a small company, one that can actually scale. So I basically knew that the only way to do this was to give everybody a stake in the outcome. And it, it was a perfect parallel to what I have found most fulfilling was to create this positive, inspiring experience. Right? So to do this, it's going to be hard. You need everybody on board, and by the way, it fulfills the passion and the purpose of who I thought I had become along the way, or figured out who I had become along the way. So sorry for such a long answer.
Speaker 1 00:17:37 No, that's a great, that's a great answer, Kevin. Um, what I saw and I saw it, I saw the news release on YouTube and was very excited for you. Um, but I, I was wondering what were the reactions from, I mean, I saw some very happy people, people crying. And so, were there any reactions that surprise you?
Speaker 0 00:17:57 No, I don't think there were reactions that really surprised me. I think, um, you know, I think like anything else, you have some people who get it and really were like, all right, this is awesome. You have some people that, yeah, okay. This is some type of who knows what this is, we'll say. And then, and then the rest of them, you know, maybe they're there, they're somewhere in the middle with, you know, like, well, this seems pretty good, but it don't really understand it. And I think that was the overwhelming feeling. I think if you, um, you know, everybody's heard of employee on companies, but nobody really knows. I shouldn't say nobody, but not many people know how they really work. Right. The mechanism behind it, the opportunity, uh, the upside. Um, I mean, it's, it's, it's an incredible opportunity to be part of an employee owned company because you are now, you have it, of course depends on the way the culture is set up.
Speaker 0 00:18:51 And the, and the overall, the rest of the company is set up. But, but if it's done right, and, you know, I hope we're on the way of, of doing it right. If it is done right, you can feel like you are in owner. I mean, ownership thinking is, is a very powerful thing, not only for the success of the company, but also for the success of the employee. So rather than just going to work every day and doing your job, if you feel like you're doing something that you're engaged in and, and, and have a sense of fulfillment, that's a significantly better place to be in life. So that, that's obviously a huge part of it.
Speaker 1 00:19:28 I think that's, I think it's wonderful. And, you know, like you say, you've got, you kind of got the cultural set, um, and you've now got ownership thinking, and these are people who are like, Ooh, don't waste that money. Or, Oh, let's get this job shipped right away because we're going to get paid faster. Like you do have some of those things that are, uh, that you wouldn't have in an, in a normal corporation. Um, is there any surprises that, that you've seen now in, in the change of culture with now, people knowing that they own a piece of,
Speaker 0 00:19:58 I think it's just the power of the team, you know, it's, it's, it's one thing to say theoretically, but then to see it in actual action. Um, you know, I think before I was an employee on company and as a much smaller company, I felt like I was, you know, one carrying a lot of the load and not just doing the work because, you know, the company has always done all of the work. Right. But I mean, Karen, the burden, right? The, the worry, the stress and the seek to improve. Right. Um, part of that's because I had visibility and part of it as the position, but, but, you know, really it's the overall responsibility and, and what to, you know, what could happen both on the negative or the positive side. So now that everybody has exposure, we've also turned into an open book managed company, right?
Speaker 0 00:20:43 So we've given full transparency into the, the dollars cents. So coupled with that tool to help understand how, and when we make money and actual stake in the outcome both long and short term, um, it's, it's incredibly powerful to get basically everybody rowing in the same direction. And I don't mean to make it sound like it's complete utopia, right? We still have, we still have plenty of problems. We still have plenty of challenges. And, uh, you know, not everybody is, is, is, is exactly rolling in the right direction. But, you know, I think at any company, if you look at, if there's a hundred people pick a number 10 or 20 of them are gonna work, like it's their own company, no matter what, no matter where they are, that's just who they are. They were grazed that way. That's who they are. You're going to have maybe five or 10 people that kind of doesn't matter what you do on the bottom side, they're coming to work, right? So it's the people in the middle that you're, that you're trying to affect. And, you know, that could be 70 or 80% of the company. So if 70, 80% of your company is even one click better than it was before, that's 70 or 80% of your company, right. So that's a huge number. And if it's two clicks, three clicks, it can have a tremendous impact. And that's been the biggest surprise. It's just really just the power of that along the way. Incredible.
Speaker 1 00:22:05 Do you th now that you've been an employee owned company, I think maybe for two or three years,
Speaker 0 00:22:09 Uh, 2017, so four years. Wow. I think that Cinco de Mayo,
Speaker 1 00:22:16 So are you seeing as well being employee owned that that is a really good thing for employee attraction and retention?
Speaker 0 00:22:24 I think so. I think it's a piece of it. It's, it's interesting. And there's a great upside from a financial perspective. I think it's the, um, the effect that being an employee employee on can have on a company is the actual attraction, right? It's one thing to be employee on. It's another thing to have a company of people who think and act like owners and care and, um, you know, follow the values that the company has. And, you know, it's just that alignment that, uh, is, is a powerful thing.
Speaker 1 00:23:00 That's great. Kevin, I want to thank you for coming on the podcast. I know we've been, we've been, you and I have been chatting about getting you on for a long time, and I know how busy you are. Um, how can people get ahold of you and how can they find out more about, uh, Glidewell
Speaker 0 00:23:12 Guideline is, uh, we have a, website's probably the best place www.glide-line.com.
Speaker 1 00:23:20 Thanks again, our sponsor for this episode is Earhart automation systems, Earhart builds and commissions turnkey solutions for their worldwide automation clients. With over 80 years of precision manufacturing, they understand the complex world of robotics, automated manufacturing, and project management, delivering world-class custom automation on-time and on-budget contact one of their sales engineers to see what Earhart can build for you. That's
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Speaker 2 00:23:48 And Earhart is spelled E H R H a R D T. I'd like to thank and acknowledge our partner. A, the association for advancing automation <inaudible> is the umbrella association for the RIA AIA, M C M a N 83, Mexico. These four associations combined represent almost 1300 automation manufacturers, component suppliers, systems integrators, and users, research groups, and consulting firms throughout the world that are driving automation forward. I'd like to thank and recognize our partner painted robot painted robot builds and integrates digital solutions. They're a web development firm that offers S E O N digital social marketing, and can set up and connect to CRM and other ERP tools to unify marketing sales and operations. And if you'd like to get in touch with us at the robot industry podcast, you can find me Jim Beretta on LinkedIn. We'll see you next time. Thanks for listening. Be safe out there. Today's podcast was produced by customer attraction, industrial marketing, and I'd like to thank my nephew, Chris gray for the music, Chris Colvin for audio production, my partner, Janet, and our partners, a three painted robot and our sponsor Earhart automation systems.
