There used to be a time when most finishing and coating shops would share their best practices and SOPs with other shops, even if they were quasi-competitors.
I've heard the stories from veterans in the industry on how someone who was a new owner or manager would call their counterpart at another shop and ask a question or two about buying a certain piece of equipment or to ask them how they solved a sometimes complex finishing issue.
But times have changed, or so it seems. Owners who are sinking millions of dollars into technology, equipment, and supplies are not so open to inviting in another shop — even if they were on a different coast from theirs — and showing them how to effectively run a shop.
What goes on behind shop walls these days often stay behind those walls. And even if they did invite in someone who asked, they usually had a stack of NDAs to sign that it didn't make much sense for a visit even to take place.
But whenever I talk to a shop owner or manager, one of the questions I always ask is, "What is your secret to success?" I want to know what they do differently — or what philosophy they swear by — in order to increase profits, improve efficiencies, and generally boost morale and productivity with their employees.
The answers I received were always interesting and unique. Of course, many of the answers overlapped with the same genre of the recipe to their "Secret Sauce" for success: train your people, spend the money you can, and go after the best customers.
In our lead article for this issue, I ask some of the most recent shops I've spoken with over the past few months to get specific in how they pick the right ingredients to cook up their "Secret Sauce" to improve margins and maintain a great customer base, as well as to keeping a diligent workforce.
You'll see the answers they gave me on the following pages, and some are unique gems, and some are insightful explorations of the time-tested philosophies of spending money where you can, bringing in the best people, and having good communication with your customers.
Thank you to all the shop owners and managers who took the time to share with me, and I hope you will enjoy some of their insight and beliefs.
I recall years ago a plater telling me that they had no problem inviting anyone into their shop who wanted to see how their recipe for success was being carried out.
"Why not?" the owner told me when I asked why he gave such access to someone who might even be considered a competitor someday.
"If they can duplicate it the way we have learned over the past 30 years, more power to them," he said.
Tim Pennington is Editor-in-Chief of Finishing and Coating, and has covered the industry since 2010. He has traveled extensively throughout North America visiting shops and production facilities, and meeting those who work in the industry. Tim began his career in the newspaper industry, then wound itself between the sports field with the PGA Tour and marketing and communications firms, and finally back into the publishing world in the finishing and coating sector. If you want to reach Tim, just go 
