William Saas is a legend in the finishing community, and this year was given the NASF Presidential Award, which focuses on extraordinary service by an NASF member who is actively participating on the national level, who goes above and beyond the capacity of most.
Saas has a long history of significant contributions to the surface finishing industry, including serving as president of the Metal Finishing Suppliers Association and long-standing chair of the Government Advisory Committee. In his business career, Saas was the owner of chemical supplier Taskem from 1982 until 2007, when he sold the company to the holding company for what is now Coventya. He continues to be an active member of the NASF Ohio Chapter and instrumental on the NASF Suppliers Committee and runs his own finishing consulting business.
How did you get your start in the finishing industry?
My father owned a hard chrome and cadmium plating shop in Cleveland. At 16, I began as the person at my father’s shop that analyzed all the plating solutions, cleaners, acid pickles, etc. My father died shortly after my 19th birthday and five days into my sophomore year at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. When he died, I withdrew from Notre Dame and two years later transferred to Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland. I continued analyzing the various solutions as a part-time job while I was in college. The company my father owned was sold during my sophomore year at Case, but I enjoyed working in the lab there, and since I was the only person there that had an interest in the job, the new owners keep me on as the part-time analytical chemist. When I graduated from Case in 1966, I was offered a position in the analytical lab at R.O. Hull & Co., which later became Rohco, a manufacturer of various proprietary Surface Finishing products. I eventually moved from the lab to Sales and Marketing at Rohco, and was one of the three people that bought the company from Lubrizol, a Cleveland-based company that had purchased it from the Hull family a few years earlier.
What do you enjoy best about the industry?
I have always been impressed with the people that were the leaders in the industry and with their willingness to share much of their knowledge with new-comers like me. These owners and industry leaders were typically interested in finding better ways to finish parts and, thus, to gain an advantage over their competitors. As long as I could help them improve the efficiencies of their finishing shops, they were willing to buy chemicals from me and to try new technologies my company was offering. The understanding was, of course, what I learned at one shop had to stay there. I eventually became involved in Government Relations on behalf of the three associations that were in existence at that time: MFSA, the group that represented the suppliers, NAMF, the group that represented the finishers, and AESF, the group that represented the scientists that were part of the Surface Finishing Industry. Being involved in the Government Relations efforts took considerable time, but it was also very satisfying because those of us involved in the GR efforts were able to develop relationships with many of the regulators that were creating new and challenging limits that surface finishers had to meet in order to stay in business. A mutual respect developed that was very important because it gave us (Industry) the opportunity to show the regulators many of the treatment methods finishers had developed to improve and protect the environment. On the other hand, it gave the regulators the opportunity to see that finishers were as concerned about the environment as the regulators were. Our efforts were effective at ensuring that sound scientific methods were used to determine that fair discharge limits would be established for finishers to meet. When I look back now, I am proud of what the industry leaders that were involved in the Government Relations efforts accomplished in dealing with regulators in both Democrat and Republican administrations. I am also grateful to the rest of the finishers that were equally involved in developing useful and appropriate relationships with the regulatory community. It goes without saying that I am also grateful that I had a very understanding family that put up with a busy travel schedule that kept me away from home a considerable amount of time for several years.
If money were no object, what would you do all day?
Pretty much what I do now, which is: (1) Spending time with my family (4 married children, 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren), (2) occasionally traveling with family and friends and taking photographs, (3) spending time woodworking, (4) doing special market research work for NASF creating various reports for the association members that estimate the size of the Surface Finishing Industry, as well as identifies which market segments are growing the fastest, and which technologies are the most popular at the time the reports are created.
If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to?
That’s a loaded question. First, what could I take with me? Frankly, I’m pretty addicted to my iPhone, my MacBook Laptop, my Nikon camera and other electronic gear that is a big part of my life, so if I could take these items with me, I’d be happy to only go back 11 years, which would give me about a year to spend with my wife Rosemary before she died. If I couldn’t take anything with me, I’d go back to when Christ began his three years of public life when he was essentially a teacher.
How would your friends describe you?
Good-natured, good sense of humor, big Notre Dame fan, Cleveland Browns fan, Cleveland Indians fan, wanna-be golfer, and owner of any tool you can think of.
What are your hobbies?
I enjoy taking photographs, doing woodworking, helping friends and relatives with do-it-yourself projects, and volunteering for two charities in Florida, helping them with fund-raising efforts.
What is the best gift you have been given?
My loving family and my faith in God.
Aside from necessities, what one thing could you not go a day without?
Checking my e-mail and responding only to the most important messages.
Two pet peeves?
People that complain about things, but will never take an active part in trying to improve or rectify the things they complain about. People that are unwilling to contribute either financially or with their time to projects that are important to their businesses, but they are quick to take advantage of the efforts of others that enhance the profitability of the businesses owned by passive members of the Surface Finishing Industry.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
If I’m lucky, I’ll still be enjoying good health, traveling with family and/or friends, playing golf as time permits, making furniture for my great-grandchildren, and still consulting for NASF and the Surface Finishing Industry.
If you were a super-hero, what powers would you have?
The power to read people’s minds. This would be especially helpful in cases where folks are reluctant to tell you what is really on their minds.
What would you do if you won the lottery?
I would donate much of it to my high school alma mater, St. Ignatius High School, and to Magnificat High School, the all-girls, Catholic High School where my wife worked for several years as Director of Development and where my three daughters, three granddaughters and several nieces went to high school.
What's your favorite zoo animal?
Lions.
If you could go back in time to change one thing, what would it be?
Spending more time with Rosemary and my family when all of us were younger. I would do the same thing with my parents when I was in my late teens. Unfortunately, both my parents died before I had the time to communicate with them on an adult-to-adult basis.
Would you rather trade intelligence for looks or looks for intelligence?
I would always trade intelligence for looks and never think twice about it.
What's your favorite holiday?
My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving because it’s the one time during the year when my chances are best of having the entire family congregate in Cleveland for the holiday itself and often for the entire weekend. One important tradition we have is beginning our Thanksgiving meal with everyone mentioning one thing for which they are very thankful. Several times business colleagues have been in town while our family was celebrating the Thanksgiving Holiday. In these instances, Rosemary and I have included the visitors from Europe and Asia to share our Thanksgiving meal with them. Of course, we always asked them to describe something in their lives for which they are very grateful. I am proud that most of them have told us later that they have included this same tradition at one of their holiday meals in their home towns, even if they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving as a specific holiday.
What's the most daring thing you've ever done?
White water rafted class 6 rapids in the New River in West Virginia.
What was the last thing you watched on TV?
The new movie based on true events, “Greyhound,” starring Tom Hanks.
What was the last book you read?
Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book, Leadership in Turbulent Times. It details the experiences and actions of Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson during their political careers.
What's your favorite type of foreign food?
German or Austrian food.
Are you a clean or messy person?
Clean; actually, very clean.
Who would you want to play you in a movie of your life?
Harrison Ford.
What's your favorite fast-food chain?
Wendy’s.
What's your favorite family recipe?
Beef tenderloin.
What is your favorite childhood memory?
Christmas shopping with my brother for gifts for our parents.
What's your favorite movie?
Actually, I have at least two, if not three: The Hunt for Red October, Sabrina (the 1995 version), and Pretty Woman.
