Episode Transcript
[00:00:09] Speaker A: Welcome to the Clear Impact podcast brought to you by PGTI University. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Sherri Connor and I am your host.
Good morning. We are here on the Clear Impact podcast and we are in a series of introducing Mitre, which is kind of weird because we are Mitre, but also we're meeting folks who are new to us and new to our audience. And today Mike Olin has joined us in the studio. So good morning, Mike.
[00:00:42] Speaker B: Good morning, Sherry.
[00:00:43] Speaker A: It's nice to have you today.
[00:00:45] Speaker B: It's great to be here. Thanks.
[00:00:46] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, there's worse things we could do on a Monday, right?
[00:00:48] Speaker B: You got that right.
[00:00:50] Speaker A: So thanks for taking some time to chat with us today. We're just wanting to know a little bit more about you, what you do, how long you've been with Mitre, and just, you know, some visibility and some comfort to our audience.
[00:01:05] Speaker B: Yeah, sure. Well, I appreciate you having me on the show. And yeah, I've been with Mitre for 22 years now in the window business since 96. Started off in Ohio with a kind of roll up consolidator of window companies. And actually I relocated to Florida from there back in 2000. So I spent a couple years in Florida. So somewhat familiar with the impact market. And PGT, even back then, was a strong player in the market. So about three years after moving to Florida, then I got a job. I was hired at Mi. Back then, Mitre Brands became Miter brands, but yeah, relocated there in 2002. So this is my 22nd year with the business and came on as what was called back then purchasings before we even knew the term supply chain. So supply chain has gotten a lot of publicity during COVID and all the interruptions that happened in the supply chain during that period of time. Yeah. But back then it was purchasing. I was hired as purchasing director out of their gratz, Pennsylvania headquarters. So operations support center, actually, we call it. And, you know, back then it was charged with leading all of the procurement and inventory control, inventory management. You know, systems weren't really well developed back then, so had the opportunity to work with a lot of people, you know, broad folks or broad organizations across business to build those things up. Yeah. So 22 years later, here I am, navigated the acquisitions of Milgard and Sunrise. And now the PGTI acquisition was a really exciting one for me personally, and I know for the business well, and.
[00:02:35] Speaker A: You and I were chatting on the way over and you mentioned that you've sort of become a snowbird and have a space in this area during the winter, which is really fun.
[00:02:45] Speaker B: Yeah, it was really cool the way that worked out. I used to vacation down here, pre Covid with my wife in the casey key area, and we became familiar with Venice. And I have a lot of family in Fort Myers and Fort Lauderdale area, too. So I've been coming to Florida for years, so we really liked this area. Knew we did. So, you know, post Covid, we decided to kind of check out the area again as I was planning for trying to make a soft landing in my career for retirement. So we started looking around Venice and found a place that we really liked. And, you know, in the back of my mind, kind of knew we had PGTI in our sites as far as a possible acquisition. So I was thinking to myself, it would be really cool if it would work out where I would. I actually have a place to stay here and also, you know, be part of the PGTI team. And it worked out. So I really, really pleased and happy with that outcome. So really enjoying being here, albeit part time right now, but really enjoying meeting the team and living in the area.
[00:03:33] Speaker A: Nice. And so you'll be heading north where it's not as miserable soon?
[00:03:38] Speaker B: Yeah, actually, it's hotter up there this week than it is in Florida, so. But, yeah, we'll be up there, you know, about four months, a year or so, and then back down in Florida the other eight.
[00:03:47] Speaker A: Nice. And so where did you go to school?
[00:03:48] Speaker B: I went to college at Youngstown State in Ohio. Graduated there in 86 and worked my way through various industries in supply chain, actually, first job was as a production supervisor in Cleveland and then got into supply chain and kind of the materials management role in a steel mill in Sharon, Pa. And then from there went into the fluid handling business with Crane Corporation. They made pumps and valves and things. I was there for about seven years before I got into the window business back in 96 and was hired in Youngstown and started there.
[00:04:20] Speaker A: So a nice career you've had.
[00:04:22] Speaker B: Yeah, it's been great. Especially, you know, the building products industry has been great. I just love the industry itself, the people that are in it. You know, it's kind of an earthy industry. It's not real, you know, super, super high tech. Although windows are very technical products, it doesn't have that stuffy feel to it. So it's been a great fit for me.
[00:04:38] Speaker A: And so your current role and responsibilities entail what?
[00:04:42] Speaker B: Yeah, so supply chain, as it's defined at Mitre involves like, three pillars. The first one would be strategic sourcing. So that would include all the negotiations for enterprise wide supply contracts for major suppliers. And then second pillar is transportation and logistics. So that would be anything basically with wheels. So whether it's trucking or forklifts, anything that has to do with moving our products. And then the third one would be materials management, inventory control. And we have a really talented group of folks that manage all three of those pillars.
[00:05:12] Speaker A: And so how many different, because I actually don't know the answer to this, and I'm hoping that you know it, and if you don't, we'll cut this question. How many different manufacturing facilities are there now?
[00:05:24] Speaker B: You know, I think it's 19, but I think we're using 15 because some of those are like internal supplies. So we have, you know, extrusion operations. We have poltrusion operations somewhere between 15 and 19, I guess, is the answer to that.
[00:05:40] Speaker A: We are sharing our expertise around all topics relating to the window indoor industry. Whether you are a customer selling our products or a homeowner doing research, the Clear Impact podcast provides helpful content that makes an impact. Subscribe today wherever you listen to podcasts.
Okay. Wow, that's a lot.
[00:06:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:06:01] Speaker A: And so what are you most excited about in terms of the PGTI acquisition, other than the obvious? You get to work where you live in the winter. But what has been the most exciting thing so far?
[00:06:14] Speaker B: It's really been the people in getting to know the PTI organization, I've always kind of envied it from the outside in as far as it having a very big presence in the Florida market. Even like I mentioned before, when I was back down, when I was here in the early two thousands, they had a very strong presence and we were competing with PGTI and the businesses I was involved with back then. So to get to know the organization, get to know the people, and I've known a few folks over the years. I've known Rod for many years, Rod Hershberger and Dean, through my affiliation with AMA and other organizations, industry organizations, knew some of the people. But getting really into the supply chain team now and seeing how things are done compared to how we do things at Mitre and learning the personalities has been a real joy. It's been a really great group of folks to work with and just really excited to continue that as we go forward.
[00:06:58] Speaker A: Yeah, I know so very little about that, but I do know Jeff and Henry and Amy, and they're great folks. And they've all said what an amazing leader you are. And so, you know, that's good, right. We want that integration to be as seamless as possible and for things to continue to go smoothly.
[00:07:17] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I certainly appreciate that feedback. I think a lot of all those folks you mentioned, and, yeah, it's so important because supply chain really requires a lot of collaboration, not only within the department or function, but across the business. We're kind of in the middle of everything, so we need to know what's going on at the front end of the business. So folks like Amy and the snop process and get grabbing that information to pull in. So we haven't tell how to manage the materials. And then also engineering and product management and operations, obviously. So, yeah, it's a function that really requires people to be in tune and plugged into what's going on in the business. So it's a fun place to be.
[00:07:53] Speaker A: Well, and one of the things that I get to do is customer tours. And so we stop in front of the supply room as we're traveling the mezzanine, and we kind of stop there. And I always try to help people understand because there are actually a lot of people new to the industry, especially in the last few years, because they've had to grab from whatever they could like. Okay. All the experienced window and door people are already working for someone. We're not necessarily gonna be able to steal from our competitors. We've got to recruit from outside the industry. So they're bringing in a lot of new folks that just don't necessarily understand everything. So, you know, the analogy that I use is if target is out of my favorite brand, I can just go get it at Walmart. Okay. But you can't do that with windows and doors because everything has to be produced the same way that it's tested and certified and approved. So if your inner layer supplier is backed up by eight months, you can't just go to a different inner layer. You have to have the exact same product. You can't just swap it out. And that process is a whole long, you know, testing and approving. It's expensive, it's time consuming. And so we really depend on our vendors and those, really, relationships to keep us going.
[00:09:13] Speaker B: We really do. You hit the nail on the head with the word relationships because that's what it comes down to. There aren't a whole lot of suppliers in our space. So the strength of relationships that you have with your key suppliers really is paramount to the success of the business. And, you know, especially over Covid, we all learned a lot of lessons, as I mentioned earlier, with supply chain interruptions. And, you know, I think from what I know, PGTI and I know the mitre business through that period better than others because of the relationships that we have with our major suppliers. And it's really tough to navigate and try to find backup solutions or have some redundancy in the supply chain when there aren't that many people and suppliers out there. So, yeah, those relationships are really important.
[00:09:54] Speaker A: Yeah, I know. Jeff Schellinger and I did a podcast about that, and he said, you know, I've been in this space for a really long time. We've never really had to think around strategy and risk management in this space the way that other areas of the business have had to think. So it was a learning experience for everyone.
[00:10:11] Speaker B: Yeah, it was. And all doing it at the same time.
So that made it interesting because then our suppliers were. What it comes down to is if you have, whatever, five customers and you have material to supply two of them, who are you going to supply that material to? Chances are you're going to supply it to the people that you trust and that you enjoy working with. And they've treated you fairly over the years. And I think that's what it came down to in a lot of cases and kept us in business, or at least in better shape supply wise, than some of our competitors during that time.
[00:10:42] Speaker A: Well, I think most people, and one of the things I heard was like, yeah, but have you tried to order a couch lately? You know, I mean, like, there was, nobody was getting anything for a while there, so it's nice to be on the recovery side of that, finally.
[00:10:55] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:10:55] Speaker A: So one last question, and this is something I ask of all leaders because I think we all benefit from it. Is what is a favorite piece of advice that you've received over the years?
[00:11:06] Speaker B: Oh, so much advice I've received over the years. I guess the one that rings the loudest is one that I share with my children, is the harder you work, the luckier you get. Right. So I see a lot of people that look at success of others or look at what's perceived to be, gee, you've had it so easy, or you have it made, or how did you get to where you are, whether that's a business or whether it's an individual? And I think in a lot of cases, it just comes down to focusing on what you need to do and working hard at your job. And then, you know, one day you lift your head up and the things that you're working for, you know, start coming your way. And there's really not a lot of magic to it sometimes other than just working hard and getting noticed, working hard and you don't realize how much people see that and then the rewards that come along with that over time. So I think that's what I tell my kids a lot, too, because they're this, like, you know, how am I ever going to be able to afford a house? I'm like, well, just keep working hard at it and it'll come.
[00:12:00] Speaker A: Well, it's a valid question these days.
[00:12:02] Speaker B: Yeah, that's for sure.
[00:12:03] Speaker A: Especially in this area. Interest rates are not helpful at all.
[00:12:07] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:12:07] Speaker A: But, yeah, no, that's great. So the harder you work, the luckier you get. Oh, I like that. Yeah, a little karma there.
[00:12:14] Speaker B: Yeah. Profound.
[00:12:15] Speaker A: Yeah. Nice. Well, Mike, is there anything else you'd like to add today?
[00:12:19] Speaker B: No, just thanks a lot for having me again and just really looking forward to working with the team at PGTI and helping Mitre grow and get better every day.
[00:12:26] Speaker A: Well, it's been a pleasure chatting with you, and it's nice to have a face around. I'm like, oh, you're here. Wait, you're always here.
[00:12:33] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm a regular now, quasi.
[00:12:35] Speaker A: Yeah, that's awesome. So thanks for your time today. I appreciate your sharing a little bit of your history and your background, and we'll talk again soon.
[00:12:42] Speaker B: Thank you, Sherry. Take care.
[00:12:43] Speaker A: Take care. Bye.
The Clear Impact podcast is brought to you by PGTI University. We are a part of Mitre Brands, a family of leading window and door brands united by our passion for quality and relentless pursuit of 100%. One of the missions of Mitre brands is to unite and deliver the finest customer experience possible across the nation. Our window and door brands deliver regionalized expertise and products backed by a national company. PGTI University is here to educate you, our listener, so that you can be a more informed consumer of window indoor products.
