The Hytrol Story

Optimism and a positive attitude has always been stressed at Hytrol. Even as 1972 began and there were still issues with quality and communication, Tom, Sam, and Ralph always seemed to be there to cheer on the company. Tom came to work each day with high spirits, confident in his employees. Sam continued his trips to visit the distributors and listen to their comments and suggestions. And Ralph could almost always be found in the production area with his workers rather than in his office. Still, the telephone continued to ring with voices of unhappy distributors. One day, Tom, Sam, and Ralph were having one of their discussions about the problem issues that were still lingering. They all felt something needed to be done to dramatize their concern and at the same time help all areas at Hytrol (usually called “departments” in industry) understand the need for improvements. Someone suggested that Ralph make a contact trip to some of the western distributor firms. So Ralph went to California and talked with the distributors there and listened to their complaints. The trip produced some very positive results. Ralph returned to Hytrol charged up and full of enthusiasm! He called his group leaders together and told them about the trip and began to instruct them how to improve production quality. He also held meetings with the employees in sales and engineering. Ralph’s excitement was contagious and all areas began to pull together to improve Hytrol’s service to the field. Early in 1972, sales began a promotion with the theme, “Hytrol Leads the Way.” The slogan had first been used during the 1968 convention and had stayed with the company employees ever since that event. Now, it was beginning to be a company motto. Sticking with that slogan, Sam and his team increased their field contacts and sales began to improve. As every employee began to renew their dedication to Hytrol, the Stockyard, and, most importantly, the distributor organization, committees were busy preparing for the biggest Hytrol happening of the year--- the 1972 Distributor Convention. This third convention would 19 1 9 7 2 h y t r o l d i s t r i b u t o r c o n v e n t i o n