WHITMIRE MICRO-GEN: A New Era Begins

There was a time in the early 1980s when Whitmire Research Laboratories was the most revered product supplier in the pest control industry. The company’s employees, criss-crossing the country in their signature red jackets, were highly motivated and among the most technically astute in the industry. Blanton Whitmire, the unassuming owner of the company with the quiet demeanor and "old-school" ethics, was loved by his staff and respected by his peers, and the firm’s state-of-the-art "crack and crevice" technology dominated the aerosol marketplace.

With a corporate culture the envy of the industry, Blanton Whitmire and his management team of Bill Broome and Dan Stout fashioned one of the industry’s great success stories, engendering a sense of loyalty among both employees and customers that was virtually unmatched in the pest control industry. Clearly, Whitmire Research Laboratories was a "family" and Blanton Whitmire was the unquestioned patriarch of that family.

Like all families, however, Whitmire Research experienced some tough times as it approached mid-life. In the late 1980s, Blanton Whitmire wanted to retire to devote more time to a variety of volunteer activities so the management team of Bill Massey, Dan Stout and Arman Schrenker led a seven-year employee buyout. Shortly thereafter, S.C. Johnson came courting, culminating in the sale of the business to the consumer products giant in 1995. Whitmire then merged its operations with Micro-Gen Equipment Corp., a San Antonio, Texas-based product supplier with a very different corporate culture, and a new management team was put in place.

As occurs in many new marriages, the merger of two industry leaders under the umbrella of a corporate giant brought many challenges. Time and energy spent on the merger detracted from the business. Declining sales and market uncertainty fostered low morale and an exodus of key staff members, resulting in additional problems for the company. Yet through it all, Whitmire Micro-Gen has maintained a strong presence in the pest control industry, regularly introducing new products, supporting a wide range of NPCA initiatives, and sponsoring one of the most successful and highly regarded educational conferences in the industry, the biannual Whitmire Micro-Gen Symposium.

In an effort to recapture Whitmire Micro-Gen’s market share, S.C. Johnson, the multi-billion dollar parent company, recently brought in Andy Symons, an executive with significant management experience, to turn the company around. It’s a tall order, but a challenge the native of Great Britain relishes.

PCT recently sat down with Symons to talk about the company’s past and explore its future. In a wide-ranging, 60-minute interview at the company’s corporate headquarters in St. Louis, Symons didn’t pull any punches, candidly talking about the company’s past, yet looking forward to its future with optimism. Clearly, Andy Symons is a man with a plan. The question is, can that plan return Whitmire Micro-Gen to its former glory? With a focus on new product development and total customer care, Symons has no doubt it can, but ultimately the market will decide.

A. I accepted this opportunity for many reasons. First, it was a totally different business than I was accustomed to so it represented a personal challenge to me. Second, the history of the Whitmire company is one I found very interesting. Although I never met him, by all accounts Blanton Whitmire developed a wonderful business culture. After the purchase by S.C. Johnson and the subsequent merger with Micro-Gen, it encountered some difficulties. It continued to be a viable business with a rich history in the pest control industry, but it had some problems. It was a turnaround situation and, as I said before, I like challenges.

A. It really wasn’t a mandate. There had been a lot of changes at the company prior to me coming on board. Dave Callewaert, a senior vice president at S.C. Johnson, asked me to put a plan in place to stabilize and grow the business. Internally, what we had was a fundamentally good business that was lacking direction. We had an outstanding team of people but there was no clear vision for the company. My role was to set a clear direction for the company and articulate that vision in such a way that people working here would be motivated to achieve to the level of their ability.

Externally, my primary objective was to get back to focusing on our customers. Our first move was to hire a customer service manager with the experience and expertise to provide the type of care our customers deserved. We increased our customer service staff as well as our sales force. We strengthened our R&D department with the return of Dave Naffziger and committed ourselves to provide our number one priority, the customer, market-leading products, protocols, training and support.

A. I think we’re heading in the right direction. It’s really very simple. If we meet our internal and external customers’ needs, we’ll be successful. Both inside and outside the company, we are looking for honesty and enthusiasm. We want Whitmire Micro-Gen to be a dynamic place to work for and with.

A. I need to understand the business needs of our customers, distributors and suppliers. I also have to be accessible to them. Internally, my job is to make sure all employees understand where we’re going as a business and understand their level of responsibility in making decisions that impact the company. I want to drive decision-making down in the company so that we are available to our customers. I want the employees to be empowered to make decisions — I will not make decisions for anyone with responsibility in this company. Why should I? They know the pest control business and their specific area of responsibility better than I do. Essentially, my value is simply as a team leader and, hopefully, the leader of the best team.

A. I don’t think we’re taking enough risks as a company, we need to move faster and be more aggressive. I would like to see us operate with a greater sense of urgency. That’s why I’m trying to drive decision-making down throughout the company. I want decision-making to start at the customer service level because that’s where the customer wants decisions to be made. They don’t want to wait for somebody at corporate headquarters to make a decision that is going to impact their business. They want someone making decisions at the local level. That’s why the most important people in our business are our sales staff. They are Whitmire Micro-Gen to our customers. The management team is simply here to support our sales staff. The customer should come first and right next to the customer are our sales and customer service teams.

A. We obviously have our internal goals and objectives. We need to get our core business in shape, which is what we’re doing now. Our speed to market with new products is a priority and a key factor in growing the business so that we are where I would like us to be in five years. We’ll look at joint ventures and other strategic opportunities to determine what technologies are available to us.

A. The S.C. Johnson association with Whitmire Micro-Gen is hugely positive. S.C. Johnson, although large, is still a family-owned business with a well-documented set of values.

Whitmire Micro-Gen is small enough to have the flexibility to respond quickly to changing market conditions but has the ability to transfer best practices and resources from a major corporation. This combination can only benefit our customers.

If there’s one thing I can guarantee, it’s that we’re going to put the customer first in this business. We won’t get everything right. In fact, we’re going to make a lot of mistakes, but we’re always going to put the customer first.

A. Pest control is a people business. Whether you’re dealing with staff members internally or with customers externally, all relationships must be based on trust and mutual respect. If we can successfully achieve trust and mutual respect with our customers and our channel partners, we’ll be successful. I suspect that’s one of the basic fundamentals of business. Honesty with one another is both essential and productive. Sometimes honesty may not be welcomed but it is nearly always respected.

A. Strategic partners would be companies or individuals with whom we can share common vision and values, and by working together, we can be more effective than on our own. It’s becoming increasingly important that we get close to the key people in the industry (i.e., manufacturers, distributors, PCOs, etc.) and develop multi-level partnerships.

Ultimately, I think Whitmire Micro-Gen will have a limited number of strategic partners and we’ll work with a well-defined group of target customers. Both internally and externally, we need to develop shared goals.

A. Our biggest challenge is our speed to market with new products. We have many exciting initiatives in the pipeline, but they are not sufficient to drive our business as quickly as we would like. It’s an issue we’re currently addressing very aggressively. We have our R&D department working very diligently on a specific number of prioritized projects.

We are also looking to determine what technologies are available to us through a variety of strategic partnerships and cooperative agreements. Therefore, during the next 12 months, we will be actively looking at alternative ways to bring new products to market.

A. We’ll look to license new technology and joint venture opportunities. We’ll do whatever is necessary to bring new value-added products and services to the market.

A. Most definitely, and we plan to include PCOs in our planning and product development process more often than we have previously. They are our customers and we will do whatever we need to secure their business.

A. The technology advantage has certainly reduced over time but I don’t view Whitmire Micro-Gen as having any technology deficiencies. Clearly, we’ll continue to strive for a sustainable competitive technology advantage. Equally, we need to ensure that we develop best practices in all areas of our business to maximize our effectiveness in serving our customers.

A. Prior to the acquisition by S.C. Johnson, Whitmire Research Laboratories and Micro-Gen Equipment Corp. were two separate companies that were both well-thought of by distribution. If you look at those two companies, they had very different philosophies when it came to distribution. Whitmire’s philosophy was to develop close relationships with their end users (PCOs), and their strategy for developing that close relationship was by offering sophisticated training materials and educational events to the marketplace. So in the early ’80s, training was their point of difference. That was their value-added service. They basically created this huge level of demand for their product and distributors were obligated to stay on board because of customer demand for their products. Micro-Gen Equipment Corp., on the other hand, didn’t do as much direct pull-through as Whitmire, so they spent a lot more time putting together distribution programs, product promotions, etc. They had a more classical distribution structure.

It is fair to say in a number of instances our relationships with distributors has changed over the last few years. If the change has not been for the better, I am committed to turning this situation around.

A. Distributors provide a huge value to companies such as Whitmire Micro-Gen and our PCO customers. They have the ability to take cost out of the equation for PCOs and suppliers. With a clear understanding of our respective roles, we can improve the value we bring to our PCO customers.

My expectation is that Whitmire Micro-Gen will have a limited distribution base, but we’ll be closely involved with those distributors. If it’s going to be a true partnership, there will be a great deal of give and take. It’s important that we’re all focused on the same goals and there’s no ambiguity in the relationship. We need to be in harmony with our distributors by providing clarity in the relationship and sharing our respective strategies with one another.

Our Market Access Policy is "To service our PCO customers in a manner that best suits their specific business requirements and reflects the economics for Whitmire Micro-Gen. The two key components are customer choice and economics for Whitmire Micro-Gen. It is our intention to partner with a limited number of strategic distribution partners and to provide synergistic value to our customers. We will openly share our plans with our partners and seek to work toward common goals. We will seek to avoid conflict and in all instances seek a ‘win-win’ solution prior to embarking on any activity that could be construed as conflicting with our partners. We will seek to understand the true economics and value of the service provided both by Whitmire Micro-Gen and our partners. We will endeavor to ensure that the margins earned by our partners are a true reflection of the value they bring to our PCO customers."

A. I think achieving success in a team environment is hugely satisfying. You want to create a balanced lifestyle where people succeed in both their personal and business lives. You want people to spend time with their family and enjoy their recreational time, so when they come to work they’re fresh. If they’re fresh they’re going to be more productive. By the same token, you need people on staff who are disciplined and invest themselves in the process.

The key is putting the proper working environment in place and adopting a core philosophy that the customer is the most important person in our business and the only reason we exist. I believe everyone at Whitmire Micro-Gen agrees with this. As we achieve the many objectives we have in place to drive our business, the excitement and enthusiasm from everyone at Whitmire Micro-Gen is hugely satisfying.