Daman Products by North American Constructors Journal

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Daman Products:

Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed Daman Products of Mishawaka, IN is a premier designer and manufacturer of standard and customized hydraulic valve manifolds. Written by Kevin Doyle Produced by Stephen Marino

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ow in its 45th year of operation, Daman Products of Mishawaka, IN has evolved and expanded into a premier designer and manufacturer of both standard and customized hydraulic valve manifolds for use across a wide array of industries. Company founder Jack Davis, the father of current CEO Larry Davis, recognized the need for across-the-board improvement ranging from better workmanship to customer service and set out to build something better. “My father was in the industry on the receiving end and was aware of the poor quality of some products and of products not being delivered on time. That impacted his ability to serve his customers,” Davis explains. “He took that experience and, when he started Daman, drilled into all of us that we needed to keep our promises, that product quality had to be awesome and that we needed to deliver what we said we would when we said we would.” That straightforward philosophy remains the root system of this designer and manufacturer of standard and custom hydraulic valve manifolds for industrial and mobile applications.

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The company now generates $25 million annual revenue; employs 150, including designers and quotation specialists that assist in streamlining their customers’ projects; maintains a standing inventory of more than two million manifolds ready to ship as needed; and works with a base of 500 fluid power distributors across North America to provide unmatched supply chain solutions. The company services 17 distinct industry segments and enjoyed a record year in 2019 before the COVID pandemic brought the world to its knees in March 2020. “We’ll get back there – we’re optimistic for 2022 and beyond and whatever the new normal looks like,” stresses Davis, adding

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that unmatched customer service sets the company apart from competitors. “We treat our customers like we’d like to be treated. It’s understood throughout the company, whether you’re on a machine or in customer service or out selling products, that helping customers to become successful is the single most important thing we can do as a company,” he asserts.

Day To Day The company’s structural set-up is somewhat different than most and about as flat as they come. Thirteen mostly autonomous teams work under President Dave Mischler, each with its own team leader and sphere of expertise. “They function like their own company. They know what they have to do, they have the ability to get the resources that they need,

“It’s understood throughout the company, whether you’re on a machine or in customer service or out selling products, that helping customers to become successful is the single most important thing we can do as a company.” - CEO Larry Davis www.daman.com

Daman Products | 6 and they are accountable for their team’s performance,” Mischler explains. “My role is making sure we’re pointed in the right direction to meet our operational goals and our financial goals and to help team leaders manage through the stress points,” he continues. “It’s a different type of presidential role and it only works because of our really exceptional leadership team.” Gordon Weiler – who has been with the company for 34 years and climbed the ladder to his current duties as Vice President of Sales and Marketing Coordinator – notes the company has added

Assembled Manifold Valve Products (AMVP) to its service offerings, continues to enhance its robust web site, and follows every RFQ through the pipeline to conclusion, whether won or lost. “We’re constantly trying to innovate the customer experience, to do more than just build the manifold. Because of our Supply Chain expertise, our customers are asking us to do more and more within the Supply Chain. We’re developing relationships with valve manufacturers and taking care of the sourcing of the hardware, assembling and testing that within the manifold. We need to brand and develop that into a meaningful message for the market,” he explains. “We have some very large distributors that have the capability of assembly in house but they trust us to take care of their customers. We’re focused in on trying to move the product along and taking the cost out,” Davis adds. Interestingly, Davis dis-engaged from the company for about four years and, upon his return, found the same spirit to succeed remained in place. “That is the mark of a company that fully embraces a culture that is focused on the right things,” he observes.

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Multiple client testimonial videos posted on the web site all underscore the company’s commitment to product excellence and its willingness to address and remedy problems immediately. “I cannot begin to express how impressed I am with your, and all of Daman’s, response to this problem. We have received the corrected manifolds back, and are in the process of assembling and testing them now. Due to your team’s action, and professional attitude, you have earned my business,” says Bob Schriewer of Hydradyne LLC

“We appreciate Daman’s integrity. That is absolutely essential in a marketplace where multiple distributors call on the same account and yet we all have access to your product. Thank for being one of our most valued and trusted suppliers,” notes Mike McVay of Cross Fluid Power. When it comes to vendor and sub-contractor relations, Mischler says each team insures they are like-minded with shared values and the ability to do the job required of them. “It’s about their service and their ability to take care of our needs

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“My role is making sure we’re pointed in the right direction to meet our operational goals and our financial goals and to help team leaders manage through the stress points.” - President Dave Mischler

first and foremost. We’re willing to pay a little bit more than most to maintain that,” he says.

Meeting Challenges With a workforce that needed to be on site, developing, implementing and managing COVID protocols has been nothing short of a nightmare. “From the labor side we’ve seen

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business tick back up but nowhere near where it was before COVID. Every day there is a new challenge relative to people who can’t come to work, That’s our biggest labor challenge right now – just having the bodies to work for us,” Mischler says. Weiler adds that the company’s preferred way of doing business face-to-face has also suffered.

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Daman Products | 11 trusted product. “If you don’t have a good product you’re toast. It’s everything from how quickly we answer the phone, to how effectively we give answers, to how easy it is to return products. All those things come into play but can’t happen if you don’t create a culture that wants to be better than it was today. Immerse yourself in the industry and listen to the things your customers aren’t saying. And track your competitors but don’t base what you’re going to do on what they’re doing. You’ll never blow them away if you’re simply keeping pace with them,” Davis concludes “No question it impacts our ability to build relationships, so we’ve already reduced our customerfacing sales force by one-third. We had to find better, smarter ways to communicate,” says.

Looking Ahead This company has shown itself to be adaptable and resilient with a management style that relies on the principles of Lean Manufacturing. Once some semblance of normalcy returns to everyday life, expect continuous improvement and purposeful growth. Davis says success goes well beyond having a proven and