IWS Resource Newsletter 5.22

WELCOME TO THE FIRST ISSUE OF IWS RESOURCE. This quarterly newsletter, for employees, will help inform you about IWS goals, opportunities, projects and success stories. Let us know what you think!

INSIDE ISSUE Letter From the Prez Ciaran explains the most important factor that drives IWS success in 2022. Hint: it’s you.

ISSUE 1

MAY 2022

IWSRESOURCE

CFP Successes Columbus Foam Products steps up to support client’s pandemic-fueled demand spike.

401k Homerun Our new 401k provider Empower Retirement offers better pathways to retirement, including a convenient self-serve portal.

In Other News Bluff launches ERP system …

Nordock introduces ideal “retrofit” dock leveler … Marketing launches new training platform and webinar series … and new IWS corporate branding is unveiled.

MODEX 2022

By Shannon McWilliams, Senior VP of Sales and Marketing Every year our industry gathers for a major trade show to find new products, resources, and the latest innovations and technology.

This year’s show — MODEX 2022, based in Atlanta, Georgia — provided IWS with the opportunity to meet existing and prospective customers and present each brand’s unique products.

In the past, our booth was presented as four different companies. Moving into 2022, our company has transformed its Branding and Go-to-Market Strategies to uniformly announce the brand message of “One Partner, Multiple Brands, Endless Solutions.”

We are one company (“One Partner”) with three marquee brands (“Multiple Brands”) and a plethora of unique products that solve real problems (“Endless Solutions”).

At MODEX 2022, our customers and the industry saw this transformation, which has elevated us in the market, highlighting our significant product portfolio. This show and those that follow will help us continue on our path of double-digit sales growth and keep us all working to deliver real “Integrated Warehouse Solutions” to the material handling industry.

▲

BACK TO SELLING IN A POST-PANDEMIC ERA

MODEX By the Numbers

38,000

Record number of attendees

850

Record number of exhibitors

100+

Countries represented

IWS MODEX Results

275

New Leads

High-Value Leads and Customer Visits Including: Uline, Global, Grainger, Miner, Raymond, Tesla, Home Depot, FedEx, and more.

Letter from the President As I reflect on what we have achieved as a company in a few short years, I am amazed by the team we have built at IWS. We have raised the bar with new records of orders and shipments. We continually welcome new team members and are fast approaching 450 associates. While that may make us feel like a big company, we must remember where we came from. We are, at our very essence, a small company delivering exceptional customer service every day.

We are always capable of reacting quickly and doing right by our customers. Always harnessing that can-do attitude, we will continue to overcome the inevitable obstacles that get in our way. Keep growing, keep pushing and above all support each other.

As the saying goes “it takes a village.” It takes all of us. I am proud to work alongside everyone at IWS. I look forward to all that we will accomplish this year.

Q1 Company Performance Q1 2022 Rev -2% vs budget Q1 2022 Rev up 28% vs 2021

COLUMBUS FOAM PRODUCTS

AN AMAZING TEAM

By Paul Rusk, Senior VP of Manufacturing

Our companies have been challenged with growth over the last few years. The impacts of COVID, supply chain challenges, availability and cost of material, and the availability of labor have significantly stressed all locations.

A specific example of overcoming these challenges is Columbus Foam Products (CFP). In 2020/2021 COVID heavily impacted gyms, relocating much of the workout scene to the home. Rogue Fitness, a major CFP customer, responded appropriately to this new demand with new products aimed at the home market.

To support Rogue Fitness, CFP added a second, then a third shift.

They also made other adjustments to their operation to accommodate this explosive demand.

To support Rogue Fitness, CFP added a second, then a third shift. They also made other adjustments to their operation to accommodate this explosive demand.

As Rogue’s demand volume and specific product SKU’s changed daily, CFP reacted and reallocated resources to support them.

Extra temporary labor was recruited, and extra materials and components were outsourced. Constant change stressed the small but nimble CFP team. However, they met each challenge and produced amazing results.

Today, Rogue Fitness’s demand has reduced back to pre-COVID levels and CFP’s mix of products has shifted back to their “traditional” dock seals and shelters. We are proud of how well the CFP team responded, pivoted effectively, and met the new and incredibly challenging customer needs. Well done!

SPOTLIGHT TLH RETROFIT™ Efficient. Safer. And an easy retrofit.

The Nordock TLH Retrofit is the perfect dock leveler to replace corroded levelers without having to re-cut the pit. Already a success with clients like American Girl, the TLH Retrofit offers a faster and easier install with a tighter seal and better performance. This product will be a winner.

Learn more at nordockinc.com

DEDICATED PEOPLE ~ SUPERIOR PRODUCTS

Empower Retirement Transition: Welcoming a new 401K provider

By Tausha Anderson, Human Resource Director IWS is pleased to announce we have transitioned to Empower Retirement as our 401k provider for all U.S. divisions. The Empower portal gives a more robust experience for employees by automating the processes to view account details, receive plan messaging, and know your estimated monthly income in retirement. Through the portal, employees are also able to request loans, hardship withdrawals, and distributions. There are many advantages to having a 401k, such as lowering your taxable income, saving for retirement, and employer matching. Now is a good time to enroll in a retirement savings plan if you currently do not participate.

To register please visit www.empowermyretirement.com For information regarding the transition or how to enroll, please see Human Resources.

Bluff Goes Live on New ERP System

Upcoming ERP Project Milestones

By Rachel Willis, Senior VP of Technology & Process

5/2 - 5/13

What is an ERP system? ERP stands for “enterprise resource

First Financial Close in LN ERP

planning.” It is a software that manages our company’s financials,

6/1 - 6/3

supply chain, operations, reporting, and customer data, among other things. The ultimate goal of rolling out a new ERP system is to manage these important aspects of the business for all brands within one solution. This will benefit all teams and increase efficiency and connectivity. In short, it will help us to better fulfill the “Integrated” part of Integrated Warehouse Solutions. Please join me in congratulating the Fort Worth & Burleson Bluff plants on their successful go-live onto our new ERP system. This is a huge milestone for IWS. The Bluff team should be very proud!

Columbus Foam Products Go Live

6/1 - 6/3

Flatley Dock Systems Go Live

7/1 - 7/6

Nordock Go Live

8/1 - 8/4

Wesco Go Live

Marketing and Training Initiatives

By Nick Jerome, Director of Marketing Online Customer Training Platform During Q1 we selected a Learning Management System to house online training courses that will cover service tech training, sales training and product knowledge for our distributors and internal sales teams. This is a big step forward, providing world-class support to our distributors as they represent and sell IWS products.

A New Product Webinar Series Are you eager to learn more about the top products from Bluff, Wesco, Nordock and Columbus Foam? Join our monthly IWS Product Spotlight webinar series. Each month we will spend 20-30 minutes focused on the features and benefits of our products. Our first spotlights covered the Nordock AR-20K vehicle restraint and the Wesco DM-1100 ergonomic drum handler. These webinars are primarily offered for sales team members and distributors. If you would like to join you can reach out to us at marketingsupport@iwsolutions.com

Brand Positioning Launch Q1 brought an exciting new look and key messaging to IWS and our brands. We solidified our messaging and now present ourselves as a united front of industry-leading solutions. We launched a collection of new branding that includes slide decks, email signatures, business cards, an IWS website refresh, letterhead, brand promises, updated logos and more.

This also allowed us to launch a portal for you to easily order business cards and other elements in one central place.

Questions? Contact marketingsupport@iwsolutions.com

Bluff Manufacturing began as Bluff Street Welding Works in downtown Ft. Worth in 1932. In the 1950’s they started building dock boards that developed into the industry leading brand we are today.

Happy 90th Birthday to Bluff Manufacturing!

IWS Seeks Great Team Members Across all of our brands and divisions, we are always looking for great performers to contribute to our collective success. If you know anyone looking for a new opportunity, bring them to the attention of your supervisor or HR.

AN INTEGRATED WAREHOUSE SOLUTIONS BRAND

AN INTEGRATED WAREHOUSE SOLUTIONS BRAND

We are currently offering a $1,500 referral bonus for you and the new hire.

Questions?

Contact the HR Team

AN INTEGRATED WAREHOUSE SOLUTIONS BRAND

We hope you’ve enjoyed the premier issue of IWS Resource. Have any stories, photos or feedback to share?

Let us know: marketingsupport@iwsolutions.com.