15 Jan 50 Years Later. Click to keep reading…
When my Dad founded Lupton Associates 50 years ago, things were very different but in a strange way, very much the same as they are today. Without computers, the web, email, fax machines, cell phones or even highways, it took much longer to accomplish what we now do in minutes. A typical day would require shuttling paper drawings, quotes and purchase orders between customers and manufacturers. In the late 60’s, customers struggled to identify enough capability or capacity in their supply base to meet their needs. Salespeople provided critical information over the phone (often a pay phone), or in person to inform customers of changing technologies and the status of current work. Suppliers were often very local to the manufacturer as communication and distribution networks were not sophisticated.
In the late 1960’s, it was hard for OEMs to gather information. There was no World Wide Web. Engineers and buyers were dependent on salespeople to visit and share stories of changing technology and capabilities. Today the issue is very different. It is a story of information overload. A buyer or engineer has an incredible level of information in seconds. If you google metal stamping, you will have 394,000,000 choices in 0.067 seconds. This creates a new challenge, sorting through tons of data to find the right solution, not just the one that came up in the first 2 pages of results. More and more our role is to consult and help differentiate the information that is out there. Customers depend on our 50 years of experience and understand that our solutions are proven. We have helped OEMs realize incredible breakthroughs, allowing them to differentiate their products and win market share for products that would not exist if the wrong solution was chosen.
Another aspect of our business that has not changed is our commitment to core values. My dad founded the organization with a commitment for ourselves and our manufacturers to “get a little better” every day, to treat people with dignity and respect, to always make decisions with fairness and integrity, and to be focused on the challenge of sustaining and growing our manufacturers’ business.
Every day our team requires the courage to overcome the no’s and ask for the opportunities that provide the revenue which guarantees the continued success of our manufacturers. We take our role very seriously and fight every day to win the favor of the next opportunity to serve.
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