Jason Maciejewski, President of Val-Matic
Seven months into his role as President at Val-Matic, Jason Maciejewski is already shaping the company with a renewed focus on customers and culture.
Fresh off an inspiring National Sale Meeting at Val-Matic Headquarters in Elhurst, Illinois, we sat down with Jason to talk about what “the customer is the boss” really means, why culture and consistency matter more than ever, and where innovation is taking Val-Matic next.
Conversation with Jason Maciejewski
In the latest Val Matic marketing material, there's this slogan that really stands out. What do you mean by “the customer is the boss” and what led up to that fresh focus?
Jason: Definitely, I’ll give you some background. In 2020, Val-Matic was acquired by A.Y. McDonald and they’ve been living that customer is the boss mindset for quite some time now. Essentially what it means is that we could have the best product in the world, they could have the best foundry, but if you don't have customers, none of that matters. The only reason we exist as a company is because of the customer. So when we make company decisions, our focus needs to be on what’s good for them. That has really resonated with us, and it’s become a big rallying call for how we want to create and run our business.
So what does succeeding at that look like? How will you know if you’re accomplishing the customer is the boss as a mindset?
Jason: I think the number one thing is this – whether they use words or not, the boss will tell you the truth. If they’re placing an order, they’re hiring you. If they give you more orders or order different items, they’re promoting you. If they’re going to the competitor, they’re firing you. So, when we're succeeding, the customer will let us know.
We want that to resonate all the way throughout the company–from the shop floor to the office–that the decisions we make and the work we do – it’s for the customer.
We used to make a big deal about customer visits to the shop floor. But now we don’t let our people know in advance when the “boss” is in town, because we shouldn’t have to change the way we do things to impress the boss. If you come in for a tour, you’re going to see the same professionalism and commitment to quality you’d see there any other day.
You’ve been at Val-Matic for 15 years, and now 7 months as President. What changes are you starting to see at the company over this last season, and for you personally, what's most exciting?
Jason: For me, the most exciting part has been the opportunity to further our customer focus as president. Having a president with a sales background really helps, because I naturally approach things with the customer in mind. I see the same approach at A.Y. McDonald, where Rob McDonald also comes from sales, and it reinforces a culture that prioritizes customer support above all else. I hope that gives customers confidence that when we make decisions, we’re thinking about their needs.
Another thing is our people and culture. Our people are our number one resource. We want to make sure we’re listening to them–that their voice is heard. We recently had a survey with 80% of our coworkers participating–almost double from last year. And what made me proud is the top three things people were saying: “I’m proud to work at Val-Matic,” “Safety is a priority at Val-Matic,” and “I believe what I do is special and that I’m rewarded for it.”
That’s great information – you want to have that. Yes, work is work. We’re running a business–it’s how we feed the families of our coworkers. But we spend so much time over here, that you want to have those personal, cultural elements as well.
Why should a customer or end user care about these shifts in focus and culture? What impact will it have in terms of some of the practical pain points like long lead times in the industry?
Jason: The biggest thing the customer is going to see from our focus on our team is consistency.
Quality is so important to us, so staffing should reflect that. We’ve more than doubled the number of individuals whose whole role is to ensure quality. We’ve also shifted the way our procurement team works, giving them more flexibility and enabling them to form better relationships with vendors. That means you’re going to have more consistency with quality and delivery, and potentially lower prices that get passed on to customers.
Customers need to know there’s an expert sourcing materials, there’s an expert putting these things together, and there are experts making the product what it is. A huge part of that is keeping our roots in Illinois. Some of our competitors have moved out of the state because it can be a very hard place to work with, especially for tax purposes. But moving is something we won’t entertain because our people are that important to us.
We’re also focusing on succession planning. I’ve been here 15 years, but I’m actually on the short end of some of my coworkers. We have people at 30 or 40 plus years. Our sales group, all the managers are about basically 20 years. Longevity is amazing, but we’re also being proactive about making sure that knowledge gets transferred to the next generation.
So how does Cimco-GC Systems fit into this vision? What do you value about our partnership?
Jason: As one of our rep agencies, you are basically our eyes and ears out in your territory and that’s huge. You really are the subject matter experts and you work hand-in-hand with us. You live the customer is the boss mindset already–you’re servicing the boss daily.
Our focus with you is to help service you better. Looking back, I think we might have been throttling Cimco-GC Systems. We’ve been able to succeed, but we haven’t always made it easy. So by us getting better, it maybe allows you to run a bit quicker, where maybe you were jogging. We want to enable you to move a lot quicker, and your customers are going to see that.
We’ve obviously seen a ton of growth from you guys, just looking at the way your coworker count has exploded. Even having this conversation, we didn’t have this in the past – not many rep firms are doing things like this. You guys want to know more and share with your customers what’s going on with us. We consider you an A-plus, top tier representative firm for us that has also been proactive about succession planning and everything else. And since we’re aligned, we’re just looking for how we can support you and get better.
Well, speaking of partnership and excitement… Our team came back from the National Sales Meeting in August excited about innovation and new products in development. What can you share about your approach to innovation in general or anything specific customers can look forward to?
Jason: A.Y. McDonald has really spurred us on with that innovation mindset. They’ve been listening to customers for a long time. They like to say they’re 160 years old, but they don’t want to act that way. They’re asking: “What are your pain points?”
So most recently, we came out with a composite air valve, the Resilite Series–and for Val-Matic this was a shock. But it was a great example of listening to the customer. Operators don’t want to carry a 70 lb valve down into a pit. They want a five-pounder. So our initiative was let’s make a domestic, composite air valve. Let’s make it lightweight, let’s make it vent the same as the 200-series, and let’s keep the internals the same–stainless steel. It’s not cheaper by any means, but it’s a nice substitution if someone wants composite and wants something domestic. And now we’re beginning to look at composite materials in wastewater applications.
The other thing about innovation that’s probably exciting to your team is that we’re looking for more feedback from reps. What do you see? What do customers want? And actually one of the products we’re developing–which I can’t get very much into because it’s still secret–the idea came out of last year’s sales meeting. Someone from Pipestone Equipment suggested something, and we took the idea, and ran with it. And we were really shocked with the feedback because this is a new kind of product for us, but what they saw was that the ease of installation may be a game changer. So we’re focusing on ideas that people may see value in, and I’m seeing that excitement of, “Hey, they’re listening to us.”
Well, is there anything else you want to share about what’s next for Val-matic?
Jason: You asked earlier about what success looks like. A lot of people want to talk numbers and look at revenues. But what I want for Val-Matic, is to be the preferred valve manufacturer in our space. When somebody buys from us, they know what they’re going to get. When we don’t get the bid, they wish they could have given it to Val-Matic.
We want to keep staffing in that direction. I’m excited about putting smart people in place and letting them do smart things. We’re focused on cultivating consistent executive and management teams and running in the right direction as one. You're going to have some turnover in any company, but with a strong and focused core, I'm really excited about our future and I think our customers will be too.
Jason, big thanks for all your time and for sharing with us today!
Jason: Appreciate you doing this–definitely appreciate the time.