The People Who Work Here: James Greer, Purchasing/Equipment Manager

The phone rings. It is a customer with a problem with his metal finishing process equipment. But wait, you sell process chemistry.

Hmmmm.

If James Greer is on the answering end of that call, the answer always starts with “How may I help you?”

James is the Purchasing and Equipment Manager at A Brite Company. A Brite Company is the leader in the metal finishing industry for process chemistry and equipment. A Brite is based in Garland, Texas.

“After more than 20 years in the oil fields of Texas and Oklahoma, I knew what a customer was asking for when they described their problem,” James told us recently. “I found I also understood when they asked for one part and the problem they were having was really needing another part.”

Being able to communicate with the customer and then meet their needs quickly is James’ stock in trade.

“Our customers are dealing with real time,” he said. “If their line goes down, it costs them money. We have to react quickly by diagnosing the problem and getting them the part.”

While A Brite sells chemistry, it also provides solutions to their clients to make sure their lines are up and running. That’s where James comes in.

“I also know when to not sell them something,” James added. “We want happy customers and honesty is a part of what we do. Sure I can sell many parts, but if that’s not their problem, then I won’t,” he said.

James and the rest of the A Brite family can be reached at 214-291-0400 or through the website at www.abrite.com.

The People Who Work Here: Tom Hyman

From the posters on his office walls and his dry sense of humor, you would think Tom Hyman was a joker, a world-class kidder.

You’d only be partly right.

While Tom enjoys a good joke and his golf game, when it comes to the work he and his colleagues do at A Brite Company, they take it seriously.

“I’m the inside guy, the troubleshooter,” Tom said. In his job as Technical Services Manager, Tom oversees the portion of the lab that processes client samples.

A Brite Company is the leader in the metal finishing industry for process chemistry and equipment. A Brite is based in Garland, Texas.

“In addition to providing our clients with the right chemistry and equipment, we also help them monitor their processes and report back to them,” Tom said. “We are their external quality control.”

Tom should know: he’s been with A Brite for all but one year of its existence. A graduate of Case Western University in Ohio with a BA in Chemistry, Tom came to Dallas with ROHCO in 1981. It was there he met Frank Dunigan. Frank founded A Brite in 1982. After much back and forth and cajoling, Tom joined Frank at A Brite in 1983.

“And the rest, they say, is history,” Tom said. Tom went on to describe why he’s been at A Brite for most of his career. Thre are two reasons, he said.

“First of all, we have Frank,” he said. “There are few people in business who understand, like Frank does, that family comes first. Frank has always cared for me and the rest of the A Brite team,” Tom said. “To him, we are his family.”

That family ethic has helped keep the A Brite team together. With an average tenure in the company of around 10 years (there are some youngsters on board who have less than five years’ service who bring that number lower), working at the company is a long-term assignment.

“Secondly, we are a small, flexible company with experienced, talented people,” Tom continued. “We can respond to the customer much more easily and quickly and with the answers they need. There is less bureaucracy.”

Tom and the rest of the A Brite family can be reached at 214-291-0400 or through the website at www.abrite.com.

The People Who Work Here: Dan Dunigan

Computer. Check. Catalogue. Check. Customer list. Check. Cowboy hat. Check? T-shirt from an Irish Festival. Check?

Wait a minute…just whose list is this?

Dan Dunigan is about as serious as the next guy in the plating and surface finishing industry. But he also knows what it takes to have fun and get things done.

“In my time at A Brite, I’ve learned that life is a balance,” Dan said. “We know our customers well and because of that, they trust us,” he said.

Dan is responsible for technical sales and service for A Brite Company, the leader in the metal finishing industry for process chemistry and equipment. A Brite is based in Garland, Texas.

“Take as an example our annual trip to the National Association of Surface Finishing (NASF) SUR/FIN trade show,” Dan said. “It is serious business to go and interact with our peers and competitors. But we also have fun and enjoy ourselves while we work.”

The trade show and conference are an annual occurrence for A Brite. Each year the company chooses a theme for its exhibit and each year it draws more people.

“We have competitors and customers alike calling and asking us about our theme before the show,” Dan said. “But even after all these years of doing the show, no one has yet to copy our idea of a themed booth,” he continued.

A graduate of Louisiana Tech University, Dan has a degree in marketing.  But his responsibilities go far beyond just marketing the company.  He is responsible for maintaining critical relationships both within and outside the company.

The industry as well as the company is built on relationships, Dan told us. “The surface finishing industry is like a family, not unlike our company. We all know and care about one another,” Dan said.

Dan and the rest of the A Brite family can be reached at 214-291-0400 or through the website at www.abrite.com.

Succeeding at the NASF Trade Show

Every June, A Brite Company heads off to the National Association of Surface Finishing (NASF) conference and trade show.  And every year, we enjoy some level of success.

"We've been very fortunate," Dan Dunigan said. "We are always able to engage our customers and meet new people because of how we approach the show.  And we always come back energized."

Dan Dunigan is one of the principals in A Brite Company, the leader in the metal finishing industry for process chemistry and equipment. A Brite is based in Garland, Texas.

 The NASF event, or SUR/FIN show as it is more popularly known, is the industry meeting for the surface finishing chemistry business.  The show moves to a different city each year.  This year's show was in Rosemount, IL, a suburb of Chicago.

"Because we are known in the industry, people seek us out at the show," Dan continued. "In fact, our theme each year draws enough attention that some clients call in advance of the show trying to get us to reveal it in advance."

This year's theme had an Old West flavor.  The exhibit itself looked like a saloon, and the staff was outfitted in Western shirts and jeans.  Everybody also wore a hat and had a badge, most marked "Deputy." CEO Frank Dunigan was the "Sheriff."  An added conversation starter was the badges themselves: each was coated with a surface treatment offered by the company. The product was on display, but in a most unusual and memorable way.

"We've been exhibiting at this show for most of the last 30 years," Dan said. "And each year we have a different theme. Surpisingly, none of our competitors has yet to copy us."

One of the fun features and draws of the show was the quick draw competition (the first day's winners are shown here).  A Brite's own Craig Hassell devised the game using a Nintendo Wii console and controller.

"Our visitors had more fun with the game," Craig told us. "As much fun as it was to build, it was more fun to watch our customers and prospects get into it," he said.

Overall, the A Brite team's efforts resulted in a record number of leads and some  solid conversations with existing customers. It is an annual event that is a must-do for A Brite and a must-attend for the industry.

For more information, please contact A Brite Company in Dallas, 214-291-0400.

Metal Finishing Process Equipment

Finding metal finishing chemistry is one thing.  But do you have a source for the equipment used in the process?

Let's talk about the products and their categories in this segment.  This is the first post in a series to familiarize you with these types of equipment and what is commercially avaiable.

The high-level list reads like this:

• Anodes
• Anodizing
• Automatics
• Barrels
• Blowers
• Brightener feeders
• Buffs
• Chillers
• Coils
• Controls
• Compounds
• Danglers
• Filterpress
• Filters
• Grating
• Heaters
• Laboratory equipment
• Liners
• Magnets
• Mixers
• Polyballs
• Plastics
• pH meters
• Pumps
• Rectifiers
• Scrubbers
• Sand filters
• Saddles
• Spraynozzle
• Tanks
• Waste treatment

"The list is extensive," Dan Dunigan said. Dan is VP of technical sales and service for A Brite Company.  A Brite is the leading provider of process chemicals and services for the surface finishing industry in North Texas.

"We at A Brite have learned over the years that providing the equipment and service is just as important for our customers as is the chemistry," Dan continued.  "Maybe more so, in some instances.

For more information, please contact A Brite Company in Dallas, 214-291-0400.