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Special Report
Philosophy of Change
ZMC celebrates 20 years of success and growth by constantly
improving.
The philosophy of ZMC
Window Coverings Supply is not to persuade customers to change,
but to change the company to suit customers’ needs.
When Philip Ng, president, first started his business in 1986 in
Woodbridge, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, all he wanted to produce was
Venetian blind coil stock. His customers, however, wanted more.
They wanted more colors, different sizes and other products as well.
It wasn’t long before Ng changed his initial plan in order
to satisfy his customers.
Today, 20 years later, ZMC manufacturers not only coil stock, but
headrails, bottomrails, component systems and, in the last year,
has introduced a line of PVC and fabric vertical blinds and a line
of pleated shade fabric.
All of this growth started from Ng’s dream to own his own
business. From selling nurses’ uniforms to selling Venetian
blinds door-to-door, Ng finally hit upon the idea of painting Venetian
blind coil stock.
“I was by chance working for a firm in Toronto that painted
steel for siding,” says Ng. “I asked my boss if we could
paint Venetian blinds, but when he said no, I decided to do it myself.”
Ng, an engineer by training, continued working full-time while in
his spare time he designed a machine to paint coil stock. In 1986,
he completed the design, had the machine built by a local machine
shop and resigned from his full-time job to move into a 15,000-square-foot
facility and to start painting coil stock.
With only one employee and himself at the start, Ng was managing
every part of the business from production to sales. His perseverance
and hard work, however, soon paid off. Six months after production
began, ZMC added a second shift and one year later a night shift
was added as well. In 1991, the company moved into a 30,000-square-foot
space.
GLOBAL MARKETS
In 1993 ZMC opened a U.S. office located just outside Atlanta, GA.
Demands from one of the world’s busiest marketplaces have
helped the company to define, refine and implement effective programs
and procedures to serve a global market. A South American division
was added in 1997, broadening ZMC’s horizons in the Latin
America market.
ZMC has shifted a majority of its production to its China factory
to take advantage of the lower production cost in order to ensure
the most competitive price possible for customers. However, product
design is still implemented by the company’s in-house engineers
at its Toronto office to keep up with market trends and technology.
Innovative products such as its fascia and cassette system for roller
shades, spring-assisted roller shade clutch, roller shade components,
Z-Screen fabric, Roman shade components and panel track components
are produced in the company’s China factory to meet the ever-growing
needs and demands of worldwide customers.
ZMC’s ongoing commitment to improve products is seen through
its improved functionality components. For example, its System 9000
vertical carrier has a guaranteed unbreakable stem along with a
three-point planetary gear design for smooth operation and its 9:1
ratio Pamela tilter offers better performance, better closure and
light control. These are only a few of the many improvements ZMC
has introduced to offer customers a better product and stay one
step-ahead in the marketplace.
TRULY A TEAM EFFORT
ZMC Window Covering Supplies has blossomed to become one of the
leading suppliers to independent fabricators of private label window
covering products. Continuous, yet controlled, growth has proved
paramount to its success. In-house engineers constantly improve
products to help customers make a better, more efficient and profitable
end product. Its overall quality is second to none, and its customers
say its customer service is one of the best in the industry. Simply
put, ZMC truly believes that the trust and satisfaction of its customer
is the measure of its success.
“At ZMC, we care,” Ng says. “We care about each
other; we care about the success of the company; and most of all,
we care about our customers. Ultimately, we all sell ZMC’s
products.”
Ng encourages employees to offer suggestions that might improve
products or production. ZMC has engineers whose job it is to design
the company’s production machinery. But some excellent ideas
for improving the machines’ quality and efficiency have come
from the production people who operate the machines. At ZMC, every
employee’s ideas are valuable.
No customers’ ideas are ignored either. Ng calls on customers
himself to get firsthand information about each client’s needs
and wants. “When I get back to the office, I am better able
to direct the company’s efforts toward satisfying those needs
and wants,” says Ng. “By visiting our customers and
listening to them, we have improved our products, diversified our
product line and refined our service.”
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