Well, it finally happened. The old man, God love him, decided he is no longer writing the “President’s Letter” for our newsletter. After 47 years, apparently, he’s had enough and insists I write it. Mind you, Al loved writing this section. He loves telling it like it is and making sure everyone knows exactly how he feels when it comes to business and life. I admire him for his no-nonsense, don’t-give-a-crap-what-others might-think attitude. I, however, am not my father. I will try to be as entertaining as possible, but I must admit to being much more politically correct than he is…for better or worse.
So, change.
While it is inevitable, I am not a fan. I am a creature of habit and like my daily routine—my 5:00 a.m. wake up, morning run, my three cups of coffee at the office and my boring salad for lunch. While each day presents new challenges and different requests from customers, I know exactly how to handle each of those. If I don’t have the valves in stock, I know exactly which of my various vendors to contact for a quick and reliable answer.
I know many of you are the same as me, and also, it’s why you come to NASVI for your relief valves. You reach out to your salesperson or maybe you’re a little more daring and send a request to the general sales email, but you come to us for quick reliable answers.
And, here we are throwing you for a loop. Al’s mostly retired so how can the NASVI you know and trust possibly be the same? Well, we are. I’m not here to reinvent the wheel. I have worked the last 13 years with my father, learning everything there is to know about safety valves. You should see my notebook from my first months sitting there listening to him and his stories, but more importantly, I learned what makes us such a great company and the important little things that separate us from others (like actually caring about our employees and customers).
My foreman has been with NASVI for more than 20 years. Two of our machinists have been with the company for 25-plus years. The point is we have tenured employees who know the ins and outs of safety valves. They are currently teaching the next generation, and this is what truly sets us apart. I know so many companies out there struggling because the last generation has retired and they didn’t teach, let alone even leave any instructions for those taking over, so it’s a disaster. I can’t tell you how many plants we’ve visited where the plant supervisor has no idea where a single safety valve is located. How is that even possible?
There is some change going on at NASVI, but the truth of the matter is nothing is really changing. Al’s still going to be around any time he’s needed. And, let’s be honest. His knowledge of the super old valves cannot be replaced. Our shop still has the most knowledge in the business. Our building is a little bigger and a little cleaner than the old place, but the most important thing is that the collective knowledge inside is now being passed on to the next generation. We truly thank you all for your loyalty, and we hope going forward we continue to earn your trust and support.
Cheers to Al for being such an amazing father and for creating the incredible legacy that is North American Safety Valve. Enjoy the sun in Mexico, but know your office is always here from where you can still impart your wisdom on us all and help keep the place in line.