The Rice Companies President David Charlton (from left) operations manager Harold Neal and lubricating
engineer Curt Helman look over parts of the industrial fluids recycling system that their company promotes
in Akron. (Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal)
Group encourages businesses to grow
During downturn, there are strategies besides cutting back
By Paula Schleis
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Monday, Nov 17, 2008
Recession-proofing your business isn't necessarily about cutting costs. Some members of the Cleveland/Akron chapter of Entrepreneurs' Organization say a better response to an economic downturn is to grow.
Akron businessman David Charlton said he started thinking about ''recession-proofing'' his industrial lubrication distributorship as soon as he bought it in 2006. The country's declining manufacturing base and auto industry demanded that his Rice Holdings develop new survival strategies long before Wall Street buckled.
First, instead of just selling oil in an unquestioning routine replacement plan, Rice will test the lubricant a company is using and determine if it can last longer, or if it can be recycled and reused.
''We're actively helping industrial manufacturing firms recession-proof themselves,'' Charlton added.
Another service Charlton's company provides eliminates time-consuming paperwork and potential auditing nightmares. The Rice Companies logs all of the information required of a company that disposes of waste, and keeps it on the Internet so customers can access their own histories in an instant. To be sure, it's easier for small business owners to react quickly to changes in the economy.
Still, Charlton said there can be resistance when going against the grain. His company was in a field that was largely unchanged in a century. Distributors concentrate on volume — the more you sell, the more money you make.
The idea of a distributor providing services that actually reduce the amount of product they are distributing ''was so far beyond the core business, I got lots of negative feedback,'' he said. ''But we found a niche,'' he said, ''and we're still the only ones playing in that niche.''
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com.