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Blog posts tagged with 'Meet Brian and Jaime Smith'

Meet Brian and Jaime Smith-"Making Magic Happen"

We just returned from the happiest place on Earth (Disney World) and while we should be rested after 9 days of vacation, we are exhausted!!! Disney, just like everything else in our lives, involved strategic planning almost six months in advance just to ensure we could have a hot meal and ride the most popular rides. And even with all that planning and preparation, Jaime and I found ourselves constantly evaluating the efficiencies of the parks, the bottlenecks we faced, and how we thought Disney could improve the experience of park-goers. Don't get me wrong, we had great family time, and Disney is one of the most successful companies around, but I think the lesson we took away from the trip is that even if we think we have things all figured out and are doing things the way we think you want them done, we can't rest on our laurels and we need to be constantly evaluating how we can make your experience in doing business with us an enjoyable (and dare I say "magical") one.

On our trip, we were constantly on a roller coaster, jumping from one ride to the next, never a dull moment. That is the same feeling we have about how the spring is shaping up here at Albina Co. We have so many great and interesting projects going on right now! We are rockin' & rollin' on so many different types of material! So many industries...agricultural, structural, aerospace, mining, food processing, and so much more! Below are just a few projects we shipped out recently!

Meet Brian and Jaime Smith-Our New DAVI Bending Machine is Rolling!
Meet Brian and Jaime Smith-Our New DAVI Bending Machine is Rolling!

This master bender machine offers the new and innovative iRoll camera system, allowing operators to view the part being bent compared to a radius template on the control screen. This is a new way to make quality and consistent parts. Another innovation with the master bender is the machine’s ability to “learn and remember” how different materials bend, where the rolls need to be positioned, and how much spring back is associated with a bend / material. This machine is a great fit for our shop, its size puts it right between our current Roundo R7 and R11 machines. Allowing us to reallocate work from two machines to three machines which should certainly help with our scheduling flexibility. The MCP30 will allow us to bend up to 8” x 8” angle, 9” square HSS, W16 the easy way / W12 the hard way and 14” Sch20 pipe / 12” Sch40 pipe. [caption id="attachment_1716" align="aligncenter" width="420"]Meet Brian and Jaime Smith - New DAVI Machince is Up and Rolling! Brian and Jaime Smith by the Davi Machine[/caption]

Meet Brian and Jaime Smith: It Never Hurts to Try Something New! We Aren't Afraid of a Little Adventure When It Comes to Our Business or Family Life!
We aren't afraid of a little adventure when it comes to our business or our family life! We recently took a family vacation to Central Oregon and went hiking and cliff jumping at Steelhead Falls! Our kids were eager to jump and even more eager to see us jump! I started with the lower rocks and worked my way up to the bigger ones. I couldn't let my son down! Jaime started on the lower rocks, and while she never made it up to the high ones, she found the courage to jump as our teenage daughter implored her by saying "Mom, I will be so disappointed in you if you don't jump." That was all it took and off she went! See our videos on YouTube. Brian is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x3pRl7Y9kM Jaime is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nwjR6TsDEI At times, we are not afraid to jump into something if the experience and adventure of it is worth it in the long run. I think that my grandpa had that same philosophy when he was hired at Albina 79 years ago. We hope to keep his spirit, as well as my father's spirit, alive in our future endeavors. We encourage and challenge you to try something new. If you haven't used us in awhile, or if you have never used us, please consider jumping in and giving us a chance to show you what we can do. We are up to the challenge!
Meet Brian and Jaime Smith- "Responsibility Equals Accountability Equals Ownership"
"Responsibility Equals Accountability Equals Ownership. A sense of ownership is the most powerful weapon a team or organization can have." -Pat Summit, Former Tennessee Women's Basketball Coach We live in "what used to be" the beautiful city of Portland, Oregon. We used to take our kids down to the waterfront and spend the day playing tourist in our own city, but those days are long over. Our daughter ran a race downtown recently and we were in shock at the state of our city...garbage everywhere, human excrement on the sidewalks and in the flower beds, it was embarrassing. Yet most people were content to walk over the trash, to turn a blind eye to the sad state of what used to be one of the most beautiful cities in the country. Our take was that our communities have lost their sense of responsibility, accountability and ownership. We don't have the solution to change these things, I wish we did, as I know many areas of the country face the same challenges. However, we can make a promise to you that we run our organization like we run our family. We treat our facilities like we treat our own home. We are respectful, responsible and safe in how we operate and we also understand that our ability to perform directly reflects on you and your company when dealing with your customers. We are accountable to our customers and vendors. We keep our word and we do what we say we can do, when promised, and to your satisfaction. We value our employees and our facility and we take great care of the people and property around us. We take great pride in our responsibility of servicing you and great pride in the ownership of Albina Co., Inc. [caption id="attachment_1508" align="aligncenter" width="660"] We recently went on a family trip to Kona, Hawaii. We work extremely hard and we play extremely hard! We zip-lined for the first time! All of us went upside down and no hands over spectacular river gorges, water falls and lava tubes! The next day, we swam with dolphins in the wild and also came upon a pelagic manta ray measuring 8 feet wide that had never been spotted in the Hawaiian waters! The kids had the amazing pleasure of naming the manta ray "Freedom"![/caption]
Meet Brian and Jaime Smith-March Madness...Size Doesn't Matter, Big or Small!
We are basketball junkies in our family and we love watching March Madness! We love it because all scenarios are represented: big history-rich dominating schools vs. small underdog first timers, big boisterous coaches vs. the silent tactical types, and big 7-footers vs. small point guards. This last scenario is true in our family as I stand at 6'6" and Jaime almost a foot shorter. You can see below why Jaime, who actually played D1 college basketball, implemented a "no shot blocking rule" when we first started dating!! Meet Brian and Jaime Smith We think that this big vs. small comparison carries over so well into our business because we have the capability to bend steel for many different scenarios as well: big high-profile structural steel projects vs. small precision parts for manufacturing and industrial applications, large projects with mass quantities of bends vs. small one-piece bends for a one-time job and we are also a small, family owned business, yet we are the premier bending expert in the entire nation. No matter the job, big or small, we would love the opportunity to be Your Bending Expert.
Meet Brian and Jaime Smith- There is Always Something for Which to Be Thankful
We live in a very uncertain world right now, but we try to remind ourselves every day that "There is Always Something for Which to Be Thankful." We can only control what goes on in our own little circles of life and it is more important now, more than ever before, to take the time to say "Thank You" to the people who have made an impact or impression on either our personal or professional lives. We are thankful.... For our Loyal Customers: We truly appreciate your business, and we're grateful for the trust you've placed in us. We are looking forward to another strong year and continuing our joint efforts to add the functionality, beauty, and drama of curved steel to the building and manufacturing worlds! For our Outstanding Vendors: We are thankful that we have such a strong vendor base to meet, and often times exceed, all of our daily business needs. We value the relationships we have spent years building and hope that 2018 brings continued new projects and growth. For our New Customers: "Thank You" for giving us a shot to be your steel bender of choice! We hope that your experience was a positive one and that we can continue to service your steel bending needs at the highest level. We are thankful for you giving us the opportunity to show you what we can do for you. For our Employees: Our employees are part of the Albina family and so many of us have been around for decades battling through the many ups and downs of our economy. We have a very strong team in place right now and we are ready to meet the challenges ahead whatever they may be. We are thankful and grateful for their dedication to the Albina family and the time and efforts they spend servicing our many wonderful customers. We hope to have the pleasure of doing business with you for many years to come. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you. [caption id="attachment_1373" align="aligncenter" width="4032"]Meet Brian and Jaime Smith- There is Always Something for Which to Be Thankful We are Thankful for the Opportunity to participate in the Consano Organization- A non-profit crowdfunding platform for medical research. We got involved in the organization when my father, Bill ,was diagnosed with a desmoplastic melanoma, that lead to his eventual passing in 2011. Albina is grateful to the Consano Organization for all of their wonderful work![/caption]
Meet Brian and Jaime Smith- "Be Part of the Experience" Part 2 of 2
I recently ordered a comforter that was to include one comforter and two pillow shams. I only received the comforter and no shams. They couldn't just send me the shams, because they were supposed to come in a set...clearly. I had to return the original comforter at my own expense and reorder. I ordered a t-shirt for my daughters cross country team. I received the shirt and the entire bottom hem was ripped and shredded. I took it to the vendor and they offered to cut off the loose strings for me and thought I was crazy for even asking for a new shirt that was actually sewn correctly. I ordered a headboard and was told it would be one week till delivery and I also asked them to email me a receipt. It took 3 weeks, 5 phone calls and not one return call to get the answer that they have no idea when the headboard will ship and that their system doesn't allow them to send receipts. All of these experiences in just one day left me questioning how our world even functions anymore? Have we just accepted that we don't get what we pay for, that below average quality is acceptable, and that customer service and on-time delivery just doesn't really matter? Well, it matters to me. Does it matter to you? Well, guess what? We are investing in you. When we make improvements to our business, we ask ourselves if it will add VALUE to our partners - YOU. Here are some examples of recent advances we have made to give you a fantastic ALBINA EXPERIENCE: Everyone says your call is important, so why do you always get VM? We value your initial phone call so much that last month we invested in and installed a new state of the art VOIP phone system to field your calls. This phone system allows us to redirect phone calls to our cell phones when necessary so calls are rarely missed. You need your quote WHEN? Our typical quote return is 48 hours. If you have a specific date that you need the response by, please list it on the request. We always strive to meet or beat the date requested, in some cases we have even returned the quote the day of the request - just let us know. Your peace of mind via Confirmation Every order that we enter to our system has a corresponding order confirmation that is emailed to you for your review and records. What's my status? With our state of the art scheduling software we are able to provide you real time status updates as requests are made. Show me... We have installed a new camera system in our shop with 2 Megapixel cameras. These cameras offer Albina management high quality images of our production process right from our desks. We both value efficiency and quality and these cameras will allow management to better service your needs by providing real time data on what phase your job is at in our shop. When will I get it? When an order is shipped, our shipping manager sends you tracking information of the shipment (when this information is available) so you know exactly where the order is once it leaves our facility. We want you TO BE PART OF THE EXPERIENCE that we provide at Albina Co., Inc. We want to be your "go to" steel bender. I guarantee you will not be disappointed and it will be AN EXPERIENCE worth having. [caption id="attachment_1337" align="aligncenter" width="3472"]Brian and Jaime Smith- "Be Part of the Experience" Double Day Inn Gettysburg, PA.[/caption] Thought it would be fun to let you all be a part of OUR EXPERIENCE by sharing this picture and story. On our summer vacation, we returned to the exact spot on the battlefields of Gettysburg where we got engaged. Almost 20 years later, the porch remains unchanged and we were able to recreate that special event with our two kids, and our fabulous tour guide! What a cool experience! It felt so good to know that some things never change, and that what worked 20 years ago, still works today! Here's to another 20 years!
Meet Brian and Jaime Smith- "Be Part of the Experience (Part 1 of 2)"
Picture this...the first night of our family trip to New York City. We were sitting in a packed Carmine's Italian Restaurant in the heart of Manhattan, enjoying the house red wine, the roar of the subway below us shaking our table every 2 minutes. All the great Italian meals you could think of and Jaime can't have any of them as she tries to avoid gluten! She thinks about it for a minute and says "I am going to have some spaghetti and meatballs! I WANT TO BE PART OF THE EXPERIENCE!" And it was worth it for her to take that chance and do something out of her normal comfort zone, because it was an experience that we will never forget. During dinner, we talked about this saying "I WANT TO BE PART OF THE EXPERIENCE" and realized that at Albina Co., Inc., WE PROVIDE AN EXPERIENCE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS. We are a full-service steel bending establishment and have every detail covered from the time we take your initial call to the time your bent material arrives on your door step. This is the EXPERIENCE you get when you work with us: We reply to every RFQ (request for quote) received letting the customer know that we have the RFQ. If not already defined, we will ask when the bid is required. This will allow us to schedule our work flow to meet our customers needs. Formal quotes are always prepared with great detail describing what the customer can expect from Albina if we are given an order. We never want the customer left to guess what they are going to receive from us. Confirmations are always sent to the customer for their final review and records. Once a purchase order is issued to Albina your order is promptly entered so we can schedule your job and procure material timely. Every order is reviewed by 3 levels of management (Scheduling, processing and QC). During review the details on a PO are confirmed to what has been entered on an Albina work order. We ensure a promised due date is met by employing a full time scheduling manager. This scheduling manager assigns your project to a machine and to Albina workers. This is done very early in the flow of a project. A project manager is assigned to every job that we process. The project manager will act as the point of contact for the customer regarding a project in process. Proactive Communications. Project managers review the schedule daily and identify if a project is going to be completed after the promised due date. In the unlikely event a project is delayed for whatever reason, the customer is promptly notified. All jobs are checked by QC upon completion and before they are turned in for shipping. Savings via optimized shipping. The shipping manager schedules all of the daily trucks and ensures that projects are scheduled for trucks on or before the promised due date. Albina is frequently shipping all over the United States and Canada. The high volume of trucks allows our shipping manager to combine smaller orders onto a single truck saving our customers money. Electronic tracking. After shipment, our shipping manager will email tracking information to our customer and emails MTR's (if required) to our customer. A follow up. Our job is not complete until you have your product and are completely satisfied. We view our customers as partners, and want open communications long after this order is concluded. Next month in Part 2, we will share some of the ways we are investing to give you the ultimate ALBINA EXPERIENCE. [caption id="attachment_1313" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]Brian and Jaime Smith- "Be Part of the Experience" We recently took a family vacation to New York City, Gettysburg and Washington DC. We like to cover a lot of ground on vacations and take in as many sights as possible because we want "To Be Part of the Experience." We walked almost 90 miles on this vacation to ensure that we saw everything! This particular day we started in Brooklyn, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, through Tribeca in search of Taylor Swift (Of course! We have a 14 year old daughter!), through Soho and the East Village, ate pizza at the famous Bleeker Street Pizza, and ended in Times Square! What a day! [/caption]