Blog posts tagged with 'The Importance of Family in Business'

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"] 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!

Albina's number one goal is to provide customers with competitively priced steel bending services resulting in quality products, on time. We honor our commitment to this goal by continuously fulfilling our obligations and meeting our customers needs. We have a very high regard and respect for our customers, vendors and employees and we hold many of them in very high esteem as if they were a part of our own family. We are proud of the many partnerships and relationships that we have built over the years. The reason we have such longstanding relationships in the steel bending industry, is not only because we have been around for nearly 80 years, but because of the pride that we take in the quality of our work and the service that we provide on each and every job. We feel satisfied only when the commitments we have made to our partners are fulfilled. Pride is not only reflected by our team putting our hearts and souls into your end product, but can also be seen in our many efforts to improve our working environment and the community around us. a) Albina Co., Inc. donates to many local and national Charitable Organizations including CONSANO, Meals on Wheels PDX, The Hunger Drive, Assistance League of Greater Portland, Sherwood Education Foundation, Local Sports Teams, etc. b) We purchase steel from service centers in the USA. Our bent steel products are "Made In The USA" out of our facility in Oregon. c) We have taken many steps to reduce our carbon footprint by reducing our power usage. In the last 12 months we have undergone significant capital expense to "do our part" by installing a 134.4 kW solar array and we replaced every interior and exterior lighting fixture / bulb with LED replacements. d) Recent Upgrades to our phone systems and internal camera systems to increase our ability to communicate, track and share real time data seamlessly within our shop and externally with customers and vendors. e) We have made huge efforts over the last few years to bring in new equipment, service/update older equipment, and we have actually designed and built our very own, one-of-a-kind, CNC induction bending process. It is small companies like ours that will make American great again because we run an honorable business and we take pride in our work. We are all learning, that in this very difficult and scary time in our world, that it is the little things that matter and it is the intangibles that help determine who, what, when, where and why you should do business with someone. [caption id="attachment_1240" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Happy 4th of July! We like to spend America's Birthday with family and friends. We have spent many 4th of July weekends at the beautiful Oregon Coast, in the Central Oregon high desert, or just hanging around the neighborhood having BBQ's and enjoying the amazing Oregon summers. We wish you all a happy and safe 4th of July! [/caption]

Albina Co., Inc. started out as family business in 1939. Brian's grandfather (John) and father (Bill) both served in CEO and Presidential roles before Brian took over in 1998. Brian has worked in all aspects of the business from helping in the shop as a teenager, to managing the Accounting Department straight out of college, to the role of President and CEO which he has maintained for nearly 20 years. Brian's wife, Jaime, serves as the Marketing and Advertising Manager. Together, Brian and Jaime created the business plan required for the move to their current facility in 2000 and have worked side-by-side for the last 17 years to grow Albina into one of the most well-known and highly regarded steel bending companies in the country. Every month, Brian and Jaime will share their thoughts on the importance of family in business. June 2017- LOYALTY Loyalty is defined as faithfulness to commitments or obligations. We pledge loyalty when we get married, when our kids are born,when we are part of team, when we work as a collective unit and when we form personal and professional relationships. Loyalty is showing complete and constant support. Being part of a family business means that we take care of our "Albina Family", we honor our commitments to employees, vendors and customers and we stand by the relationships that we have built on trust, over the many decades our family has been in business. Brian and Jaime are huge Blazer fans and love the game of basketball. Both played at Lake Oswego High School and Jaime went on to play Division I at the University of Minnesota. Both of their children play and they love spending time together as a family both playing and watching various levels of hoops. Go Blazers!