Business View Magazine | February 2019

70 73 years, our reputation for honesty, integrity and service to our customers has built a great brand in the market for Tioga. Tioga continues to build its brand by remaining active in numerous industry events and associations including; ABMA (American Boiler Manufacturers Assoc.),MSCI (Metal Service Center Institute),NASPD (National Association of Pipe Distributors),NACE (National Association of Corrosion Engineers), PFI (Pipe Fabricators Insti- tute), and the PVF (Pipe,Valves & Fitting) Round- table.On top of our industry involvement,Tioga is active in its local communities.Through the Tioga Foundation,we make annual donations to chari- ties in the markets where we operate.We view ourselves as part of the community, act accordingly and, frankly, have a lot of fun doing it.” ` BVM: What role does technology play in the com- pany? Kotcher: “We remain progressive with the use of technology.We have a robust ERP system utiliz- ing bar coding, automated inventory control, ship- ping and scanning technology. On the sales side we utilize Microsoft Dynamics 365 as our CRM platform.We continually evaluate opportunities to improve our customer service whether that be a new application that helps identify,manage, and locate pipe once it’s delivered in the field, or project management tools which reduce the time required to complete customer bid packages.We are not after the “most popular”new thing in the market, we prefer to focus on the “best” solutions to service our customers. “From an analytic standpoint,we have great system capability,which gives us insights into where the markets are going,who the players are, and factors that impact supply and demand.We definitely see opportunities for project management in the field with wireless technology systems and remote apps. We’re digitizing as much as possible,moving away from a paper-based programs to give access to customers, digitally and quickly.” BVM: What are the most important attributes of Tioga?