July 2018

74 75 REVCHEM COMPOSITES bility and growth is the diversity we have in the marketplace.We’re servicing the marine industry, set design and special effects in the movie in- dustry, aerospace, tub shower, surfboards, general fabrication, and others –because of that diversity we were able to survive the recession of 2008, quite well. Even though everything was down,we weren’t dependent on any one segment.That remains the same today because, as we move forward,we ser- vice such a diverse group of industries. “Another unique fact about Revchem is, even if you include our top five or ten customers, no single customer makes up over three percent of our total business. Our primary customers are mid-size to small operations.We process between 100 and 150 orders a day and deliver those on our truck fleet. The average order size is around $1,500 to $20,000, and we certainly have some larger $25,000 to $30,000 orders, but the daily average order size, times the footprint, is what saves us.We have such diversity in our customer base, and so many customers, that we don’t feel at risk if a large customer was to have a cata- strophic shutdown or something else was to hap- pen. It doesn’t impact our revenue all that hard.” BVM: How do you differentiate your business from competitors? Pendleton: “We have two large national com- petitors. One is the largest composites distributor in our industry. They are at least 20 times our size and have more than 30 distribution points across the country. The other is owned by Interplastic Corporation and probably five times our size, with PETE PENDLETON PRESIDENT OF REVCHEM COMPOSITES a much larger footprint. “In both cases our business model is different, and we pride ourselves on ‘order today, deliver to- morrow.’We’re not always the lowest priced, but we offer the most service–meaning you can order at 4 PM, and if you need it by 6 AM, there’s a high likeli- hood it will be there.We have a high first-pass fill rate (96-97%) and tremendous technical support. Our 13 field salespeople are well-trained to help manufacturers deal with technical resource issues, understand laminate schedules, sort through issues related to building the products. So, quick delivery, good inventory, high tech support, and we deliver when customers ask, not when it’s scheduled for their area,which is a different business model than the competition.” BVM: Where do relationships with vendors and networking fit into the grand scheme of growth? Pendleton: “Our vendor partner relationships are most important to us, because without them Revchem couldn’t exist.We’d have nothing to sell.We have long, 40-year-plus standing rela- tionships with most of the well-known industry product manufacturers and we really focus on