Top of the Chain

with Tatsuro “Tats” Kimura PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER WITH MASTER HALCO

Professionally surviving and thriving during the last few years due to the pandemic and supply chain shortages are accomplishments worth celebrating. Tatsuro “Tats” Kimura, president and chief executive officer with Master Halco, shares how he has focused on customer service, employee retention, and led the company to achieve an increase in sales despite the recent challenges.

You’re approaching your first year as president with Master Halco. How did it go and what were some of the goals you achieved in the first year?

I came into the position when we were just about to see signs of normalization after more than two years of adapting to live with the pandemic, but at the same time, not knowing what to expect from the geopolitical uncertainties surrounding Russia and Ukraine and how that would affect our industry and business.

Despite those challenges, my goal was to stay the course: continuing to grow our business through providing quality products and services to our customers. I am pleased that we have been able to add new product offerings such as decking and railing and increase our total sales by more than 10% in the last year.

During the pandemic, you oversaw the supply chain for Master Halco. It was one of the most tumultuous times for supplies. What was your experience?

In the early days, it was nothing but chaos. Both materials and logistics costs continued to increase at a pace we have never seen before. However, at one point, it went to the extent of product and services being unavailable no matter what you were prepared to pay. We then had to adjust in making sure we took care of our customers in the best way possible.

The challenge was in how to distribute product to our locations throughout the U.S. and Canada in a manner that would have the greatest impact on maximizing our customer service level. This pivotal shift from being able to source what we need versus product allocations was very challenging.

Master Halco is known for quality and dependability when it comes to fencing manufacturing. How do you continue those tradition in today’s economy and workforce?

We endeavor to stress that we provide quality products and services to our customers. We also have a commitment to invest in our people by focusing on recruiting and retention initiatives and allocating resources to providing learning and developing opportunities for our employees.

Decking is a new market for the company. What led to this decision and how is it going so far?

We continually search for new growth opportunities. With the pandemic leading to more people spending time at home and in their backyards, it allowed us to clearly see the huge potential, not only in growing the fence business, but also entering in the decking and railing market as both product lines contribute to improving the outdoor living space experience.

Through our initial research, we learned that many of our fence contractors install decking as well, but to our surprise, we learned that many decking contractors also install fencing, which created additional opportunities we did not expect.

Half of our branches now offer decking, and we are planning to expand it out to more locations in the coming year. At the recent FENCE TECH in Oklahoma City, we sent a strong message to the industry stating that we do more than fence by having a deck patio with outdoor furniture on it in the middle of our booth. We couldn’t be happier with the amount of interest we have been able to attract at the event and we’re looking forward to continuing to grow this market.

What drives you to succeed?

It’s the sense of accomplishment, especially when I can feel that through working together as a team, we make a difference in our business. This leads to better servicing our customers, establishing stronger partnerships with vendors and ultimately leading to our employees’ happiness.

What do you hope to instill in your leadership team and supervisors to promote a culture of excellence in your employees?

We aim to nurture a service mindset throughout the company to be chosen as the preferred partner with all our stakeholders. It goes without saying that we are here to support our customers to grow their business, but we also emphasize the importance of growing together with our vendors and provide opportunities for our employees to develop their careers.

For more information, visit www.masterhalco.com.