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Central States Manufacturing’s steely determination to be the industry’s best is founded on a culture of true well-being

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“Our company purpose is to provide well-being and financial freedom for our employee-owners and their families. That's why we exist.”

That take on corporate identity isn’t what you’d expect to hear from the chief exec of a metals manufacturing and sales enterprise – and that’s just fine for Jim Sliker of Central States. (In addition to being CEO, Sliker is one of the company’s 1,400 employee owners.)

Central States sells, designs, manufactures, distributes, and installs metal building components, including roofing, siding, and metal building packages for residential, commercial, and agricultural consumers. Since 1988, the Arkansas-based enterprise has consistently innovated in both steel manufacturing and customer experience, offering premium products at exceptional value. In recent years, the company has grown into three business units and will open its 12^th and 13^th manufacturing plants next year as the company continues its geographic expansion.

The enterprising ESOP has averaged over 25% appreciation in their share price over the last 10 years. “That’s good for the ownership and primarily driven by healthy profitable growth,” Sliker said. “We have been blessed with good financial results and we continue to invest back into the business for our customers.”

But what does well-being mean for the company that he’s helmed since 2013? It means everything from safety programs, compensation, benefits, wellness initiatives, employee-owner development and more. But, as he put it, “It's foundationally brought together because we’re a company that's relational. In this company, our employee-owners are more than an asset to the business. We care about each other as people with families. It's not about what they do for the company, it's who they are. That's very much inherent in our culture.”

He added, “we believe in teamwork, the power of teams over individuals, and we're constantly pursuing continuous improvements and problem solving to get better and better for our customers. We strive individually to do good, high quality, high-reliability work. When we don't, it bothers us. We're people that are trying to find solutions, not excuses.”

The core of those solutions rise from customer needs, so much so that Central States views their customers as partners in the enterprise. One of the first in their industry to create a customer portal, currently in second and third generation development, offering information, education, and incremental systems that enable them to use the portal as an asset in their own businesses.

“We are a process, standards, and data driven company, but at the same time we want to accommodate our customers’ business models. We're trying to develop resources, tools, and systems to help their business.” Central States will even send their own functional business specialists to help customers improve their business processes, mitigate risk and train employees.

“Because we're their business partners, we're trying to find ways for them to improve their business and achieve whatever goals they may have for themselves and their employees. That's how we win.”

“All metals not the same, it's a fact,” said Sliker. “On the front end we are specifying higher quality standards than some in our industry.”

“For example, all 29-gauge prime material is not the same thickness. We tend to specify higher thicknesses than the norm in our industry.” The same goes for paint. Their engineered paint system comes with a lifetime warranty.

When it comes to their sustainability ethos, they truly walk the walk. When it comes to choosing steel suppliers, Central States works with those who share their values of stewardship and have partners committed to being carbon neutral by 2050.

The majority of the steel products they use are made using electric arc furnace technology with recycled ferrous scrap as the primary input. This limits carbon emissions while simultaneously delivering quality steel products that can be infinitely recycled without any loss in quality. Taking a circular economy approach minimizes waste and energy use and reuses almost all materials. Their products can contribute toward environmental credentials such as LEED certification.

“What sets the standard of our products is all the front-end work of the engineering specifications,” he said. “We execute a purchasing strategy with integrated suppliers. It is not about continually shopping for the lowest price. Instead, we are aligned with partners who provide quality products and services at an exceptional value.”

“We're driving a set of KPIs to make sure we're monitoring how the business is performing, and that means we have quality controls and checkpoints throughout every aspect to make sure we're doing it right. We're not perfect,” he admits, seemingly chagrined that they reach their delivery goals approximately 97% of the time.

For Central States, responsibility and success are only partially defined by customer satisfaction, business results, and share prices. “Our responsibility is also to make an impact in the communities where we live and work,” Sliker stressed. “Not only do we provide monetary support to a lot of nonprofit organizations, we're out serving withi our hearts, heads, hands, and our feet, creating real relationships with these organizations and trying to make a heart-felt, face-to-face impact, not just writing checks.”

Prior to joining Central States, Sliker spent time as a Tier 1 automotive components supplier in the auto industry and can refute a popular business axiom. “Most companies will prioritize business results over culture. What makes us different is that we prioritize culture. Our job is to protect the culture, and that’s our secret sauce.”

“We will make hard decisions to protect the culture. And I don't manage the financial results. I believe if we take care of customers and manage our internal processes and the KPIs, the money will just happen, and I think that's what makes us unique.”