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COMPANY NEWS
Shamrock Marketing: A Proactive Approach to Market Challenges
product that will allow it to provide its clients with thousands of dollars-worth of savings.”
Another key activity being undertaken by Shamrock at the moment is the relocation of its equipment warehouse to new facilities which will allow the company to be more efficient and closer to the distribution hubs in Louisville. With that in mind, the company has announced a moving sale, although Conley admits much of the equipment that was available has already been snapped up by eager clients.
In the meantime, Shamrock have also been focusing on developing relationships with new suppliers and expanding their product range with suppliers such as the likes of Elgi. Prior to the pandemic, the company finalised a distribution agreement with Vulcan-Vulcap, and although the development of this is currently in a holding pattern due to the pandemic, the company is looking forward to expanding the relationship. “Gilles Wauthy has a good portfolio of products, and Vulcan has good name,” said Doug Conley. “We have a positive outlook with regards to our relationship and are optimistic for the future.”
One further initiative the company has developed is an audit programme for retreaders, which has been championed by the company’s Latin American division and which helps retreaders look at efficiencies within the procedures and processes at their plants in order to allow them to save money. This project, says Conley, is already on contract with two clients.
In addition to this, Shamrock has also introduced an expanding rim refurbishing programme, another area in which Conley feels there has been a market gap.
Considering all these activities, one could be forgiven for thinking that this is enough to be going on with, but Shamrock have also been extremely pro- active with their social media presence over the past couple of years.
“Social media is probably the most important area to learn about and invest in as far as marketing is concerned,” said Conley. “Over the last 24 months we have been very active. We have noticed how the world of publishing has shifted from traditional print to social media, and we are trying to do the same thing by building our email database and increasing our social media presence.”
So, what is Shamrock Marketing’s plan for the next five years?
“In the short term, for the next one or two years, we want to refocus on our core products, rebuilding our traditional business with the right brands and alliances,” explained Doug Conley. “Beyond that, technology will be a key area of focus e.g. tread depth measurement, robotics etc. For retreading to go to the next level it will need to be more like a Ford assembly line that the traditional craftsman approach. On the service side, we realise that every plant has inefficiencies, and we are helping to fill that service void. In five years’ time, we will also be looking to diversify, but it needs to be the right opportunity.”
We recently took the opportunity to talk to Doug Conley, the President of Shamrock Marketing Inc, the Louisville, Kentucky-based supplier of equipment, tools and accessories for the tyre retreading sector, to discuss how the company is shaping up to the myriad changes the market is providing at the moment, and
hand sanitiser to customers. To add a personal touch, the labels on the bottles were supplied with a Shamrock motif designed by Conley’s daughters.
With regards to the market for equipment, Conley admits that the market is currently providing its challenges, but the company appears to be making the best of the hunger for efficiency and
Doug Conley
how the company aims to develop and expand in the future.
We began with the subject that is on everyone’s mind at the moment, namely the Covid-19 pandemic, and it became quickly clear that Shamrock has been able to react quickly to the current situation. “We immediately took measures to make sure our employees could work safely, instigating work from home procedures, making hand sanitiser available, introducing spacing and the wearing of masks,” explained Conley. “TRIB has also been very helpful as a resource, providing key facts to help us navigate the situation,” he added.
In addition to this, Shamrock has supported its customers with actions such as special discounts, extended terms and the like, as well as providing free
technology that existed in the marketplace prior to the pandemic. Prior to the outbreak, the company had concluded a deal with H&H Industries in Ohio to purchase an OTR tread cutter and buffer from TRM, which is expected to be installed in the second half of the year, and has also teamed up with TRM with regards to technology that will allow fleets to be able to collect data on the amount of remaining tread on a fleet’s tyres when they arrive at the retread plant. Accordiing to Conley, Shamrock has teamed up with a national franchise network to introduce this technology on an exclusive basis.
“Protypes are out in the market right now,” says Conley. “There is nothing else like this available at the moment, and this will allow our client to differentiate itself in the market with a
24 Retreading Business