chemical solutions to concrete problems
In this first edition of Nox-Crete Pros, Nox-Crete Products Group puts the spotlight on A.H. Harris and its willingness and excitement to work together to find the best solutions for customers.
Building Trust
Customers put a lot of faith in A.H. Harris to recommend products and present them with innovative solutions. That trust exists because A.H. Harris is truly invested in all of its business relationships.
Alan Gould, A.H. Harris account manager in Maine, said he believes in becoming a business partner with customers and manufacturers. And Eric Leone, owner of Leone Concrete Corp. in Newport, Maine, definitely agrees that Alan and A.H. Harris are partners, as well as problem solvers.
“The big thing with A.H. Harris is that so much of what we do in cast-in-place and concrete formwork is specialty work,” Eric said. “We have unique form issues and design challenges. When you’re coming up with solutions, you have to have a good relationship with your supplier. A.H. Harris is a great resource to bounce ideas off of or to supplement what we have going.”
Alan Gould of A.H. Harris, left, thrives on partnerships. Here, Alan breaks ground on the dining hall at the Boy Scouts’ Camp William Hinds in Raymond, Maine. A.H. Harris and Nox-Crete donated material for the hall’s construction. Alan is joined by Jeffrey Spiller of Casco Bay Steel Structures, center, and Peter Brissette, General Manager/Branch President of American Steel & Aluminum, whose companies also donated materials. *Photo courtesy of Boy Scouts of America
Getting Your Boots Dirty
Alan isn’t afraid to get a little dirty to help the customer, either.
“I like to meet customers face to face, either at an office or job site,” Alan said. “Showing that you’re not scared to get your boots dirty is key. On a recent Leone job, I made a form oil delivery, and I counted form rentals to make sure all of the order was delivered. When you drive three hours to a job site in a remote part of Maine, the customer knows you care.”
Nox-Crete’s professionally trained staff has the same approach to customers. We go out of our way to give product demos to educate distributors and contractors about products, along with the correct application of the products.
“Vendors who take the time to travel to Maine provide support to both A.H. Harris and me, and that makes me want to support them,” Alan said. “Having Nox-Crete in the field is tremendous.”
Nox-Crete staff is more than willing to visit customers across North America. Several years ago Jeff Linn, Nox-Crete Vice President and Owner, traveled to Maine from his office in Omaha, Nebraska, when one customer wasn’t satisfied with a new form release agent that replaced an old one in order to meet VOC requirements.
“We went to visit the customer, and Jeff asked many questions to find out which form release agent would work best as a replacement,” Alan said. “Jeff shared so much information about plywood and form oil that day. At the end of the day, the right form release was recommended, and the customer is still using it.”
Today, Alan works on a regular basis with Rob Wagner, Nox-Crete’s Northeast Regional Manager, who also goes out of his way to help educate him about products and their applications.
On a recent Leone Concrete job, Rob suggested offering Chembeton form release to Eric Leone.
“Eric was impressed with the product and gave me several benefits over the previous form oil I was selling him,” Alan said “I’d never gotten feedback on Chembeton from a customer and had never tried selling it until then. I have always known that Nox-Crete products are premier products, but I’d never had the right reason to promote the premier products over the economical ones.”
Alan said that Rob continues to provide more opportunities to promote products he hadn’t had the chance to work with before, such as Deco-Peel and the Perfect Form & Concrete Sprayer.
Solving Distribution Issues
The personal attention and hands-on education Nox-Crete provides helps to solve distribution issues, too.
The Maine climate can cause form release agents to gel. Alan said A.H. Harris never quite had the right seasonal blend, before Nox-Crete took the time to train A.H. Harris staff on the benefits of Chembeton.
“It was a vicious circle, trying to inventory winter blend form oil and summer blend,” he said. “Now with Chembeton, we carry one product year round. It’s easier on our inventory.”
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Nox-Crete Products Group is excited to name A.H. Harris the first Nox-Crete Pro! We chose A.H. Harris because of its dedication to learning about the best products and in turn, educating customers about those products. And the fact that they’re not afraid to dig in and do the dirty work made them a slam-dunk!
Congratulations Alan and A.H. Harris!
For information on Nox-Crete Products or to set up a demo in the Northeast Region, contact:
Northeast Division Sales Manager Rob Wagner -
Phone: 603.443.0290 Email: rwagner@nox-crete.com
Inside Sales Support, Eastern US Kevin Donohue -
Phone: 402.341.2080 Email: kdonohue@nox-crete.com