ORLANDO, FLA. — As president of Gamma Meccanica North America, Heath T. Sellers isn't satisfied with simply winning the pocketbooks of his customers.
The head of the Greer, S.C.-based company says ultimate success for his firm and his clients involves much more than simply selling plastic recycling equipment and moving on.
“The way we approach things is more consultative. It's a holistic approach. I guess, with tongue in cheek, it's winning the hearts and minds,” Sellers said.
“You speak from the operator or the maintenance manager who are on the floor all the way up to the owner or president of the company,” Sellers said.
“We really want to make sure that everyone is invested in being our partner and us being their partner. I call that partner-to-partner approach,” Sellers said while sitting in the Gamma Meccanica's booth at NPE 2015 in Orlando.
“What we try to do is go in and develop solutions for clients and not just sell them a machine. I think that's a big difference in how we approach things. Our relationship is long term, and really it's continual,” Sellers said.
And it doesn't matter if Gamma Meccanica North America sells a $50,000 machine to a mom-and-pop operation or a $4.2 million system, like it did last year, “our approach does not change,” he said.
Gamma Mechanica North America is a joint venture that represents equipment made by Bibbiano, Italy-based Gamma Meccanica SpA. The South Carolina operation started in 2006 and moved into a 7,500-square-foot building in 2009.
“We're expanding our offices, we are hiring, we are developing a whole own lab system so we don't have to do trials over in Italy. So we're growing. We're in a huge growth mode right now and having a lot of growing pains, but it's good problems to have,” Sellers said. “We had our best year ever last year.”
For a guy who started out with a home office in 2006 and stored parts in his garage, growing the company is very personal. Gamma Meccanica is in the process of hiring more people to help out with the work load as Sellers knows he can't do it all anymore, even with the help of his long-time office manager Catherine A. Sadler.
The company did $7 million in sales last year, up from $3.8 million the year before, thanks in part to one multi-million dollar order. Sellers is expecting to hit the $7 million mark again this year, at least, even without that huge singular sale from 2014.
Building relationships and taking care of existing customers, Sellers said, helps his company win new clients. “I just don't sell and go on to the next one. It's perpetual,” he said.
“I think client testimonial speaks much louder than a manufacturer wanting to get some free press,” he said. “It's yielded me so much business. I don't even have to sell a machine because my clients do it for me.”
While that personal touch is a key, Sellers also said a company has to have the right equipment at the right price.
“People are hearing more about us. We are becoming more visible, more branded. We are doing highly difficult applications now more and more,” Sellers said.
