Bill Yoder

Published: April 01, 2010

• Title | A “really seasoned” sales executive for Lamart Corp.
• Management style | A people person
• Hobby | Spending quality time with my two granddaughters

• What do you most enjoy about your job? I have retired from management responsibilities at Lamart Corp. I am now passing my days as a manufacturer's representative and loving every minute of going out and meeting customers and friends in our great industry.

• How did you get into the converting business? Upon graduation from West Virginia Univ. in 1966 and completion of my US Army tour of duty, I went to work for National Metalizing in Cranbury, NJ. From there I went to Facile Technologies in Paterson, NJ, for 18 years. For 3 years I was co-owner of Filmex Corp. in Warren, RI. The next 13 years I was with Courtaulds USA, which formed CPFilms in Martinsville, VA, where I served in various management positions. For the past 11 years, I have been with Lamart Corp.

• What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started out? To network! It was not until midway through my 44 years of employment in our industry that I realized the great value networking gave to the organizations that I represented.

• Do you have a personal hero? I have three. David Sahud, retired GM of Facile Technologies and chairman of CPFilms. I worked for him for over 25 years. He is an outstanding businessman and a wonderful person. My second and third are brothers Steve and Alan Hirsh, owners of Lamart. I have great respect for how they have successfully run their 56-year-old family business.

• What are the key qualities necessary to be a successful leader? To be able to see the business opportunity; to clearly set a path toward that opportunity; to hire and motivate your team to follow that path; and to be willing to listen to your people along the way.

• What is the key to growing a business in a bad economy? Listen to your customers.

• What is the biggest threat to the converting industry right now? Inflation. Look out, it is on its way!

• How do you handle a difficult customer? As I handle my wife of 44 years — with great care.

• What is the key to retaining good employees? You must provide a work environment where hard work and achievement of goals are rewarded. You want your key people to feel good about their work, themselves, and their company.

• What sustainability efforts has your company made? We look for things that will have multiple benefits and that will, for example, increase productivity and at the same time cut carbon emissions.

• What is the biggest mistake you made, and how did you fix it? For almost one full year, I worked for a man with poor integrity. I fixed my mistake by moving on to another job.

• What is the best advice you ever got? Keep smiling!

About Lamart Corp.

• 16 Richmond St., Clifton, NJ 07015

• www.lamartcorp.com

• Founded 1956; one plant; 105 employees

• Specialization | Development and production of custom-coated and laminated products

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