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84 SEPTEMBER 2015 COATINGSPROMAG.COM Hard Work & Craftsmanship L ike many in the coatings industry, James "Jim" Cook, president of PPI Epoxy Coatings, got his start when he was in high school and has contin- ued his career from young adulthood. By building on his education and experience and parlaying that into a successful company in Orlando, Fla., which he started in 1993, Cook has enjoyed steady growth and a wide array of projects from Texas to the Northeast and down as far south as Brazil. "In 1989, I started working full-time out of college, and my friend since grade school 's father had one of the largest 'thin-mil ' pouring compa- nies in the Midwest," Cook explained. He had previously worked for them doing software programming when he was just 16, so being freshly out of college, he was ready for a new challenge. "I moved to Florida and started my ow n pouring business, and I would just take a concrete f loor, clean it, and put dow n different systems — depending on the client — using epox y urethane resin." Exceeding Expectations Over the years, Cook has found that, " if we provide a good ser vice for our customers and give them quality and durability, at the end of the day, expensive or not expensive, give them value, then that's a job well done." Ascribing to the idea that a company is only as good as the least performing employee has helped Cook focus on teamwork and company-w ide educa- tion. " We work as a team and watch out for each other," Cook noted. " We give our people all the right tools and information, because if you send a team out there w ith the wrong tools, products, safety equipment, etc., the chain breaks dow n and the job doesn't get done correctly." T hat is one of Cook 's major takeaways for someone new to the business. He also added that, " it's important that once you have your ow n crews, you understand the customer's expectations and not only match but exceed them." In the past year, PPI Epox y Coatings d idn't need to retur n to cor rect a single job, but w ithout hesitation, a crew wou ld tend to an issue before a customer even k new something needed attention. Bet ween that and a solid of f ice staf f both inter na l ly and outsourced, Cook has a solid foundation of accounting , an attor ney to rev iew complex contracts, and of course his f ield crews for a tota l of 15 employees. Based out of Orlando, PPI has completed projects across the United States and abroad. "Inter nationa l projects are cha l leng ing w ith a l l of the reg u lations involved, so there's a lot of research involved. Sometimes that means a letter to even get through the border, send ing equipment and supplies a head of the job, and hav ing to lear n the reg u la- tions can be tough but it 's def initely wor thwhi le," Cook said. Get What You Want In terms of the state of the indus- tr y, Cook had a few comments. "I see specs that are written w ithout really discussing the right options, and customers aren't getting the right recommendation before coming to us," he explained. " T he prep and specs are wrong and done just to get a project, and as a result, a lot of guys get in and out of the industr y, and it hurts the industr y as a whole." According to Cook, since 1993, only two resinous f looring companies have lasted in Orlando and at least 40 have started and folded. His is one of the two, so he must be doing something right! Another key to Cook 's success has been his willingness to avoid taking every project that comes along. "We've walked away from more projects in the past few years than all the years before, and we've had many fewer issues," he noted, adding light heartedly, "If it sounds like it's going to be a problem, it's going to be a problem." Cook a lso stressed the impor- tance of a stable work and life ba lance for himself and his employees. " W hen I f irst got into the business in the Midwest and in Flor ida, we were work ing ever y weekend and holiday because that 's how we sold projects. But now we probably lose work because we don't do Chr istmas, Independence Day, etc., and have been able to keep rea l ly good people as a resu lt." A nd that ba lance is what it 's a l l about. CP By Christa Youngpeter Success at Home and Abroad ProFile: James "Jim" Cook