Thriving in Change

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Published On: 02.18.2025

Picture this: A company founded in 1921, originally crafting varnish for wooden chairs, stands tall in the 21st century as a trusted name in industrial coatings.

How?

Sheboygan Paint didn’t just survive—it thrived. Here are key lessons from Sheboygan Paint on staying ahead through innovation.

Listening to Customers: The backbone of their success isn’t just their products but the relationships they build. Customers aren’t just buyers; they’re partners in innovation. This mindset leads to products tailored for specific applications, ensuring performance and satisfaction.

Adaptation is Key: Sheboygan Paint has continuously adapted from varnish for wooden chairs to high-performance rail car coatings. They didn’t stick to one formula—they reinvented it. This adaptability is a lesson in resilience and foresight.

Investing in Quality: Your product is only as good as the quality you put into it. Sheboygan Paint’s commitment to quality isn’t a buzzword; it’s a legacy. This consistent delivery of application, color match, and performance keeps customers coming back.

Fostering innovation: Their innovation is driven by a need to solve real-world problems. By expanding their operations, they meet evolving coating needs, a testament to their forward-thinking approach.

Building a Loyal Customer Base: Loyalty comes from exceptional customer service and unwavering product support. It’s about going the extra mile and ensuring customers feel valued and understood. This creates a community rather than just a clientele.

For purchasing teams, rail car manufacturers, and refurbishers, these lessons highlight a roadmap to surviving and excelling in the industry. In an era where change is the only constant, Sheboygan Paint teaches us that innovation, quality, and customer relationships are timeless.

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Date Posted: 10/24/2022 Job Title: Associate Chemist Location: Sheboygan, WI Reports To: R&D Group Leader Job Category/Department: R&D Travel Required: < 10% Position Type: Salary Job Purpose: We are looking for a dedicated, analytically minded and detail-oriented Associate Chemist to conduct performance testing on paint, evaluate raw material offset opportunities, and prepare samples to support quality activities. Will conduct research and explore how products, processes, and equipment may be improved, and should be dedicated to improving processes and products while furthering scientific knowledge to drive profitable requirements. Must have some knowledge of paint testing and an awareness for testing methodologies and equipment. The Associate Chemist will work closely with team members on paint formulation and testing, as well as analytical and continuous improvement projects on a day-to-day basis. Must have enthusiasm for the task in hand and a willingness to work under pressure to meet deadlines and drive quality metrics, while working in a safe and responsible manner, always. They will wear and use correct personal protective equipment where and when laid down by the company and will follow company health and safety and environmental procedures and reporting guidelines. The job holder will also be required to train on any computer software as designated by the company. Primary Duties and Deliverables, with guidance from R&D Leadership:

Formulation and Testing
- Execute benchmarking studies of products. Interprets and clearly communicate results
- Conduct investigations of product complaints.
- Perform testing from standard procedures.
- Prepare test formulations, conducting tests and advising and coordinating test procedures.

Communication
- Record and organize projects in an electronic format

Safety and Maintenance
- Clean, maintain, and store testing tools and equipment
- Evaluate testing protocols and suggest improvements
- Clean and maintain laboratory instruments and equipment, making sure that all the technology is working correctly, if it isn’t, troubleshoot the issue or problem. Conduct quality control tests to ensure no compounds or equipment are contaminated
- Follow all company and governmental safety procedures
- Additional Responsibilities, as requested
  - Interact cross-functionally with other departments and sites to support or modify existing products to drive efficiency, profitability and quality, including, but not limited to:
    - Work in the laboratory and assist in the direction of the activities of one or more technicians.
    - Consult with R&D, Operations Personnel, and Technical Support Service on the analysis, interpretation of defects and optimization of tests and processes
    - Assist to solve manufacturing/scale-up issues to support quality operations.
    - Assist in evaluating and ensuring laboratory safety procedures and standards compliance

Core Competencies:

Active Listening: Listening accurately and confirming the concern or goal state is essential to solving the correct problem:
- Ask questions to confirm you understood the concern, goal state, current state, and timeline and align on a plan
- Demonstrate active listening, by recording accurate situation appraisal notes, with clearly annotated follow up plans.

Good communication: Communicating with others effectively, and in a timely manner is crucial. Ability to communicate respectfully and concisely via diverse modes:
- Verbally in person and virtually
- Written by note taking, email, report and specification writing, teams instant messaging, and PowerPoint
- technically through spreadsheets, and other analytical tools

Collaboration and Continuous Learning: Collaboration is key in a quality facing role. Inspire confidence and trust by being dependable and honest, having high standards for quality and punctuality of work. Have and intrinsic and enthusiastic drive to support team goals, with a positive attitude and passion for innovation, continuous learning and application of new skills and concepts. Be open to learning new chemistries, analysis techniques and softwares, and project management disciplines

Critical thinking and problem-solving: Identifying problems, root causes, and possible solutions is a focus of this role. Before choosing a solution, objectively evaluate each option and present the most effective solution for review. Logical approach to judgement and decision making based on original thinking, direct experience, and high quality, independently verifiable evidence.

Time management: This team has many different accountabilities. There are many different types of projects, many deadlines, so being able to manage and record time well to punctually meet those deadlines and summarize time by project is a key skill.

Analytical: This team is highly data driven. At times we will work with very compact data sets and use math to extrapolate new, larger solutions, quickly. At other times, we will use analytics to look through large datasets and interpolate opportunities, thus, having an flexible and analytical mind is essential to our success.

Organizational skills: This role is very process and results oriented. We are also called to answer complex problems quickly. Keeping track of input and output data and documenting all processes and observations and being able to retrieve this work swiftly calls for strong organizational skills.

Perseverance and Endurance: Finding a new solution, optimizing a process, or aligning a group of people to a common solution, can take a lot of effort, time, repeated experimentation, and determination. All of these are key skills for a Chemist to possess.

Scientific and numerical skills: A Chemist must be good at mathematics, and order of operations, to correctly apply formulas in experiments and document them correctly.

Required Qualifications:

Active Listening: Listening accurately and confirming the concern or goal state is essential to solving the correct problem:
- Ask questions to confirm you understood the concern, goal state, current state, and timeline and align on a plan
- Demonstrate active listening, by recording accurate situation appraisal notes, with clearly annotated follow up plans.
Good communication: Communicating with others effectively, and in a timely manner is crucial. Ability to communicate respectfully and concisely via diverse modes:
- Verbally in person and virtually
- Written by note taking, email, report and specification writing, teams instant messaging, and PowerPoint
- technically through spreadsheets, and other analytical tools
Collaboration and Continuous Learning: Collaboration is key in a quality facing role. Inspire confidence and trust by being dependable and honest, having high standards for quality and punctuality of work. Have and intrinsic and enthusiastic drive to support team goals, with a positive attitude and passion for innovation, continuous learning and application of new skills and concepts. Be open to learning new chemistries, analysis techniques and softwares, and project management disciplines.
Critical thinking and problem-solving: Identifying problems, root causes, and possible solutions is a focus of this role. Before choosing a solution, objectively evaluate each option and present the most effective solution for review. Logical approach to judgement and decision making based on original thinking, direct experience, and high quality, independently verifiable evidence.
Time management: This team has many different accountabilities. There are many different types of projects, many deadlines, so being able to manage and record time well to punctually meet those deadlines and summarize time by project is a key skill.
Analytical: This team is highly data driven. At times we will work with very compact data sets and use math to extrapolate new, larger solutions, quickly. At other times, we will use analytics to look through large datasets and interpolate opportunities, thus, having an flexible and analytical mind is essential to our success.
Organizational skills: This role is very process and results oriented. We are also called to answer complex problems quickly. Keeping track of input and output data and documenting all processes and observations and being able to retrieve this work swiftly calls for strong organizational skills.
Perseverance and Endurance: Finding a new solution, optimizing a process, or aligning a group of people to a common solution, can take a lot of effort, time, repeated experimentation, and determination. All of these are key skills for a Chemist to possess.
Scientific and numerical skills: A Chemist must be good at mathematics, and order of operations, to correctly apply formulas in experiments and document them correctly

Preferred Qualifications (considers the following attributes and skills to be highly desirable)

B.S. Degree in physical science (chemistry, chemical engineering, coatings or closely related field) and 2 years formulating experience in industry.
Knowledge paint formulation, application, catalysis, cure, and general property testing is required
Preference towards collaborating on group projects rather than individual projects, strongly preferred

Thriving in Change

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