Matco-Norca is prepared for full compliance
with lead-free legislation
BY MARY JO MARTIN
Editorial director
Years ago a number of television commercials ran that were designed to educate the public about the dangers of lead in paint. They warned that chronic illnesses, learning disabilities and reduced iqs could result from children eating paint chips, not to mention the risks of exposure to the toxicity of lead throughout a home or business.
Fast forward to today and the country is faced with a renewed push to prevent lead poisoning, especially in children. As concerns about lead leaching into drinking water surfaced, some states began to take action. California and Vermont are the first states to pass legislation that implements very stringent “lead-free” restrictions on plumbing fixtures for potable water applications. Under California Assembly Bill 1953 and Vermont Senate Bill 0152, new pipe, fixtures and fittings that are intended to convey drinking water must contain no more than .25% lead. Neither law requires that existing plumbing fixtures be replaced before normal change-out is needed; but they do require that new and replacement pipe, faucets and fixtures be in compliance.
As a result, plumbing products suppliers have been working hard to ensure that their products meet the upcoming January 1, 2010 deadline. One of those leading suppliers, Matco-Norca, began preparing for this over the last few years as debate over the lead- free legislation picked up steam.
“California and Vermont have passed this legislation for public safety concerns,” explained Corey Lowsky, director of marketing and product management for Matco-Norca of Brewster, N.Y. “They are cutting-edge states when it comes to positive public initiatives like this, so it’s not a surprise they would take the lead on this. We knew it would require significant effort on our part to offer dual inventories and full marketing strategies to support all of our customers. Both states have the same requirement, so our new lead-free products will be in compliance in both markets. We’ve also heard some rumblings that Maryland and Massachusetts may be close behind, but nothing has been confirmed yet. We believe that in the next five to 10 years this legislation will probably go nationwide.”
To prepare for this roll-out, Matco-Norca systematically reviewed all of the products they’ve sold in California and Vermont in recent years. “Our product really falls into three major categories: valves, fittings and nipples, and faucets and plumbing specialties,” explained Lowsky. “We detailed what we have been selling in California and Vermont, and then looked at the financial impact of offering or not offering those products. We had to consider what business we might lose and what we might gain.
“Along the way, Matco-Norca worked with our factories overseas and our sales reps in the affected markets to define which products we needed. Through the process, we determined, defined and refined our product offering. We relied on our years of experience with global sourcing to be sure that our factories would produce the lead-free versions for us.”
As Lowsky described, a key element of the testing process for the lead-free products is that they must comply with the .25% requirement on wetted surfaces — the parts of the products that are in direct contact with the water. “We developed a testing protocol with three different measurements,” he explained. “The products are tested at our factories followed by a qualified agency testing the products; we also use independent testing labs throughout the U.S. to certify the lead content on each and every product. We’re extremely thorough and want to ensure we are in full compliance.”
For now, Matco-Norca will carry dual inventories of leaded and lead-free products. There can be a relatively significant price increase on the lead-free products — as much as 30%, depending on how much brass is in the product — so they want to continue offering the less-expensive products in other markets. Of course, the company will sell its lead-free products to any customer who wishes to purchase them.
“We’ve totally reorganized our LaPalma, Calif., distribution center and have an entire lead-free section now,” Lowsky described. “It’s a completely ‘green’ area of the warehouse, down to even the paint on the walls. We call it our ‘Go Green’ section. We requisitioned the lead-free products as much as six months ago and started receiving them about two months ago, and the last should be in by November. The way that we have the dc set up now really helps us keep product separated to eliminate the chance of errors in picking and shipping.”
Matco-Norca currently offers about 15,000 active skus, of which 70% are affected by this new legislation. According to Lowsky, the factories are using various metallurgical alloys — including polymers, plastics and lead-free brass — in these products to ensure compliance.
While wholesalers doing business in California and Vermont are certainly aware of the legislation and pending deadline for compliance, Matco-Norca has ramped up its marketing efforts to support this massive lead-free product roll-out. “We launched a dedicated lead-free website in October — www.matco-norca.com/lead-free — that identifies all of our lead-free products, has spec sheets, price sheets, literature and additional information that our customers may need,” Lowsky noted. “We also have a dedicated catalog in our green lead-free look that will detail all of the lead-free products we are offering, along with a targeted advertising campaign.
Todd Evans, Matco-Norca’s Western regional sales manager who runs the California warehouse and West Coast sales team, is responsible for getting the Matco-Norca lead-free message out. Evans noted, “Our sales reps are completely on board and we’ve made sure to get all the new literature out to them so they can get it in front of our customers. We want our customers to know that we have a full, complete and compliant lead-free offering.”
Michael Matz, Eastern regional sales manager responsible for Vermont, among other states, added, “It’s an exciting time for us. The ability to react to changes in the marketplace and provide customers with the products they need seamlessly is further evidence of our desire to provide the type of service they have become accustomed to from Matco-Norca.”
In describing all the efforts Matco-Norca has been making for this roll-out, Lowsky said he would be remiss not to mention the key new additions to Matco-Norca’s management team that have played such a strong role in re-focusing the company’s direction.
“Our management team has undergone some positive changes that have further strengthened the company in the past two years,” Lowsky said. “We’ve brought in six well-known managers and executives that have added structure and processes that were lacking. At the same time, it was important that we retain the ‘family feel’ of our organization — not only internally but also with our customers. One of our most important focuses is to make sure that the processes we put into place allow us to be more efficient while at the same time making us easy to do business with.”
Among the key roles that have been filled at Matco-Norca from other companies are the president, cfo, vice president-supply Ccain, vice president-sales, director of faucets and plumbing specialties sales, and director of marketing and product management.
“Our president, Lynn McVay, is well known throughout the industry and possesses significant experience and relationships with customers across the country,” Lowsky noted. “He’s really helped us mold Matco-Norca into an even more professional organization. He selectively uses his contacts with our customer base to get us into customers’ doors that we might not have been in before. Lynn brings strong direction to the company and challenges us every day to improve.”
Despite so much having already been in the works during the past few years, Lowsky hinted that more will be coming from Matco-Norca in the near future: “We definitely have some new things on the horizon. I won’t get into specifics, but we have some new products of substance coming soon. We’ve been in business more than 50 years and we have contacts all over the world. Matco-Norca will continue to use that to our advantage to discover new products at the right prices and made from high-quality materials. We will be launching some new products in early 2010 that we are very excited about and think will be of tremendous benefit to our customers.”
For additional information, visit www.matco-norca.com.