Last year I had the good fortune of doing some consulting with B&C Specialty Products in Hopeulikit, Georgia. B&C does light manufacturing, primarily plastic molding and assembly, and they also distribute imported products produced by companies in the Far East. They have about 150 employees and are the biggest employer by far in Hopeulikit. B&C was a perfect place to learn about managing and quality. Every day presented a new lesson. Usually the lessons were hard-learned, but those are the ones that really stick with you. B&C was gracious enough to allow me to interview their personnel about things that came up during my time there. Here’s an interesting lesson: Manage by process instead of departments. The scenario is described by the people who actually lived it.

—J. T. Ryan, president
"One of the things we’ve been very successful with is building a sense of departmental pride. Most employees feel strongly that the people in their department are their teammates. They assist each other, share information and help the group improve. The feeling of camaraderie is incredible. It’s just like a good football team, where everyone plays their role and strives to excel.

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