People

The Indium Way

The Indium Corporation has succeeded over the decades due to many factors. Some cite our market focus, others our materials expertise, and some say it is our process excellence. Of course all are necessary for success. But the one common denominator underlying these “mechanics” is our culture. And our culture is built on respect, appreciation, and achievement.

Respect

It is almost a cliché to cite “our people” as a company’s most important asset. Reference the numerous corporate annual reports that do so. At the Indium Corporation, we know that we are almost nothing but people, but we are fortunate to possess that extra ingredient – respect.

Walk into any of our facilities after hours. Enter the Quality department, the Shipping area, the Accounting department, the Tech Support offices, et cetera, and you will see absolutely nothing occurring. Nothing gets done without our excellent staff of trained professionals. Whether you view the Production floor, the Maintenance shop, or the Administrative and Sales arena, it is our people who make everything happen. We respect that.

We also respect the people who came before us. Those individuals and teams who developed the processes, the products, the markets, and the connections that serve as the base of all we have today.

This respect extends to our customers, suppliers, and other business partners. These people appreciate how we deal with them as individuals.

In addition, our people have always respected our company. We have something special here, and I can’t recall ever seeing any other group of people appreciating what they have built, as a team, more than we do. We truly have crafted a very special place to work - it’s a pleasure to observe how we all nurture and continually improve the company. Respect is a key element of our culture.

Appreciation

At Indium we make an effort to catch people doing things right, trying hard to achieve, and toiling to reach our goals. It feels great when a coworker goes out of their way to say “thanks”, or to let us know when our individual work has contributed to the greater goal.

Since so many of us have been here for ten, twenty, or more years, many have seen just how powerful all this extra effort is – how it makes our company stronger. It seems to come easy for us to appreciate each other. Then, we go out of our way to let each other know how much we appreciate the effort.

Yes, this behavior is well-known to be a positive force, but, amazingly, so few companies actually practice it. We do. Appreciation is a key element of our culture.

Achievement

Even if we were all totally wonderful people, that alone wouldn’t pay our salaries. To impress the customer we need to reach goals that are equal to or better than our competition, and that reach or exceed the customers’ needs. In fact, we also set some internal goals that are extremely challenging - and we work extremely hard to meet them.

Achievement comes in many forms - large and small. Like everyone, we recognize and celebrate the grand results of a major effort. But, at Indium, we also recognize the many seemingly small and unnoticeable milestones that are critical for any major project.

Having attained those special levels of respect and appreciation, the Indium team puts it all together with good old fashioned hard work and brains - to achieve our goals. Achievement is a key element of our culture.

The Indium Way

Yes, we have good times and bad times. Economies fluctuate, and the marketplace hands us one challenge after another. Frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. This challenging climate, which bedevils all companies, serves to make us stronger.

It is our Indium culture, The Indium Way, that allows us to weather these storms, and to take advantage of the opportunities. And it is The Indium Way that continually separates us from the competition.

For those of you who feel that you aren’t always respected or appreciated enough – you’re right. We can and will continually improve on these critical elements (please remember, it’s a two-way street). And I hope there are some dubious readers who are thinking that we can also make great improvements in the achievement department. We always have, we can today, and we will tomorrow.

I refuse to work in any environment that will not emphasize respect, appreciation, and achievement, for I know that this is our advantage. I am proud to say that I have been at Indium since 1981 - and I have embraced our culture every single day.

I want to thank each and every Indium employee - from our founding in 1934 to today – for exemplifying the Indium culture. You have all made this a wonderful company for which to work.

Please join me in reviewing, understanding, internalizing, and demonstrating our unique culture of respect, appreciation, and achievement. The Indium Way.

Greg Evans
President - Indium Corporation