Tobie Craig, vice president of marketing and workforce development strategies at Turner Industries, has made a successful career built around networking and connections. She first entered the industry in the 1980s while working for an industrial staffing company in Gonzales, Louisiana. During this time, Craig was able to meet the “who’s who” in industry, and many of her initial contacts are in positions of influence today. In 1997, she joined Turner Industries and became the company’s first corporate marketing manager in 2005.
BIC Magazine recently spoke with Craig to learn more about the company’s marketing messages, its recent additions and expansions, and what the future has in store for Turner Industries.
Q: What is the biggest news at Turner Industries right now?
A: We recently celebrated the grand opening of our new 50,000-square-foot equipment repair facility in Baton Rouge. The facility allows Turner to maintain, service and repair its fleet of nearly 2,000 vehicles and other pieces of equipment. The new facility features 25 total bays and a state-of-the-art painting booth that is large enough to hold our largest mobile crane.
But the new equipment repair facility is only a piece of what Turner has been working on. In addition, we have new personnel and training offices in Baton Rouge and plans for a similar building in Lake Charles, Louisiana. We are doing many things to prepare for all of this work coming into the Gulf Coast.
Q: How do you pitch your services?
A: Our message to the customer is “We can be the one solution for your success.” Turner offers so many different services, but they are all services our customers request. The message is we provide what the customer needs and we can level the resources by eliminating redundant site management, safety, timekeeping and administration.
Also, creating long-term relationships based on performance and trust is the best sales tool we have. We’re going to bring you value by eliminating other costs, not by making our services cheap. Our tag line is “Yes, we do that” because if it’s a service in this industry, we can do it.
Q: Are you looking to grow in new markets or expand in current ones?
A: We continue to add services that fit well with our four main business lines, which are industrial construction, maintenance and turnarounds, pipe and module construction, and equipment and associated specialty services. Our more recent offerings include catalyst and bolt torqueing work, as well as some cutting-edge problem solutions using a mobile procedures management tool called MobilOps™ and a new proprietary software for turnaround risk analysis called TRAM™.
Q: What’s the most important thing a person should know before taking a career path similar to yours?
A: A career path is not a straight line. You create your own opportunities by understanding that every task is necessary to getting the overall objective accomplished and no task is beneath you. Pay attention every day to what’s going on around you and you’ll learn something that will be important to your future success.
Q: Do you have a favorite quote?
A: Maya Angelo said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” It’s my favorite because this quote is not only true, but it’s very much like the Golden Rule. It will repay you many times over.
For more information, visit www.turner-industries.com or call (225) 922-5050.
