As vice president of domestic sales for Tri Tool Inc., Chuck Friedrichs combines his extensive field experience with leadership and business management to head the domestic sales team. BIC Magazine recently visited with Friedrichs to learn more about him, his experience and the services Tri Tool offers.
BIC Magazine: What led to your position at Tri Tool?
Chuck: I sought a combination of formal and practical education, which lent itself to a profession in welding and machining. I spent 10 years in the field as a project manager, pipefitter and welder, which has given me real-world experience and a true understanding of our customers' needs.
Once at Tri Tool, I continued my business education and shifted to sales, excelling to my current position. A strong work ethic along with a dynamic and supportive team environment have contributed to my achievements. The core values at Tri Tool and the commitment to customer support are key reasons why I plan to finish my career here.
BIC Magazine: What is the biggest news at Tri Tool right now?
Chuck: We've had a smaller repair and rental depot in Houston for many years but decided to invest in an expanded Houston facility to serve the booming Gulf Coast states.
This facility allows us to demonstrate our AdaptARC mechanized weld system, which has been very popular in fabrication shops and the power market due to its multiprocess versatility. We also have experienced technicians in-house and offer field services including specialty on-site machining and welding services, and computer numerical control (CNC) counterboring service for offshore risers.
BIC Magazine: What is the most important part of your position?
Chuck: My position and responsibilities are focused on meeting the company goals and supporting our vision for growth. I am also responsible for ensuring that our company culture of integrity and exemplary customer service is maintained. Tri Tool's ownership has always believed putting the customer first, taking care of employees and building the highest quality equipment would be the recipe for success. We have been able to uphold those standards and grow for over 40 years.
BIC Magazine: Are you looking to grow in new markets or expand current ones?
Chuck: We are addressing current markets by exapnding our presence in the oil and gas, industrial manufacturing and power markets. One of our clients in Ohio, Sauer Group, Inc., was thrilled with the weld quality and productivity boost we were able to deliver recently using our AdaptARC mechanized welding system on a cryogenic gas-processing project.
Innovation from our engineering group resulted in the seven axix CNC Counterbore System, expanding our service offereings to the oil and gas markets with precision field counterboring for offshore risers. That's what I love about Tri Tool; we are constantly looking for ways to better serve our customers in all markets.
BIC Magazine: How do you plan to address changes in the workforce in the coming year?
Chuck: Addressing the shortage of qualified specialized welding and machining staff has been a key effort for Tri Tool. Our services group has frequently assisted large engineering, procurement and construction firms such as Day & Zimmermann, Kiewit, Bechtel, Fluor and others to provie the skilled personnel for various projects in many different industries.
Continuous development of qualified project management, field machinists, and manual and mechanized welders is a vital element to the success of this effort. We firmly believe and maintain a culture where continuou training investments pay dividends to our customers, employees and company.
For more information, visit www.tritool.com or call (800) 345-5015
