Steve Waddoups

Steve Waddoups has worked for Valin for many years and over that period has worked to promote Valin’s previous heat provider and transitioned to the new heat supplier. He asks the right questions when working on an application and knows what to look for when working with customers. In the last year, he has made the transition to Valin’s new heat vendor and is rapidly becoming an expert on what they provide. He is wonderful to have in front of customers because he assists in helping them make a good engineering choice. He is always friendly and assists the outside sales force arming them with the necessary knowledge and information as well as providing engineering support when needed. He is an excellent team member by sharing his vast knowledge of heat with others who are less experienced. He can take information that might be difficult to understand like electricity and electric heat that is not very tangible and put the information in a format that others can understand and learn.

Recently a Sales Development Specialist joined the office in Utah and had been working with the heat team on setting up calls with customers. To succeed, they needed to learn about process heat and the nuances of what needs to be asked of a customer to set up an appointment. Steve assisted in this endeavor every single day. It started with him printing information and heater images to help identify various components. From there, he found an old cartridge heater and sliced open a section to show the inside of a heater and the design. He was also observed teaching OHM’s law and setting up demonstrations on how heat trace and heaters perform.

A very specific example of how Steve shared his expertise was how he helped convert a supplier’s OEM customer to a Valin heat supplier. The customer had heaters installed in duct units. In one unit the customer had to manually install 20 to 70 heaters. The customer mentioned that installing the heater was a little tricky but was told there was no other way by their current heat supplier. After explaining the situation to Steve and showing him the drawing, he knew right away how to redesign the heater to make installation 100% easier AND eliminate the extra bushings/parts that were required in the original design. He explained to the Sales Development Specialist why the original design was overly complex and how the redesign would decrease installation time for the customer. Steve didn’t just provide his recommended design to pass along to the customer, but he took the time to help the Specialist understand “why”. Since converting the customer to the new design, Valin has already received over $20k in orders for the heaters.

Steve has also assisted and expanded the knowledge of process heating for Account Managers. He has traveled to customer sites to confirm information and make final recommendations as to the best path forward for the customer. Steve is very clear and patient with each customer. He asks what the customer expects of the heater operations, making sure that what Valin provides will meet their requirements. He is very observant and available to assist both customers and salespeople alike and help make sure the information is comprehended. Steve’s willingness to help customers and fellow employees is a rare trait and adds great value to Valin.