Foodservice Equipment & Supplies magazines is an industry resource connecting foodservice operators, equipment and supplies manufacturers and dealers, and facility design consultants.
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62 • FOODSERVICE EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES • MAY 2015 across all aspects of its business, is very relationship oriented. Why are relationships so important to your various businesses? FC: We are still in the distribution business. It's about buying and selling. You have to take care of the customer because they are the one calling the shots. And that's really universal. So all we are trying to do is tailor each channel to serve each one of those customers. All customers are unique and the more we can tailor to their specifc needs the more customers we will retain. FE&S;: The name of the company is the same but after that a lot has changed over the past 10 years. Did you ever think it would get to be this big? FC: I wish I could say there was a master plan but there was not. A lot of things just fell into place. I am not a very creative person but I am a great copier. I have always looked at other industries and where they have gone. Look at the ofce supply industry, for example. Thirty years ago there was an ofce supply store on every corner. Today they have been replaced by a couple of cash-and-carry stores and some major e-commerce and specialty contractors. You can look at that industry and ask, why won't it hap- pen in the foodservice equipment and supplies industry? So getting out in front of it has always made sense to me. If I am going to be in the race, I want to be out front. FE&S;: It's been hard for businesses to grow the past few years and yet your company has almost tripled in size. How does that happen? FC: A wise man told me once, when everyone else is walking you should be running. I love recessions. Some of the best things that could happen to our company occurred in the past fve years. We have hired some of the best and brightest people during the past fve years and I would have never had that opportunity without the recession because every Fortune 500 company would have been after them and there was no way they would consider working for this little company in Lancaster, Pa. In general, the industry and the economy have been very cautious despite the fact there has been plenty of opportunity out there for change. FE&S;: What was the tipping point for your growth? FC: It all has to do with our people. We have made some of the best hires over the past fve years. And that has been the catalyst of our real growth. These people are ambitious, they are aggressive. They want to do well and they want to grow. FE&S;: In an industry that's resistant to change your company seems to embrace it. Why is that? FC: It is a changing world and the customer is driving this. The customer is demanding a quick- er way. There are now 25-year-olds purchasing equipment and supplies and those people have a diferent way of buying from distributors. So we have to change. The industry has to change. Change is something that is very impor- tant to me and it is something we try to preach and teach within our company. That's because change is how you get to some place before the competition gets there. FE&S;: Clark Associates seems as invested in employee experience as it is the customer experience. FC: If you take care of your employees they will take care of your customers. And if you take care of your vendors they will do right by you. It's just doing the right thing and being fair in all cases. We constantly try to work on that. FE&S;: To give back to the communities the company serves, the Clark Foundation was formed. Tell us a little about the philanthropic part of the business. FC: This goes back to my father who taught me that if you are fortunate enough to have more than you need, there is always someone out there that needs more. So our foundation focuses a lot on Central Pennsylvania and on our facilities through- out the country. It's just a frm belief that we have done well and are doing well and there are lots of people out there that need help. FE&S;: Where do you want the company to go? What's the big picture? FC: I don't really have a set plan as to where the company is going to go but I enjoy what I do. I get to work with some of the best and bright- est minds in this industry. These are the future leaders of this industry and working with these young people is rewarding. It goes way beyond the money. A wise man told me once, when everyone else is walking you should be running. I love recessions. Some of the best things that could happen to our company occurred in the past fve years. We have hired some of the best and brightest people during the past fve years and I would have never had that opportunity without the recession because every Fortune 500 company would have been after them.