Efficiency is everything.
Businesses are always looking for ways to do more with less. How can we be more productive? What will speed up the process? Where can we cut costs?
At Mueller Custom Cut, we strive to find solutions that help our customers do more with less. When we see an opportunity, we lean on our business partnerships to come up with innovative ways to enhance productivity.
Mueller recently seized one of these opportunities when we discovered a way to improve sound insulation for a potential customer. We jumped at the chance to call one of our partners, put our heads together, and come up with a plan.
Here is the success story of how an application made by Mueller and L&L Products turned a leading HVAC company into a customer—and why we’re searching for more business partnerships to achieve similar results.
How Did Mueller Discover This Cost-Saving Opportunity?
It all started when representatives from Mueller were doing a walkthrough at the HVAC company.
The purpose of this value analysis/value engineered (VAVE) event was to find cost-reduction opportunities for the potential customer. Mueller tried to land this account for more than a decade, so each encounter with them was another chance to seal the deal.
“We like to come in there and see what issues a customer may have and utilize our experience in the marketplace to let them know what we’ve seen before, what we’ve seen that works, and where we can add value to their core business,” said Steve Mitra, business development coordinator at Mueller.
One of the Mueller reps noticed the company was using an over-engineered and overpriced foam material for sound insulation on an HVAC unit. We realized instantly we could improve the situation.
“We want to look at opportunities to do things differently,” said Danny Davis, regional sales manager at Mueller. “How do we bring something new and unique to their facility to better their product?”
Why Did Mueller Turn to L&L Products for Assistance?
Mueller knew our business partner, L&L Products, had a new technology that could offer the company a better solution.
In the sound insulation industry, polyurethane has been the standard for decades. But L&L Products’ DECI-TEX® T-Series Technology reduces HVAC noises with its thermoformed DECI-TEX V-series – D-VA83 perf material. It offers a unique value proposition founded on premium acoustic performance at lower weights with less material usage compared to competitive products.
Not only did L&L Products have a great product, but they also had acoustical testing capabilities. So we asked our business partner to test the new product against the old product the company was using to see how they compared.
“L&L did the testing, we provided them that data, and now we really had their attention,” said Davis.
The HVAC company liked the test results—as well as the pricing—and decided to move forward with Mueller and L&L Products’ application.
What Were the Benefits of Mueller and L&L Products’ Alliance?
The partnership between Mueller and L&L Products allowed the duo to solve an issue the HVAC company didn’t even know they had.
“We’ve done this on similar applications with L&L,” said Davis. “We do this with a lot of our suppliers across a wide range of materials to find the best solution at the right price point for our customers.”
Besides providing a superior, cost-efficient product, Mueller and L&L Products were able to offer an added benefit to the HVAC company. The customer’s supply chain was shortened during this process. Because Mueller was in the same area as the company, freight was expedited from L&L Products to Mueller to the customer.
According to L&L Products, the key component of the business partnership with Mueller is collaboration. Both parties are willing to combine expertise, share that knowledge with the customer, and get a great result.
“When you collaborate, you can achieve a better-optimized solution,” said Stuart Crump, business development manager at L&L Products.
In the end, it’s all about teamwork, loyalty, and a passion to do things right for the customer.
“We want to give them a product that is as good or better than what they’re currently using at a significantly lower price point,” said Davis.
How Mueller and L&L Products Won a New Customer
Now you know the success story of how Mueller and L&L Products created a cost-efficient application for a customer we’d been trying to win over for years.
When Mueller realized we could improve the company’s sound insulation on an HVAC unit, we got L&L Products involved. Together, we were able to make a new product, test it against the old one, and show the company what we could do for them.
It’s business partnerships like the one we have with L&L Products that allow Mueller to make things happen for our customers. Contact us today if you’d like to discuss collaborating on future projects.
