Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Speaker A: Welcome to AINA Insights where prominent leaders and influencers shaping the industrial and industrial technology sector discuss topics that are critical for executives, boards and investors. INA Insights is brought to you by INA AI, a firm focused on working with industrial companies to make them unrivaled segment of ONE leaders. To learn more about INA AI, please visit our website at www.ina.AI.
[00:00:40] Speaker B: Hello everybody. Welcome to another episode of the Titanium Economy podcast. Today I'm very honored to welcome Steve Blanco on the podcast with us. Steve is the President and CEO of MSA Safety. For those who don't know, MSA Safety is a more than century old company.
Today it's the world leader in advanced safety products and technologies and their mission is to protect people working in the most hazardous environments across the world.
Steve personally joined MSA in 2012 as VP of Operations and then moved on to lead Americas for MSA and then in May last year joined the CEO of the company.
Prior to msa, Steve was at Eaton Electrical again in the operations and the manufacturing team.
And Steve holds a Bachelor's from Purdue and an MBA from Indiana wellsleyan University.
Steve, I'm very honored to welcome you to the Titanium Economy.
[00:01:37] Speaker C: Thanks for having me.
[00:01:38] Speaker B: Thank you. So Steve, maybe we start a little bit initially with your personal journey. Maybe tell us a little bit about your career and how you ended up at the leadership at msa.
[00:01:48] Speaker C: Oh sure, sure. So I started in automotive. I started actually at Ford many moons ago when I graduated from college and I've always enjoyed manufacturing and automotive. So I had a number of roles at Ford, starting in operations engineering, then product design, engineering finance for a couple years, which seemed kind of crazy for a mechanical guy, but was very valuable up until and including now and then ran a couple of plants, was part of a spinoff from Ford called Visteon, the automotive components business, which is probably going to be part of some Harvard Business Review studies in the future and then went over to Eaton Corporation and when I was at Eaton did a number of operational roles including right before I came to MSA as VP of manufacturing.
But what really drove me to come to MSA was our mission. It's a purpose driven company. It's a little different, it's unique as we've talked a little bit about and it really provides a platform for somebody and organizationally a way to look at how do I give back at the same time that I'm contributing and you know, have a career.
And I looked at it, wow, I can really, really have an impact here. And at the same time it can have an impact on me because of the mission. So that's what drove me to MSA.
[00:03:09] Speaker B: Steve, speaking of the mission of FSA companies, more than a century's old.
[00:03:14] Speaker C: 111 years. Right.
[00:03:15] Speaker B: The mission, I believe, has stayed consistent.
[00:03:18] Speaker C: It has.
[00:03:18] Speaker B: So how have folks in your position been able to keep the company relevant enough with the times while maintaining the same mission?
[00:03:26] Speaker C: Well, you know, the company, when it was founded, was founded on innovation. The two founders really created this culture because they were trying to come up with a solution to a problem. And the problem was a mining problem, the explosions in mines.
And these two individuals would go to these mines and see these disasters. And so you'd have, like, this methane gas and an explosion occur because of the flame, in many cases on the top of the cap lamp. And the only way that the miners would know was the canary. And so these two guys would show up at these disasters, and they just kept thinking about this. And John Ryan Sr. The founder of the company, looked at this and thought, boy, if I could spend my life reducing these types of disasters, it would be a life well spent. And so they got with Thomas Edison and he agreed to help them design an electric cap lamp. And that was the first product of msa. So once that happened, over the next decades, mining desks went down over 75%.
And that innovation really started MSA. And I think it was really the platform we still think about is how do we innovate in a way that solves a customer problem?
And we're doing it today. We're doing it in a broad range of industrial safety technology, and it's really around sophisticated safety products and solutions. We don't participate in everything. It's really, where can we innovate in a way that impacts the customer and helps them do their job in really the most extreme circumstances?
[00:04:57] Speaker B: And then speaking of today, MSA competes with some behemoths like 3M.
And how are you able to maintain the level of competitiveness and differentiation versus folks who are traditionally also known for innovation in the same space?
[00:05:15] Speaker C: We have some great competitors, and they're around our space and have been for a while, and we certainly respect those competitors. I think there's a couple of things I would point to. One, that focus on the customer. We have a relentless focus on the customer and how we innovate based on that customer's needs. So we do a lot of voc, voice a customer, and really spend time face to face with that customer. The second, I would say, is that mission. It helps us really think about how we innovate. It's the lifeblood of who we are. So we have a really large and dedicated team focused on how we innovate for the next solution based on that challenge they have.
So it helps us kind of proactively stay in front of the market. We don't really focus as much on how do we catch up. We always focus on what's happening in the next year, two years, five years down the road. What does safety need to be to help protect the people that are doing the work because of that mission you referenced. Right. That men and women may work in safety. So we're constantly trying to evolve to help eliminate any of those risks happening in the workplace.
[00:06:26] Speaker B: Speaking of customer intimacy, I've seen you talk about it on your public calls as well. Maybe give us a little bit of flavor of what does it mean day to day to be that intimate with the customer at msa?
[00:06:37] Speaker C: Sure.
Our customer is the lifeblood of what we do.
[00:06:40] Speaker B: Right.
[00:06:41] Speaker C: And when you think about it in the terms of the mission, it certainly comes out. It makes sense for us. We. We live that in a few ways. But a couple I'll note is obviously from the innovation perspective, we look at it as the customer's challenge, and how do we define and develop a solution that they need to solve that problem? But when we think about the day to day, if you have a mission like we have, when you're working with the customer, when you're alive, right. And you're engaging with the customer, and I'm talking about, like our commercial team, our customer support teams, they're constantly interacting with the customer in a way to ensure that they, our employees, can live that mission through the customer. So when the customer has a challenge or anything that might be preventing them from being safe, then that's countered our mission. So it helps us. It really is just part of the culture and how people live because they have to think of it as, how am I helping that customer make sure they're safe each and every day? And those two things, I talk to customers all the time, and they just, I say, you guys live this. I know you're here to help me be successful. You want to protect me.
And sometimes that's a tough conversation, by the way. And it's different than just you're giving them the answer they want all the time.
But at the end of the day, they know we do it with integrity, and it's based on our values and our mission.
[00:08:04] Speaker B: And I'm assuming, Steve, these days, safety is a lot more about Just hard than just hardware. I think in the prior, in the past it was probably mostly hardware. But now today with connectivity coming in and software becoming as prevalent it is now, how has that transition, how has MBCA embraced that transition? As you think about your product, I.
[00:08:25] Speaker C: Think it's a great point. So traditionally you'd have a discrete product that you pick up and hopefully it protects you, maybe prevents you from falling, prevents you from going into a circumstance that's hazardous. But now as we've gotten into this complex world and you have workers that because of efficiency and just the complexity of the work they do, they might be them by themselves. You might have somebody or an organization that has a number of different sites or assets they're trying to manage and understand.
And what you see is a need to have that situational awareness across that platform.
So technology has really come into play to help that end user and help that organization be able to understand what's going on both for their workers and for their assets. And that's where this technology interconnected work has helped. So we're able to do that and it resonates with the customer because you've got a connection and whether you are 500 miles away from me or I'm 100 miles away, they can have that situational awareness and connect with both of us, know what our data is telling them and then be able to look at that later for insights on how they continue to get better in whatever they're working on.
So that's just helping them have a safety program that continues to evolve and make them more effective and safer as an organization and also helps them with cost of ownership because they're really the safer they are, less cost. They have to deal here and then they can work on what they're really focused on. Whatever that skill set or enterprise they're in now, they can spend that time.
[00:10:00] Speaker B: There'S speaking a little bit about the two major businesses you are in fire safety one and the gas detection businesses maybe speak to us a little bit about.
I think fire safety was the original use case to us to speak for MSA and gas detection came grew alongside it. How did the two kind of businesses coexist or are synergistic with each other and how do you think about as you think about capital allocation in terms of.
[00:10:28] Speaker C: So we have three product categories in our product categories. One is industrial ppe.
[00:10:32] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:10:33] Speaker C: So that's really the helmet protection, fall protection and some other critical areas such as air purifying respirators and ballistic helmets. Nice business. Very Important fall protection still is very critical because falls continue to be the leading cause of death throughout the world on job sites. So we really lean into that category. And then you think about the categories you're talking about with detection and fire service.
We've been in those markets a while as well. Detection is one. As we've seen that evolution really change.
And again, this is where technology comes into play. You know, the ability to really sense different toxic and explosive gases and understand those environmental conditions that 50 years ago was a lot harder to do. And now you have that capability and you can get better response, more, more accurate response, quick, more quickly. So that business has evolved based on the customer's needs. You know, I give you a quick example on the portable side.
Years ago, the customer was really challenged with how do I have an instrument that lasts? I need something that's durable. And so we created that instrument that was durable. And then the next evolution was I really want more accurate, faster responding sensing technology, which we then developed and launched as well, again based on the insights of the customer. So we build on those, right? So it's a platform that builds based on the customer insights. And now it's the connected work we talked about earlier. So now you have, hey, I need situational awareness. I need to know how I can use this in a way that helps me manage the whole with this great technology so that I manage my fleet and my assets and workers in a way that's most effective. And so we built on that. Importables is a great example of that. And it's really resonating in the marketplace fire service, just to finish this, the last piece. I don't want to miss this fire service because we, you know, it's. It's an important piece of our business and a critical customer base. That's another one where you've seen this evolution because of their needs on situational awareness. And of course, they're going in like many of them, the other workers with very hazardous situations. And we see that situational awareness being critical, but we also see how the customer has looked at this as how do I make sure it's not just about protecting me, it's protecting the crew I work with, right? As I try to go in and save whoever they're trying to save.
And that's allowed us to innovate further in that space and provide them technology that gives them a solution to do that. Not just for me going in breathing air, but me having capability to communicate and know what's going on in the surrounding, you know, my surrounding team or the broader department?
[00:13:22] Speaker B: I think in many ways Steve, as you mentioned, both on the fire side and the detection side, business has gone from, I'm assuming singular equipment sale to equipment plus recurring revenue type of a value prop.
I think many cases when you look at graduation of a company which makes that business model transition, there's sometimes lot of pain associated with how do you train the company to have that conversation with the customer differently. MSA seems to have done it pretty well. So any, any guidance on how you've been able to kind of take the company from say a more equipment specific model to a more recurring revenue basis?
[00:13:57] Speaker C: Well, the recurring is still a small piece of our business. It's still very small when you took look at the whole. So by and large most of our customers still buy that discrete product.
It's mainly connected. But as far as what's recurring, it's small. We're growing in that space.
The way we think about it is we want to make sure we provide solutions the way the customer wants to buy them. So we're trying to walk with them on this journey and we expect that that's going to accelerate their want and need for that recurring solution. Right. Really a subscription model, it's, it's ease of use and I think that's one of the reasons we expect that to grow.
But you know, frankly, it's about the customer journey. The customer's got to buy into this at a level that says it makes sense. We're not going to force that customer into the recurring model. We're going to have them able to make decisions and choose a solution that they feel is best for them.
So I think again it comes back to our view on that customer intimacy. Making sure we provide what they need and what they think they need in a way that's most effective for them.
[00:15:06] Speaker B: I think. Speaking of customers, what's your businesses deal with the government side? Quite a bit. And obviously the government, depending on which cycle of spend it is, is probably more cyclical than some, some folks might like. But still MSA has been able to deliver pretty consistent organic growth.
What has been the secret there to be able to manage through cycles of end market volatility will still be able to deliver level of organic growth. You'll be able to.
[00:15:32] Speaker C: Well, I think we start with this customer. I keep talking about the customer. I love talking about the customer. You already know this, we've talked about this, but we always start with the customer. And if we can innovate, we hope we can do two things. One we add to our share position, hopefully. And two, in many cases, we're expanding our market coverage in areas that perhaps there wasn't as big a market. You expand that tam a little bit, the addressable market, it gives you a little bit of a lift as well. And then safety is a great space. So, you know, I think 50 years ago, and you go back to the mining, right? Yeah. The interest or having safety on the front of mind of leaders back then was very rare. It just was not commonplace. Now you hear it on earnings calls all the time. And number of CEOs for Fortune 500 companies talk about the importance of safety and they believe it and it means a lot to them. They want to make sure that their workforce feels safe, is able to get the right equipment and do their jobs the right way. So that's a tailwind that we expect to continue. It certainly is more mature in North America, certainly Europe, but it's also maturing elsewhere in the world because we're finding by and large most of the world has that level of interest. And I don't think social media hurts in that regard. It might have some other challenges, but it's so easy for that to come to life.
And so we expect those tailwinds to continue. So you start adding those things up and the innovation on new designs that add value. If I'm the customer. Right. That I believe is solving a problem. It gives us a nice lift going forward. And that's, you know, as we think of the company, we believe that our opportunities are how we grow this company profitably, grow this company. And we feel like the next decade plus look really good.
[00:17:19] Speaker B: Maybe talking a little bit about the growth vectors which you have in mind for the, for the coming decade. How does, how much does international kind of fit into that mold? Today? I think MSA is nearly half the revenue comes from outside the America, North Americas.
[00:17:33] Speaker C: Yeah. If we look at the US the US is probably 54, 55% ish and 45% is the rest of International.
We think that's going to be a big growth area for us. Latin America is a great market for us in and we expect that to continue. The macro down there is fantastic. You know, you look at the population, you look at the different economic opportunities, the engine that we think is going to continue to grow. Middle east is another area. We expect to have some nice growth in the future. And then Asia Pacific should be really good. Europe's probably going to be fairly stable, consistent. You know, there's some nice market growth opportunities in fire service we believe, but it's a consistent market. And then North America is probably still going to be a nice growth engine.
[00:18:19] Speaker B: Right.
[00:18:19] Speaker C: We have some energy tailwinds and just the macro with some of the investment that is expected to come into North America. So we're not expecting just one region to participate. This is really going to be holistic across the globe. So your point about international is spot on.
[00:18:35] Speaker B: And then I think just today's the question which comes to mind in today's environment, obviously there are macro trends which are potentially moving folks towards localization than through globalization. How do you deal with that as you think about MSA in the next decade?
[00:18:51] Speaker C: We manufacture in region for region. Certainly we have a global supply chain. But we try to make sure we have the capabilities in region for region. That helped us during COVID quite frankly quite a bit. And we expect that's going to help us going forward.
And the reason we do that is by and large to make sure that we can deliver the customer as effectively as we can. So that, that I think gives. As we look over the next five or so years, you know, we'll rationalize that footprint probably further just centered on how do we deliver to the customer in that region most effectively.
So it's a challenge, right? Some of the things we're dealing with, tariffs, certainly some cost elements, but over, over time we think we're in a pretty good place and I think we got plans to help us even get better. But it is that in region for region is the foundation of that, right?
[00:19:44] Speaker B: Maybe speaking of another vector of growth is M and A.
You guys have been active recently and have been doing well in terms of acquiring the companies to add to your portfolio plus integrating them. I wanted to ask you, just given how strong a mission and a culture MSA has, how do you look at bringing in outside talent and teams and having them join be a part of the same culture which has remained so.
[00:20:08] Speaker C: Cohesive for they have to fit first, they have to fit that culture. We do a really deep analysis of whatever potential target we have. Somebody that we call a new family member. I've said that on a call about mnc, which we acquired in May. They're part of the family now.
So when we do the evaluation first, it starts with are they in the markets that we know?
Because if we know the markets, that's obviously a big win and. Or are they in technologies we understand and know.
So those are the two catalysts for us to consider them as a partner and somebody that might be a value add for msa. And then we do the deep dive inside of the evaluation of the organization, certainly the synergies and does it fit our growth categories? Again, back to the growth you talked about. We're looking for an organization that at least grows at what we expect to grow. Hopefully adds a little bit of a tailwind to that. And then of course, that last piece is the culture. Everything else looks pretty cool.
How well does this fit in the culture of msa? Is it something that really is going to mesh so that when we're really synergizing this organization, we feel like there's a one cohesive MSA unit going forward? So that's how we think about M and A. And we, we're going to be very active. We want to be active. We finished the mnc, you know, certainly in the second quarter. Our expectation is we're active now. We're going to be continue to be active to put that capital to work.
[00:21:41] Speaker B: I think no conversation today would be, would be complete. If you don't talk about AI and data and how that is changing, just operating models. MSA has a long history of delivering strong margins and providing accretion on top of them every year. How do you see AI interacting and data interacting with your operations, whether internally or how you deal with your customers?
[00:22:05] Speaker C: We're already using AI, certainly, probably like many organizations.
The nice thing about being a company that's in this technology and it's an industrial safety, safety technology company in our case is you're already leaning into this tech. And for us, we have almost half of our engineers are software engineers today. So we spend a lot of time on that space and we're deploying AI internally as well as externally. I think you're going to see it accelerate quite a bit, as a matter of fact. I know you will. But some of the tools we've been able to use it with and what we've done just in the last 20 years, 12 months, have been beneficial from an efficiency perspective. We're also trying to use AI from a customer perspective and we're seeing a couple of examples and use cases. We deployed one in fixed gas years ago that's been very good for the product. And then we have some others that are coming forward and I expect that's going to continue for us. The key is, as I think of AI and the organization really thinks of AI, it's how does it add value while making sure we keep centered on that mission right holistically and do it the right way.
I think it's a journey that many organizations are Going to facing the same thing we are. How fast do you do it? How do you make sure you're seeing value with AI in what you do?
So we're really mindful of that and we've got outside support. We're asking some outside experts to weigh in to help us along on this journey. And I think that's, you know, it's a combination of the two, but it's certainly going to, they're going to have an impact.
[00:23:45] Speaker B: And then in terms of as you think about your top team and potentially bringing this functionality to be adopted more widely in the organization, have you made any explicit changes to incorporate that or what is your thinking about that?
[00:23:58] Speaker C: Well, when I, when I moved into the CEO role, we put a role together which was the Chief Product and Technology Officer, specifically because of what I thought and envisioned would be a need in the future on the digitized world. And it's been very helpful. So we combined all of our internal resources when it came to technology IT engineering under one leader to use those and synergize those and not have these kind of different silos in the organization. And that's been helpful in the short time period we've had it. So I think it's an organizational change we've had and then I think cross functionally making sure that you're using those platforms in a way to drive success and consistency and efficiency. It's going to be important and we do a nice job of that. I feel like the team recognizes that we've got our own AI Council, which the leadership team is part of, to really understand how we move forward with this and those things together. We're not going to do it.
These leaders don't want to do it and aren't going to do it in a vacuum. Again, based on what we talked about earlier, makes sense.
[00:25:07] Speaker B: It's interesting to see your solution to that problem because one of the things we have seen is as a failure mode is it turns into a siloed project in the side and hence doesn't see the light of day after three, four months of work. But it seems you found a way to connect it to the business fabric day to day.
[00:25:24] Speaker C: Well, we're still in that journey, I would say yes, but that's why we have this council to help us keep this glue together and this role, this Chief Technology and Product Officer. When we put it in, I remember putting it in and we were going, there's not really many benchmarks because people aren't doing this.
And now we're getting more benchmarks because I think it's being recognized as a need for us. It was a need some. I think if you're using technology in what you do like we do, I think there's a higher level of need than if it's not as critical to your success.
Certainly for us it was and will continue to be.
[00:26:01] Speaker B: We're talking about people and talent. We were picking up this conversation earlier as well when we wrote the book Titanium Economy. We, at least our take was as an overall sector. Industrials is not the most popular sector. Obviously kids want to graduate today and go to the metas and the Amazons and the Googles of the world.
But for us to succeed and realize the value we can bring as a sector, you need good leaders, you need new talent coming in who's able to adopt AI software.
How have you ensured that MSA is a good magnet for talent so as to speak as you build a firma for the next five to 10 years?
[00:26:42] Speaker C: Well, we have a secret weapon and that's that mission. Most people don't have a mission that's purpose driven and it's allowed us to acquire and retain top talent. I mean, when we look at our talent, it's really strong.
And because of that mission and our culture, right, we're really integrity focused. We have some values that are centered on that mission and how we live our lives.
It's allowed us to have this talent. Just want to come to MSA and it's, it's when we talk to people that come to the organization and visit, you know, outside investors, shareholders, customers, they're like, wow, this is, I had no idea. You know, we have PhDs that are doing the design work on these sensors and some of this technology technology we talked about and they're industry leading experts. And it's that mission that drew them to MSA and it's that mission that keeps them here along with the culture. They know they can contribute, they know they have an impact and protect people.
So we have a little bit. I'm blessed in having that, you know, that nice purpose that some CEOs don't get to use.
And I certainly leverage it. The team recognizes it. That plus the culture of respect and making sure that we center everything on integrity helps us really attract that talent. And of course, at the end of the day, delivering high performance, which is critical. It's the only way you survive going forward.
[00:28:12] Speaker B: No doubt. And I think I saw a little bit of the secret weapon when I checked in. I think even in the check in process, you make sure that the visitors coming in have a good safety, safety company.
[00:28:20] Speaker C: You really can't get around that.
[00:28:21] Speaker B: Absolutely. That was step one. So that was fantastic. Maybe another place where we see MSC deviating from quote unquote, at least our perception of the titanium economy. When we look at industrials in the sector, the feeling you get is it's undervalued by the markets. I would agree with that. Based on the financial and the value that the sector provides, just based on purely the multiples we trade are in sometimes incredible discounts. I think MSA is able to sometimes bug that trend as well. Where in terms of value, you guys are still not just in performance. Like every league table we make of performance, you are in the top quadrant. But even in how the markets value you, you're in the top quadrant. So any advice for your peers in the industrial sector of how to make sure the market at least gives you fair value for your performance?
[00:29:07] Speaker C: Well, it's.
The market wants to look at you as a compounder.
Can you credibly deliver growth and compound that growth on the profitability front? And we believe that's critical to us. We believe we have a playbook that helps us do that.
We've got a nice track record in the past that's enabled us to have that success. And certainly, you know, we're very optimistic about the future. So if I were another firm, you know, I would really be modeling what's my strategy in my ear in the right space to help me do this and what's my strategy to ensure whatever growth I have, I'm compounding that profitability because then you're going to get, you know, the investors are going to look at that and find interest in that. Because when you do that, when you have the growth on revenue at a consistent basis, right where they can see credibility in it, and then you compound that growth on the, you know, the top line or the profitability side, eventually good things are going to happen.
[00:30:09] Speaker B: Maybe. See now, like, maybe.
[00:30:11] Speaker C: Look, it's easy to say, it's harder to do.
[00:30:12] Speaker B: Yeah, incredibly hard to do. But it's good to have a role model in MSA in terms of how you've kind of pulled it together for the rest of us in this sector. Maybe gazing in the crystal ball, Steve, for the next five, 10 years, what are the things which excite you the most about msa? And maybe a couple of things which kind of keep you up at night.
[00:30:30] Speaker C: I think what excites me is we're on this safety journey. We are on the leading edge of Industrial technology within the safety space.
And we really look at the future and the use of technology as an advantage for us.
So the team is super stoked about what's going to happen over the next five to 10 years and how we're leaning into those spaces and trying to really carve out more capability for the customer in ways that are using technology but solving problems. So that's what really gets me stoked. I think we think of it as really a big opportunity in the world.
We certainly are strong in some markets, but given the space that's out there and the needs, there's just so much potential and we expect to try to harness some of that inside of msa.
You know, the macroeconomic can be a little bit challenging from, you know, what keeps you up at night, you know, those things. But everybody has to deal with that. So I think we've got the right team and we've been, you know, frankly, we've had a really resilient performance past, you know, history. So we expect that to continue because of the markets we talked about. Because no matter where you're at in the economic cycle, one of our markets are going to perform and that's played out and we expect that to play out. So you can't control everything on the macro world, as maybe we'd like to think we can, and we certainly can't in our size and space. But if we can continue to play in the different diverse portfolios we do or the spaces we do, I think we'll continue to perform no matter what the, what the economics tell us. So I think we're in good space for that.
[00:32:20] Speaker B: I think MSA story in many ways a case study on how to be intentional about where to play. I think that is kind of born both in your performance as well as your resilience.
[00:32:29] Speaker C: Well, and we need to be who we are and that's critical. We're not going to be who we aren't. And I think that mission helps us have guardrails around that. Quite frankly, we want to stay within the criteria of that mission and there's enough growth opportunity that we believe we can do that.
[00:32:45] Speaker B: Steve, my last question may be more on a personal front for you. You joined MSA and the context was not that the boat was on fire and you have to turn it around. You joined a pretty high performing, joined the company and you took the leadership position of a very high performing organization already. So the expectations were already pretty high.
[00:33:04] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:33:06] Speaker B: In that context. Tell us a little bit about what's your priority as A leader for the company. It's different from somebody maybe who's kind of jumping in to save a company from drowning.
[00:33:16] Speaker C: Well, I had a great role model before me.
Now I was on his team his whole time. So as he would remind me, we were partnering. He said, you helped me do this. But he was a great role model and helped me really open up in areas on my leadership style and frankly, learning pieces of business that made me a better leader and a stronger leader. And I think those are the things that I appreciate and help us be successful going forward. So I look at it as we're a high performing organization. I'm really a steward for this company.
[00:33:50] Speaker B: Right.
[00:33:51] Speaker C: It's 111 years old. It's my job to make sure that this company's positioned to continue that long legacy and serve our customers the way we should serve our customers. Customers. That's kind of how I look at it.
And so if we can do that and accelerate some of the growth categories the way we think we can, then it's going to be really fun. And I think the team behind me is going to support that. They already do. And the board certainly is super engaged and aligned with that same thing. So I feel good about that.
I'm proud of being part of MSA and I'm proud of what the team does to support the work of msa.
[00:34:28] Speaker B: Like, it's clear to see the notion of stewardship come in the way you talk about the company and at least your role in steering the ship towards it. So thank you so much for your time, Steve.
[00:34:36] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:34:37] Speaker B: Incredibly valuable.
[00:34:38] Speaker C: It's great catching up.
[00:34:38] Speaker B: Thank you so much.
[00:34:39] Speaker C: You bet.
[00:34:40] Speaker B: You bet.
[00:34:46] Speaker A: Thanks for listening to INA Insights. Please visit INA AI for more podcasts, publications and events on developments shaping the industrial and industrial technology sector.
