Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
This is Chris Redgrave for Zions Bank Speaking on Business.
You don't always need a background in a specific industry to excel at it. Natalie Kaddas, president of Kaddas Enterprises in Salt Lake City, is living proof of that. Her background is in the hospitality industry but she's now successfully running this manufacturing operation in partnership with her husband, Jay, who is the director of operations.
Back in 2008, Natalie and Jay owned a coffee shop. As a result of the downturn, their growth was smaller than expected. Jay's parents, John and Carol Kaddas, had founded Kaddas Enterprises years before and invited Natalie to come on board to help. It was intended to be a temporary, part-time deal. The experience was better than expected and by the end of the year, she came on board full time.
With a background in hospitality, Natalie didn't know much about manufacturing but did know all about taking care of customers. That allowed Kaddas Enterprises to expand their customer service efforts to include employees in this process as well. Traditionally manufacturing is not known for customer service but Natalie used her hospitality training to reach out to customers. She hit the ground running and quickly gained respect from everyone, with a philosophy of, "Seek first to understand before being understood."
Kaddas Enterprises wants to be known as the leader in heavy-gage thermal form plastic innovation. If you weren't aware, thermal form is the process of heating up plastic and pulling it over a mold. Kaddas innovates with products and design, so customers can bring a design they like or need, and the company will create the product for them. Their product line has expanded and now includes over 170 different products.
In fact, the product they're most known for is the patented and trademarked Bird Guard, sold to utilities across the U.S. and even shipped internationally, most recently into Mexico, Venezuela and Russia. It's designed to protect birds, specifically raptors, that were being killed or injured due to interaction with electrical lines.
Since 2009, revenues at Kaddas Enterprises have more than doubled.
For Zions Bank, I'm Chris Redgrave, speaking on business.
Kaddas Enterprises 3588 W. Directors Row Salt Lake City, UT 84104 801-972-3200 www.kaddas.com
