Nu-Calgon: A Sales Force Without Equal

Nu-Calgon's products — chemical products including coil cleaners, descalers, refrigeration oils and specialty applications — go largely unseen and unnoticed by most end-users of HVACR products. But to the wholesaler distributors who carry these products and the contractors who use them every day, Nu-Calgon is an indispensable part of their business.

It's not just the products that are so important to the contractors and wholesaler distributors. It's also the Nu-Calgon salespeople who partner with the distributors to help them better understand the products, which allows them to sell more to customers. Partnering with its customers is exactly the mission that founder and president Al Butler set for Nu-Calgon 18 years ago when he purchased the business from Merck, the worldwide pharmaceutical company.

The formula has worked. Today, Nu-Calgon is the premier company of HVACR chemicals. “Our entire organization is dedicated toward taking care of our customers, and the wholesalers have rewarded us with their business,” Butler says. “We're a very sales- and marketing-oriented company. I think our wholesalers appreciate that, and that's why we've been successfully growing the business year after year.” Since its inception, Nu-Calgon has increased its sales by nearly sevenfold.

Nu-Calgon's roots are in Calgon, the brand that became a household name by virtue of its bath (Calgon) and dishwashing (Calgonite) products. Calgon, which began as a supplier of phosphate in the 1930s, entered the air-conditioning business with coil cleaners and related products, and was later sold to Merck & Co. in 1967. When Merck divested its chemical specialty business in 1991, Butler purchased it from them. “I like to think I was in the right place at the right time,” he says.

Butler was vice president of Calgon and had been with the business since 1963, so he knew a thing or two about what it took to run a successful operation. It all begins with people — specifically, salespeople who know what they're selling and can work with customers to help them increase their profits. Butler recalls that there were 55 salespeople at Calgon when he formed Nu-Calgon on Oct. 1, 1991, and he brought the best with him when he began the new venture. He started with 18 salespeople, and that number has since grown to 25.

Starting fresh also allowed Butler to develop a more streamlined way of doing business — from ensuring that the salespeople became specialists in what they sold to the way that the products were shipped to customers. While Calgon's salespeople were responsible for many different lines, Nu-Calgon would concentrate only on HVACR wholesalers, providing a new level of expertise for customers that would encourage them to place more of their orders through them.

But a smart, experienced sales force is only effective if the products can get into the hands of customers on time and are the products that were ordered. Butler quickly streamlined the distribution system, consolidating Calgon's multitude of public warehouses around the country into one central distribution center at its headquarters in St. Louis. Nu-Calgon now ships at least 98 percent of its orders complete and on time within 24 hours, Butler notes. “It's worked very well for us, and our customers like that type of service,” he says. “Over the years, we have become known for our outstanding product delivery program.”

A sales force that knows its products is a key differentiator from competitors. Butler believes strongly that a salesperson who sells the products of his or her company will do a better job for the wholesale distributor than the salesperson who represents several lines of different companies. There's a deeper commitment to the company and a base of knowledge that continues to grow.