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Oct 15, 2024

NRP-Jones' new CEO Kochan looks to boost company's brand | Rubber News

SAN DIEGO, Calif.—NRP-Jones L.L.C. has a long history in the rubber hose and fittings market. But in many ways, the firm today is looking at its place in the business from a whole new perspective.

SAN DIEGO, Calif.—NRP-Jones L.L.C. has a long history in the rubber hose and fittings market.

But in many ways, the firm today is looking at its place in the business from a whole new perspective.

From a new CEO just six months into the job, to a staff seemingly ready to embrace the change their new leader is looking to put in place, the firm is evolving. The company is getting its name out in a crowded marketplace to convince customers that NRP-Jones is worthy of a larger "wallet share."

"It's a tremendous team, a team that's looking to take that next step as a company and as a business," CEO Joe Kochan told Rubber News during NAHAD's annual convention, held April 27-30 in San Diego. "And they're excited, which I find refreshing, actually, because a lot of times you know you join a company and people like to talk about change.

"But once you really start to change, it's not as easy as the talk. And I can tell you that people have really embraced what we're trying to do and moving the company forward with new ideas."

The roots of NRP-Jones dates back to 1945, when Keith Jones founded Screw Machine Products Co. in LaPorte, Ind. Later operated as Jones Enterprise Inc., the firm produced hydraulic fittings, adapters and screw machine piece parts.

Jones soon was joined in the business by his sons, Terry and Brian, and in 1985 the family purchased 50-percent interest in Nephi Rubber Products, formed in 1947 in Nephi, Utah. They ultimately acquired full ownership of NRP.

NRP brought production of hydraulic hose and large diameter industrial hose, along with high-pressure rotary drilling and vibrator hose for land and offshore drill rigs.

When Keith Jones retired, Terry Jones (who died in January) was named president and was the top executive until the renamed NRP-Jones was sold in late 2011 to private equity firm Main Street Capital Corp., which still owns the firm.

NRP-Jones had been without a CEO for some years now, with Mark Prast, a 40-plus year company veteran, serving as top executive as chief operating officer.

But that changed when Main Street Capital recruited Kochan as CEO, taking the post in November 2023.

His background is mainly in manufacturing, starting at Dana Corp. back in 1993. He spent time in automotive and heavy truck, industrial automation and had a couple stints in the fastener industry.

But Kochan said most of his career has been spent shaping, chipping and machining metals using different processes.

He actually had heard of NRP-Jones when it went on the market in 2011, but said he lost track and didn't keep up with the manufacturer. But after Elgin Fastener Corp.—where he was COO—was sold to PE firm American Securities last year, the recruiter he was working with to identify his next opportunity mentioned the open role at NRP-Jones.

That excited him, as he was familiar with what the firm did in the hydraulic space—and the owners seemed ready for change.

"It's a unique opportunity because they really haven't had a CEO, at least for quite some time," Kochan said. "It's been more of a team."

When interviewing for the position, he said he honed in on bringing new ideas and a new approach to the firm.

"The team that really continues to lead and drive the company has been very successful in running, growing and succeeding with NRP-Jones," the new CEO said. "There are not a lot of new people in the company.

"And I think bringing (in) somebody new with different experiences and different ideas really facilitates the ability to challenge the current state and to look beyond that. And that's largely what they were looking for."

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Prast puts his start date as 1979 with Jones Enterprises, and he will stay on as an officer of the company, though his title may change. He told Rubber News that choosing a new CEO has been a long time coming.

"Everybody in our industry knows that I'm more or less a true product specialist. I'm not your typical CEO," Prast said. "I have a heavy background in hydraulic fittings and hydraulic hose, with a tremendous amount of knowledge about how everything came out of SAE and how it's applied.

"... It was time that we had a true leader to do the other things that are not my specialty. So I look forward to NRP growing. I'll continue to do what I've always done and look for new products for us, which I've been doing for 45 years."

Prast learned most of what he knows from Keith and Terry Jones, including the need to be accessible.

"We do a lot of special fitting design, all domestic made, and we're very good at it," Prast said. "Most distributors know if they've got something unique, you can probably give us a call.

"... Both my predecessor Terry Jones and myself have always been very accessible and willing to listen to an idea that you may have, and then help you work through it. Come up with a drawing and we've always been able to make prototypes very quick, and get it started and get the project started. You know, if you can't get a project started, it's hard to ever get it off the ground."

Since Kochan came aboard, one of the most consistent pieces of feedback he's heard—whether through customer surveys or one-on-one conversations—is about the NRP-Jones' culture of picking up the phone and answering questions.

"I don't know if this is unique in the market or this industry, but I will say that the quality of our team and the quality of answers, and the quality of their knowledge seems to surpass the competition," he said.

Kochan said he saw this first-hand during the first night of NAHAD, where customers just wanted to talk about the technical details of hydraulics or finding a solution to a problem.

"I'm just listening with my head spinning, trying to understand, 'What did Mark just say?' But the customers and the people that were sitting there loved it," Kochan said. "That's a key that sets NRP-Jones apart in the market, and we're going to continue to grow that capability to continue to drive that separation."

While he has been impressed with the team and their technical and problem-solving capabilities, the new CEO does see room for improvement. For example, he saw the need to make products more available from a delivery perspective.

"And I think NRP-Jones has historically a strong name, but maybe a name that has faded a little bit, that needs to be brought back to light and brought back to the forefront of the industry," Kochan said.

And what is the plan to make that happen? Company officials aren't looking to re-create the wheel, and will focus on the core basics of marketing, sales and service.

From the marketing side, Kochan said NRP-Jones has hired a new marketing manager who is putting together a strategy to put the company name back on the map.

"By the end of the year, it will be exciting to see what NRP-Jones looks like as compared to today," he said. "How much easier it will be to find NRP-Jones on the internet, whether it's a website or social media, or Googling domestic and hydraulic fittings. Refreshing our name and increasing our brand recognition."

On the sales side, Kochan said the team is strong and can answer any technical questions he might have. But there are areas of opportunity to add more sales resources and team members to provide better coverage.

"What I'm finding is the fluid routing and particularly the industrial side of the industry is a high-touch industry," the CEO said. "You have to be out talking to customers, partnering with them and making sure that you're there, whether it's for a quick meeting or over the phone to help them find a solution to a problem they're trying to solve. And that takes investment, and it takes talent."

From a service perspective, Kochan said customers say NRP-Jones scores well from a delivery and quality standpoint. But he thinks the company can do better, whether that means posting better key performance indicators or having the right inventory in the right location to meet customer needs.

Prast said while the company may be seen as more of a niche supply company, there are areas where it can leverage its strengths to broaden its sales base. NRP-Jones is particularly strong, he added, in the agriculture and oil and gas sectors.

"I would say that the market is wide open for us because we can add and expand, and we have the potential for a lot of growth. We have a good team—especially a support team—both on the rubber side and on the fitting side to help that along."

And while he's been part of the business for more than four decades, Prast said there still are things he can help NRP-Jones achieve.

"I'm getting down there. I maybe have five more years left that I want to push hard and help this company get to the point that we all want to see it at," he said. "And I think with Joe now we have a much stronger team.

"And there have been some other additions that will relieve some of the pressure. I actually was doing a lot of different things for a long time, so it will help me stay concentrated and more focused on product development versus a lot of the everyday stuff that I have been doing in the past."

Kochan said the market views NRP-Jones as a company with a wide and deep product catalog, in addition to being a resource for specialty items. But he feels NRP-Jones products probably are only the second or third choice on a distributor's shelf—not the top offering.

"As we move forward, one of the things when we improve our sales and marketing is that we're very glad to solve problems and to provide specialty solutions," Kochan said. "But with that ability, with the accessibility of Mark and with the accessibility of our technical team, we deserve more market share, and we deserve more wallet share.

"I enjoy selling 10 pieces. But I get really excited when we sell a thousand."

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