LECO Corporation wrapped up 2018 by celebrating the opening of its new Customer Experience Center and introducing customers to its new customer-focus brand experience.

As LECO continues to expand its product portfolio, the company found themselves with a need to increase manufacturing space and modernize existing application laboratories, while also providing a more ergonomic work space for its employees. From there, an idea was born to create a space dedicated to enhancing the end-user’s interaction with the company, its products, and its services. The new 36,000 sq. ft. building is located across the street from its company headquarters in St. Joseph, Michigan in the USA.

“LECO has always been focused on listening to our customers and incorporating their feedback into new features in our product designs,” said Chris Warren, President of Sales for LECO Corporation. “Over the years, we have noticed that the customer wants more than just a checklist of innovative features to be successful.”

“In reality, they want to be able to walk into their laboratory and feel confident that they will be able to accomplish that day’s tasks with minimal disruptions,” Warren continued. “The dedicated partnerships we have with our customers— before, during, and after the instrument purchase process—have created long-standing relationships with our customers.”

The new CEC does its part to contribute to this vision by creating a welcoming environment for customers to bring in samples of materials and get a first-hand look at LECO’s approach to the entire analysis process by trying out the equipment first.

“LECO offers a number of configurations and options for all of our instruments, and the best way for us to get a clear understanding of which solution is the best for a customer’s sample is by actually working with them on the analysis process,” said Dave Valensi, VP of Sales for the United States and Canada. “Then we are able to provide a more customized solution that not only includes equipment, but application assistance and training as well.”

To further show its dedication to improving the total customer experience, LECO updated its company logo at the end of 2018, and introduced a new corporate focus—Empowering Results.

“Empowering Results shows a shift in our mindset that results are not something to just be delivered,” Warren said. “It encompasses all of the moving parts that make purchasing a LECO product a great experience—quality, innovation, For Immediate Release March 18, 2019 Pittcon Booth #3127 service, support, positive interaction with our team, and more. Most importantly, it signifies the responsibility that we as employees have at contributing to a positive user experience.”

In addition to analytical and metallographic application laboratories, the CEC is the new home to key customer-facing departments such as customer communications, sales, and marketing. Keeping these departments together helps create a team environment to ensure consistency when it comes to creating a high-quality experience, and keeping the focus where it should be—on the customer.

The official name of the building is the Robert J. Warren Customer Experience Center, in honor of President Emeritus Robert J. Warren, whose focus on making the customer a part of the LECO family has been a key component for the company’s growth over the last 82 years.