ISSUE2_FINAL_DIGITAL

THE APE

CALENDAR APECompaniesAcquiresCorrosionSpecialties

June16-BrockGT(TX) TheAPECompaniesfamilycon nuestogrowwiththeaddionof
CorrosionSpecialesInc.(CSI),aGeorgiabaseddistributorofcorrosion

June25-KiewittGT(TX) controlequipmentandconsumableproductsthatservesthe
transporta on,manufacturingandenergyindustries.

July4-HOLIDAY CSIwillcon nueto
operateadistribu oncenter

initsDuluthheadquartersas

wellasadistribu oncenter

inJacksonville,FL.

“CSIhasbeenawell-respectednameintheabrasivesbusinessfor

50yearsandwe’reveryexcitedtowelcometheteam toourfamilyof

companies,”saidKevinWillis,CEOofAPECompanies.

CSIownersMa andAndySteinmannsaidthatjoiningtheAPE

familyofcompaniesis“transforma onalforourbusiness.”They

explainedthattheaccesstomoreabrasiveandsafetyproductswill

be erservetheirexisngcustomersandhelpa ractnewbusiness.

“WehaveknowntheAPEmanagementteam formanyyearsand

sharethesamevisiononhowtogrowandadapttochangingdemands

inthemarket,”theSteinmannsadded.

TolearnmoreaboutCSIvisitwww.corrosionspec.com.

EMPLOYEEPROFILE-KENMATHERNE

1.Location:Harvey,LA
2.Yearstarted:2012w/APE,1992BobSchmidt
3.Role:Sales,EquipmentSupport,TechnicalApplication
4.(3)wordstodescribeAPE:Experience,Solutions&Service
5.Favoritemovie:MelBrooksmovies
6.OfficeNickname:Lucky(startedbyBobbyWineski)
7.Peoplewouldbesurprisediftheyknew:
“I’m notmuchofavegetableeatingperson.”

safety tidbit
byMalcolm Cortez,SafetyComplianceManager

LightningSafety(Myths&Truths)

COMPANY NEWS

APECompaniesListedasTop20GracoDistributor

PRODUCTHIGHLIGHT

Towel

Bandana

HRNEWS

401K SavingsPlan

STATEOFTHECOMPANY

WhEREWEHAVEBEEN:

Asoursalesandservicesincrease,logicsayswemustgrowandexpandthecompanytosuit.Thechallengeis
togrowandexpandataratethatkeepspacewith,butdoesnotexceed,thecompany’ssalesgrowth.Inrecent
years,weasatotalcompany,experiencedexponentialgrowth,mostlythroughacquisition,butalsothrough
establishingnewlocations.Ourexpectationistocontinuewithourexpansionandtodoubleinsizewithinthenext
fourtofiveyears.Withgrowthcomesnecessarychangetoincludeexpandingstaff,implementingnewbusiness
software,consolidatingourheadofficelocationandestablishingnewstrategiestorespondtoadversityinour
industry.

In2015,APECompaniesexperiencedaslightdeclineinrevenueinsteadofthemoreaggressivegrowthweare
accustomedtoexperiencing.Thereareseveralreasonsforthischange.Themostobviousreasonistherecent
downturnintheoilandgasindustry.Bygeneralbusinessstandards,ourcompanyhasnotperformedpoorly,but
incomparisontoourpastgrowth,ourbusinesshasshownaflatreturnfor2015.Thisisimportantbecausethis
hasconsequentlyforcedthecompanytoscalebackwithrespecttooverallspending,includingincentivesand
rewardsweareabletooffertoouremployees.

AtonetimeAbrasiveProducts,aswellasBKW Environmental,consistedofasmallerstaffperformingthe
functionsofseveralpositions.Withgrowththeneedhasshiftedandadditionaldepartmentsandpersonnelhave
becomenecessarytoperform morespecificdutieswithinvariousdepartments.Forexample,ITandHR
departmentswereaddedandFinancehasexpandedtosupportthecontinuedgrowth.Morerecently,Purchasing
andOperationshavebeenareasoffocusinanefforttoestablishamoreefficient,all-encompassingservicefor
thecompany.Incontinuingthegrowthandlookingforwardtofutureexpansion,APECompaniesrecentlyhireda
ChiefOperatingOfficer(COO)tooverseeOperationsfortheentireorganization.

WhEREWEARENOW:

Anotherofourbiggestchallengeshasbeenconsolidatingourseparateentitiesintooneunifiedcompany
includingtheconsolidationofourLLC’s,ourbusinesssoftwareandourthreeHoustonlocations.

Asyouknow,inJuly2015,alllocationsbecamebrandedasAPECompaniesbymergingthetwoBKW
EnvironmentalLLC’sintotheAbrasiveProductsandEquipment,LLC.Notonlydidwechangethewaywe
presentourselvestooutsidecontacts,ourinternalstructurebeganchangingaswelltoincludeourbusiness
reportingprocesses,bankingproceduresandcompliancemanagement.Thiswasthefirstinanumberof
changestocome.

STATEOFTHECOMPANY

WhEREWEARENOW(Continued):

AnotheroftheconsolidationeffortsweareexperiencingistheProphet21implementation.Forthoseofyouutilizingthe
softwaredaily,youareveryawareoftherecentconversionintotheProphet21businesssystem.Althoughwehavefaced
severalcomplicationsthroughoutthisprocess,thosedifficultieshavebeen,andcontinuetobe,recognizedandaddressed
throughthoroughanalysis,focusandpersistence.Keepinmind,ERPimplementationscantakeanywherefrom 14to18
monthsandevenlongerdependingonthecomplexityofbusinessprocessesbeingestablishedinthenewsystem.

Pleaseconsiderthatweareconsolidatingtwobusinessentityprocessesintoonesystem alongwithseveralother
supportivesystemstoincludefixedassets,salestaxadministrationandarentalmodule.Pleasekeepinmindthatproper
expectationsandpatiencearecriticaltoasuccessfulintegrationandanychangeofthissizeandnature.Everyone’s
cooperationandcontinuedinvolvementinmakingthisconversionasuccessisgreatlyappreciated.

Inadditiontothesoftwareconsolidation,thethreeofficeslocatedintheHoustonareawillbecomingtogetherintoone
mainlocationinPasadena,Texas,whichiscurrentlyscheduledtostartinlateJune.Thismoveisprobablythemost
discerniblerepresentationofourconsolidationeffortsandwillrequireconsiderableresiliencebyeachandevery
employeeaswemergethedifferentculturestogether.Noshortageofteamworkandacollectiveunderstandingofthe
visionforourcompany,whichistobeanindustryleaderoffering first-classservice,athoroughknowledgeofour
products/equipmentandahigherstandardofcapability,willfacilitatethecreationofasuccessfulunion.

WhEREWEAREgoing:

Ourfuturelooksexciting.Weareslatedtogrowsubstantiallyinthenextseveralyearsthroughacquisitionandestablishing
newlocations.

OurmostrecentacquisitionofCorrosionSpecialties,withofficeslocatedinGeorgiaandFlorida,isanexcellentexample
ofthepurposefulgrowthwestrivetoachieveonthebackofthegreenfieldgrowthwehaveseeninBeaumontandCorpus
Christi.Asmentionedinthepressannouncement,thispartnershipallowsAbrasiveProductstocontinueitsexpansioninto
untappedmarketswithawell-respectedandestablishedcompany,andtoofferCSI’scustomersadditionalproductsand
services,aswellashelpingtoattractnewcustomers.

APECompaniesexpectstocontinuetoexpandthroughadditionalacquisitions,establishadditional‘greenfield’locationsto
reachpotentialcustomerswehaveyettoserveandprovideadditionalrentalofferingstothosenewand/orexpanded
regions.

APECompaniesislookingtobethemarketleaderbyintroducingnewproducts,utilizationmethodsandtraining
techniquestoourcustomersfrom alreadyestablishedlocationsaswellasnewonesweputintoplace.Wewantto
continuetoconcentrateongrowingourcorebusinessbyprovidingunsurpassedservicetoourcustomers.Wealsowish
toachieveaproactivestancetoourcustomer’sneeds,ratherthanareactiveresponse.

GettoKnow
CorrosionSpecialtiesInc.(CSI)

WereachedouttoourfriendsatCSIinordertogettoknowthem be er.Theywereaskedto
providethefollowinginfo:
•Yourposionandabriefdescrip onofwhatthatentails
•HowyoubecameanemployeeofCSIandwhen
•Somethingpeoplemaynotknowaboutyoupersonally
•Anyhobbiesyoucurrentlyhaveoranythingyou’dliketoshareaboutyourself



SERVICE

TomHoerner(Beaumont)
GilbertoRodriguez(Pasadena)
SandyRogers(Pasadena)
RiannaRamos(Pasadena)
HaroldMorel,Jr.(Gonzales)
ChelseyBen(DeerPark)
SamSullivan(Pasadena)
CalvinRiley(CorpusChristi)
JaredBernard(Houma)
AndreWheeler(Bristol)

4/10-DarrylEdenfield(Jacksonville)
4/15-SeanLanden(DeerPark)
4/17-BrittanyHoover(Pasadena)
4/19-RobertWood(Jacksonville)
4/25-KyleLemberg(Duluth)
4/25-DerekDaigle(Lafayette)
4/27-WesSelf(Beaumont)
4/29-JeffMcCleney(Pasadena)

5/2-MiltonEdwards(Beaumont) 5/20-SteveLopez(CorpusChristi)

5/4-ThomasSullivan(Theodore) 5/20-GilbertGalindo(DeerPark)

5/6-KirkLidgard(Pasadena) 5/21-OscarHernandez(Pasadena)

5/9-ThomasCerogino(Bristol) 5/30-SteveShoesmith(DeerPark)

5/19-TerrenceSherrod(Pasadena)

6/11-RaymondStudley(Bristol)
6/12-MarcusOlivares(Pasadena)
6/18-WayneThompson(Bristol)
6/25-SteveLeftwich(Harvey)
6/30-JadeLecompte(Houma)

5445BusinessParkway LAFAYETTE DALLAS
Theodore,AL36582 207GlaserDr. 10390ShadyTrail,Suite104
251.338.7525 Lafayette,LA70508 Dallas,TX75220
337.837.9077 214.352.8888
7002DavisCreekRd. HOUMA BEAUMONT
Jacksonville,FL32219 1997GrandCaillouRd. 2440W.CardinalDr.
800.535.4564 Houma,LA70363 Beaumont,TX77705
2221NorthmontPkwy. 985.580.4273 409.234.1554
Suite200 HOUSTON
Duluth,GA30096 2100FrostRd. 6319BrookhillDr.
800.535.4564 Bristol,PA19007 Houston,TX77087
HARVEY 215.826.8080 713.797.0054
350GreferLn. CORPUSCHRISTI
Harvey,LA70058 DEERPARK 1118N.P.I.D.
504.367.8090 302DeerwoodGlenDr. CorpusChristi,TX78406
GONZALES DeerPark,TX77536 361.299.6902
2728S.RubyAve. 281.930.0808
Gonzales,LA70737 PASADENA
225.647.7575 2330PasadenaBlvd.
Pasadena,TX77502
713.473.4445

P H O TO S