CSL Materials
Carlisle Building Envelope Representative

News

CSL Announcements and Updates

Diller Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership

 
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT SUSAN DEATON, 214.263.6628, sdeaton@csl-materials.com

President of CSL Materials, Chad Lesher, was recently invited to speak at the Diller Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at his alma mater, Shippensburg University.

During the Q&A style session, Chad shared with the attendees how he began his career at Carlisle SynTec and eventually created CSL Materials in September 2011. After introductions, the conversation quickly moved into a discussion about business over the last three years, which included the COVID-19 pandemic and the material supply crisis that promptly followed. Below are a few of his comments from the session at Shippensburg:

COVID-19

  • Employees and their families were the top priority. Their safety and comfort level with their level of exposure dictated our company strategies above all else. 

  • Along with that philosophy, we respected our customers’ policies on COVID-19 as they did what they felt was best for their business. If policies conflicted, we would always side with the safest approach.

  • Maneuvering towards virtual meetings and sales calls was necessary for many instances, but we were cognizant to refrain from exhausting people with them during the pandemic. CSL conducted outdoor activities and training when considered safe, which was a great benefit to our customers.

  • To stay connected personally, we held a Virtual Talent Show for employees during the darkest days of the quarantine. We laughed and encouraged one another, which was indeed a memorable time for us all.

Material Supply Crisis

  • CSL is blessed to work with an outstanding company like Carlisle SynTec, who helped provide the tools and information needed to navigate a difficult situation.

  • Lead times on most of our products went from 2-3 weeks to 9-12 months. Pricing went from being valid for 6 months to being priced “at the time of shipment.”

  • We communicated updates via town hall conference calls or e-blasts to all parties in the construction pipeline. In addition, CSL participated in many meetings to provide what outlook we could, took accountability for the crisis, and did what we could to assist our customers.

  • Moving to allocation was challenging but was the only sensible course of action. We firmly believe that allocation gave our customers and distributors the best program for planning and communicating. Instituting and executing allocation truly provided us with a significant advantage over our competition.

“Things are now back to normal, and tons of uncertainty remains with the economic news continuing to be cloudy,” says Chad. “But we are hopeful that our dedication to our employees and customers during the past three tumultuous years has made us stronger, smarter, and better prepared to support our customers moving forward.”

For additional information about CSL Materials, the markets we serve, and the products we represent – visit csl-materials.com.

 

###

 
CSL Materials