Tucker-Castleberry -- Relationships Do Matter
MAN Roland won the Tucker-Castleberry account through a rigorous testing phase that culminated with an in-person demonstration on a real job. "We told MAN Roland we wanted to load a skid of 60-lb. enamel text into the feeder and, if they could run the form we sent them without streaks, ghosts, hickies, etc.—at 15,000 iph—and with the feeder not tripping out, then we would buy their 40˝, six-color," Tucker recalls. "Needless to say, they did it with flying colors and we bought the press. Three MAN Rolands later, it's history."
Aside from transforming Georgia into the nation's second 'Show Me' state, Tucker-Castleberry enjoys a thin managerial layer that stresses accountability and employee autonomy. With the greater sense of ownership also comes a system of checks and balances that works well for the printer.
Additionally, Tucker abhors meetings just for the sake of meetings, the dreaded 'second Tuesday of every month' sales meeting and the like. If there's a need for a meeting, that's fine with Tucker.
In other words, it's all about the people and the product.
"We don't have a book of rules and regulations," Tucker informs. "Everything happens instantly around here. A lot of companies our size have a large number of management positions. But good salespeople are self-driven. They don't need to hand in sales reports."
It helps that virtually every sales person does $1 million-plus annually at Tucker-Castleberry. "No one is hanging over you to get your work done," Livezey says. "We expect our staff to do their jobs, do it right and still get a lot of latitude. It's one reason we've been so successful and have had employees stay with us for so long. We're not a company that micro-manages."
The lack of managerial positions also means a lack of people gunning for said posts, Lego notes. Thus, there are no ongoing games of political football at Tucker-Castleberry. "We're all our own bosses with the way the company is run," Lego adds. "Tuck allows us to do that. Everyone takes responsibility for doing their job. It's a different kind of place. That's the beauty of working at Tucker-Castleberry. No backstabbing, no politics. Just get the job out and do it right."
