DICKSON, Tenn.—Ed Smith wore many hats during the three decades he spent in the zinc oxide industry.
Zochem L.L.C.'s now former vice president of sales and marketing has helped steer the company toward its current position as a leader in the zinc oxide industry—a "Dream Team" of sorts, as Zochem President and CEO Mohit Sharma has termed it.
But Smith also handled website direction and freight logistics, sourcing and customer service.
He has turned on the lights in the morning and shut down the furnaces at night.
Along with Sharma, Smith is responsible for modernizing the supplier of varying grades of zinc oxide with better, more emission-free production equipment.
And together they have led Zochem, with production facilities in Tennessee and Brampton, Ontario, to $350 million in annual sales.
But Smith now takes on a role with which he is completely unfamiliar: retirement.
"I grew up honest and frugal and hardworking," Smith told Rubber News Jan. 16. "You treat people with respect and fairness. There are no shortcuts ... all I have is my ethics. You need to build trust, as this is not a business where we are here to sell today and walk away tomorrow.
"We are here for our customers day after day, week after week, and year after year."
And, apparently, decade after decade.
"When you enjoy what you are doing as much as Ed Smith has, it's tough to make a last curtain call," Sharma said. "Win or lose, you always want to know you have the support of your teammate, no matter what the challenge is ahead.