NewTechWood produces composite exterior building products like decking and siding panels made with 95% recycled materials. Since their founding in 2004, the leadership team took a very “grassroots” approach to managing the business. 

After two decades of operation, their company came to a bit of a crossroads: with the way their sales were growing, they needed to better be able to predict supply and production needs on the manufacturing side of the business. With significant YoY growth, they wanted greater assurance that they wouldn’t outsell what their manufacturing team could reasonably produce. 

They decided to take the next step in scaling their business: bringing on a Supply Chain Manager who could establish and manage the company’s forecasting. We filled a few sales roles for them previously, so when they realized the position may be harder to fill than initially anticipated, they reached out for assistance finding the right fit. 

We started our search seeking out candidates with industry-agnostic supply chain experience who led people and worked within commuting distance of Houston, TX, where they’re located. The company’s culture would be the best fit for someone who could “roll with the punches” and mesh with their laid-back, down-to-earth team. While we initially prioritized the annual sales volume of the companies the individuals worked at, our first slate of candidates wasn’t exactly what they were looking for. 

While others on NewTechWood’s leadership team had taken on some of the responsibilities of this role in the past, ultimately this was a brand-new position at their company. After chatting more with their hiring team, we collectively decided to add a few more qualifiers. 

They needed someone capable of both interpreting data and, crucially, developing forecasting and growth models without an existing model to build on. Their Supply Chain Manager would need to be able to harness decades of data into something meaningful they could analyze and create sales and manufacturing projections from. That’s an incredibly niche skillset, especially in a relatively small geographic area. 

Then we stumbled across one of the most important qualifiers: their desire for someone who was English/Chinese bilingual. In addition to the company’s president immigrating from China many years ago, NewTechWood’s sister company—who supplies a significant portion of their raw materials—is currently based in China. 

With all these factors in mind, we sent our second slate of candidates. We’d presented three candidates in the first go-around, bringing them three more to look at in the second batch. 

Once the hiring team interviewed the first candidate from our second slate, they cancelled the other interviews and immediately made him an offer. Astoundingly, he checked every single box on their list: 

• Not only does he fluently speak both English and Chinese, he—like the company’s president—was actually born in China.
• He had a full career before immigrating to the US but already gained 10 years of relevant experience since moving.
• He had experience building forecasting and growth models from the ground up on two separate occasions since coming to the US. 
• He was already living in the Houston area. 
• His company was recently acquired, and rather than wait around to see what happened, he was interested in finding a job elsewhere he felt more secure in. 
• The role he was in at the time gave him significant experience with international supply chains.

Both the candidate and company are still incredibly happy with the placement and what an amazing fit this has been for everyone involved. We continue to support their talent acquisition needs as they growth their market share, expanding into new geographic markets and developing their teams in existing ones.

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