Business growth is the process of improving some measure of an enterprise’s success. Over the last 5 year CEI has been innovating, growing and expanding. One of the biggest growths has been in our sheet metal department. This growth has shown in CEI’s expansion in the yard.

  In the early 70s, CEI began to innovate in the sheet metal side of construction. They saw that this was another division of the business that could help them expand and grow into a versatile business. Since then there has been the exponential growth of this department. It is the highlight of much of our best work. In 2015, CEI moved the company out of the small office and shop space that they had occupied for about 36 years. One of the biggest reason is we they were outgrowing there shop. There was little storage for materials, they were unable to upgrade to larger equipment and so on. The company moved to a much large office space with a large pole barn in the back that could house much more storage and equipment. Only 2 years later, they expanded again adding another pole barn to the yard for extended storage for metal and other materials.

Now, we have walked into 2019. The metal business is continuing to expand and grow. With purchases of bigger and better equipment we are out growing the space again. CEI has looked to expand their shop with a new addition to the sheet metal side of the building. For everyone at CEI this is a very exciting event for 2019. Our permits have all come back for the warehouse expansion. As soon as weather breaks we will start the addition. The plan is to have it done as soon as possible.

Every year the CEI senior leadership team gathers together to discuss our annual kick-off meeting and the yearly theme. The theme is generally a phrase, word or mantra for our employees for the year. It serves as a reminder of the goals that we set for our company every year. With goals being set in 2019, the main theme that came across for our partners and management team members was to simply “keep going.” CEI is on an amazing growth track and with the economy, in line, we are moving toward being even better. As a company we don’t want to deviate from what we are doing, we want to continue on the path toward greater excellence. With that goal in mind, we decided on the “Keep Swinging for the Fences” theme.

For most baseball fans this phrase is easy to understand. But for the non-fanatics, this could be a confusing phrase that seemingly has nothing to do with CEI, its mission, its customer base, or roofing and sheet metal work. The phrase “Swing for the Fences” is a baseball term that has its origin beginning in the 20th century with early baseball reporting. Since then it is grown in popularity to have meaning not related to baseball.

In baseball terms, it means to hit the ball as hard as possible with hopes of hitting a home run. The figurative meaning is to “go all out” or give maximum effort into what you are doing. The task at hand is like stepping up to the plate and you always want to step up with your best self. Then when you go to swing the bat, it is like doing the task. When you attempt to do the task you want to bring the maximum effort.

For CEI, “Keep Swinging for the Fences” means a couple of things…

First, it recognizes the effort that is already been put in. “Keep” is an important word because there is not a time where we weren’t trying our best. It’s just important to bring that motivation and hard work into every day. Just because you continue to hit home runs does not mean that you should take a step back and not bring the max effort into swinging. When it comes to being the best, you have to be the best in the little details. Bring the max effort into every day will show when you are trying to hit it out of the park in that job, project, month, year or with that customer.

2019 marked the 6th year that CEI has been hosting annual kick-off meetings. 6 years ago when the meetings began they were put together to be a Sandler leadership training day. In the last 2 years, CEI has taken on the planning process on our own. The first year this posed a challenge. It was a daunting task to specify exactly what to address, how to bring the team together and how to make sure that everyone felt it related to their job at the end of the day.

The theme of the 2018 meeting was “Everything Counts!” it was a year of refocusing. The previous year there was no annual meeting. We looked at the big pictures and all of its components and how they worked together. Everything Counts symbolized all the details and spoke to each one as equally important.

2019 brought a new challenge, 2018 was CEI’s best year yet. With a big focus on the details and expectations high, the year turned out with an amazing ending. In 2019 we wanted to repeat that. It’s important to keep motivation high and to keep working hard even when you are at the peak.

CEI’s 2019 Annual Kick-Off Meeting was hosted at Cleary University on February 8th, 2019. The team is getting together to do team building activities, express job concerns, talk about the industry and learn about how to lead there a team more effectively. The kick-off meeting is for the leadership teams at CEI. This includes Management, Office Staff, Estimators, Service Staff, Superintendents, and Foreman. It gives time for each department to gather together, work together and express concerns that they have. A big part of the meeting is to hear the other department and how they work and understand the importance of each member of the CEI team.

In addition to the meeting this year, we are adding a charity piece. We are packing backpacks for Comfort Cases. They support foster kids by providing them with supplies as they transition into new homes. Their story is touching and CEI is proud to support them and their mission.

2019’s theme is “Keep Swinging for the Fences”. The theme is a reminder to simply “keep going.” CEI is on an amazing growth track and with the economy, in line, we are moving toward being even better. As a company we don’t want to deviate from what we are doing, we want to continue on the path toward greater excellence. We want to keep moving up and keep motivation high. Just because last year was our best does not mean it can’t get better.

Overall, our kick-off meeting was a success. At CEI we are always working hard, pushing for excellence and are dedicated to “Keep Swinging for the Fences!