The 6 Values That Motivate our Family Built Business

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

The History of Air-Way

At Air-Way Manufacturing, we have a strong commitment to providing innovative, quality driven and value-minded hydraulic solutions. Our company operates with the guidance of our six core values, which are designed to reflect the family minded culture that is a result of experienced leadership from the founding families. By continuing to develop best practices and reevaluate our decision making processes as necessary, we are able to meet the demands of our customers, employees, and community. 

1. Integrity

At Air-Way, integrity means making a promise and following through; therefore, our core values run deep from leadership all the way to new hires.  This ensures that every cog in the machine is working towards meeting a common goal and the little details aren’t lost along the way. By emphasizing the importance of integrity, every customer, vendor, and team member are delivered what they are promised. However, companies are made of humans and things will not be perfect all the time.  But with our commitment to integrity, we promise to always make it right– no questions asked. So what does this look like in everyday practice? We keep confidential information within the right circles, we are honest and provide clear communication with our employees and customers, and we  give credit where credit is due. These practices among others are the building blocks that create the strong integrity Air-Way has been known for since 1950. 

2. Safety

Making safety a core value at Air-Way means it’s priority number one when it comes to making any business decision. Zero corners are cut at every stage of every process, making sure that our employees are confident that their well-being is of our highest concern. This is accomplished through transparent communication and providing proper training regularly. Accidents can happen when people are unaware of the hazards in their surroundings and how to avoid them. However, when all the risks are taken into account and made clear to everyone on the team, the chance for dangerous situations and injury are decreased significantly. It’s Air-Way’s mission to prevent all work-place accidents by offering extensive training allowing all employees to feel comfortable in their environment. Air-Way leadership knows that a safe team leads to better employee retention and an efficient business model.  

3. Teamwork

All silos and their employees need to be on the same page through clear communication to have effective teamwork. If even one person is working against the whole, it can be a huge drain on energy, leading to decreased output and company performance. This can become a vicious cycle if left unattended. Check out some ways Air-Way promotes effective teamwork:

• Investing in special skill sets and trainings that cover missing experience
• Innovating as a group to allow for input from employees doing the work
• Setting aside time for concerns to be addressed to assure clear communication

A suggestion from The Powers Company article on culture in manufacturing: “When people from different areas of the manufacturing floor are connected, creativity will flow and teamwork will be encouraged.” Air-Way works toward this goal by providing cross training, allowing more employees to understand the entire production process. Not only does this improve efficiency, it allows our employees to feel like knowledgeable, valuable, and irreplaceable members of a cohesive team. 

4. Transparency

At Air-Way, we pride ourselves on being a transparent company, so that anyone involved in the process feels a sense of unity. Management goes the extra mile to recognize employee successes. Giving credit where it is due creates a positive feedback loop that leads to people enjoying the work they are doing and motivates managers to find new ways to keep rewarding exceptional achievements. We offer more transparency than our competitors by sharing knowledge and mistakes, showing and telling results, maintaining clear communication channels, inviting questions, and documenting processes where necessary. Starting with a transparent team leads to being honest with customers and vendors. Air-Way is proud to offer our expertise with no strings attached allowing for an unmatched experience.  

5. Respect

Airway has been a family owned and operated business for over 70 years. Since we started serving customers, our values have instilled the importance of treating everyone with the courtesy they deserve. Employees do their best work when given the space and support they need. As Rick Dauch, former CEO of Delphi Technologies, quoted by IndustryWeek stated, “It is important for management to understand the workforce is not your enemy; it is your partner.” On a similar note, treating customers and vendors with the same respect that you receive from your own family builds long lasting relationships. Remember - it’s important to keep soft skills in mind when hiring new positions. An employee that has a high emotional intelligence will go a long way in cultivating respect at your company, while a difficult employee that is highly skilled at their job could bring the entire team down. At Air-Way, we strive for workers who are talented at what they do and excel at building their coworkers up.

If this sounds like the team oriented culture you’re looking for, take a look at our current job openings: Careers at Air-Way

6. Trust

At Air-Way, we focus on being reliable and honest to create the most transparent environment possible. Establishing this baseline allows for mutual respect across the company. Having a strong backbone of trust allows our employees to be happy where they work and in turn are willing to give their best for Air-Way. We work hard to instill a deep sense of trust with our customers as well, making sure to always be accountable and available for anything you may need. 

By putting all of our values into practice, we have built a business our customers and vendors can rely on. Contact us today for all your hydraulic fittings needs!