ssdilv

Listen in as Mike talks about Square D’s suite of products, with a focus on the key differentiators of the company’s smart breaker. He also speaks on Square D’s reliability as a manufacturer of electrical distribution solutions, claiming that “if I get two phone calls a year from somebody saying a product is defective, that’s a lot.”

Finally, Mike discusses the company’s efforts to adapt to and continue to scale in a post-COVID world.

Topics Discussed:

• 01:11 Products offered by Square D by Schneider Electric
• 05:43 What makes Square D’s breakers cutting-edge
• 13:27 What makes Square D reliable
• 19:53 Scaling the company in the new normal

Connect with Mike Razzano

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-razzano-075b7a15/
• Schneider Electric - https://www.se.com/us/en/
• Square D - https://www.se.com/us/en/brands/squared/

Connect with SSDi:

• Website - https://ssdilv.com/
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ssdilv/
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ssdilv
• Twitter - https://twitter.com/ssdilv
• YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNFzcSFmxn3uPnt2hrnpFnA

Key Quotes:

• Square D by Schneider Electric is known for its energy-saving capabilities and products, and our go-green initiatives for our plants and our customers’ plants.
• I like working with Square D by Schneider Electric. I really like this company for a lot of reasons. One of them is reliability: If I get two phone calls a year from somebody saying a product is defective, that’s a lot.

Then, after giving a brief history of W. A. Brown and how they eventually became associated with SSDi, Paul expresses excitement at the potential for future growth and innovation that typically comes with a small and flexible team like ours.

Paul goes on to speak on his keys to success as a salesman and decades-long business owner, which include empathy, service, curiosity, and creativity.

Topics Discussed: 

• 00:38 An introduction to Paul Brown
• 02:33 About W. A. Brown & Son, INC.
• 06:40 How SSDi came to improve upon the brown box
• 11:25 SSDi’s curious and service-oriented culture towards its employees and customers
• 14:46 Paul’s background in the industry
• 21:46 Having SSDi’s system put into a competitor’s box
• 23:55 Innovation through curiosity
• 28:15 Inspiring creativity
• 32:46 Why Paul transitioned from walk-in coolers into electrical panels

Connect with SSDi:

• Website - https://www.ssdilv.com/
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ssdilv/?hl=en
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ssdilv
• Twitter - https://twitter.com/ssdilv
• YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNFzcSFmxn3uPnt2hrnpFnA

Key Quotes by Paul:

• The biggest benefit I see is being affiliated with a small organization at this point in time that actually listens to ideas and has an interest not only in how improvements can be made, but in their employees’ well-being.
• Customers pay the bills. Employees are the biggest asset you’re ever going to have.
• There’s no reason to recreate the wheel if somebody has a product that you can make better.
• The money is not made in the back room. And the money is not typically fully made out at the dispensers. It is made inside the store.
• Creativity is brought about by going out and being hands-on with the product and the people.

Depending on the customer, the cabinet’s layout can have as many as eight large doors with small access doors into the breakers, wiring, and other components within it. Lockable handles keep out unwanted personnel. One can also join cabinets via raceways between each if circuits need to be added.

The functions of the cabinet’s buttons range from lighting overrides to an estop and a reset for the fueling control system. Lights on the front of the panel easily signal whether or not an override is needed.

If needed, one can mount conduits, voltage controls, gutters and other features that cover their specific situation.

Topics Discussed: 

• 00:30 A general overview of the cabinet
• 04:14 How the cabinet’s size was determined
• 05:38 Transporting the cabinet with ease
• 06:45 Choosing a color
• 09:29 How lights on the front of the panel increases convenience
• 10:19 Mounting additional controls on top of the cabinet
• 11:00 The main distribution panel that supplies power to the cabinet
• 12:19 Troubleshooting tips
• 14:30 Other things to note about the cabinet’s exterior
• 17:38 Moving the cabinet around if needed

Connect with SSDi:

• Website
• Instagram 
• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube

Key Quotes:

• We’ve had customers who put their stuff on the second floor and they had to have the cabinet onsite before the roof went on. Well, that’s so premature, but they didn’t have a choice because they couldn’t get it up there any other way than by crane. Whereas, with ours, you can carry them up the stairs.
• We want the customer to fully understand what they’re getting and also realize that we’re not going anywhere. It could be two, three years from now when they give us a call, and we’ll still pick up the phone and help them troubleshoot [their cabinet].

In this episode Jerry, Dorothy, and Adam do a deep dive into Space Saver Distribution, Inc. (SSDI), a manufacturer of electrical distribution systems.

The conversation touches on how SSDI’s systems benefit clients of all types, from gas stations to convenience stores to car washes. They also discuss the power-saving capabilities of the product, and how its design makes maintenance easier for electricians. Finally, they explain what separates SSDI from its competitors.

Brought to you by SSDi Space Saver Distribution Inc. 

Topics Discussed:

• 01:19 What we build at SSDI
• 04:40 How SSDI helps buildings of all kinds save space in unconventional areas
• 06:48 How gas stations can benefit from the product
• 10:08 Saving power via “daylight harvesting”
• 13:29 Why our cabinets are designed for electricians
• 19:10 Incorporating modifications and other good ideas by electricians into the product
• 22:67 What makes our systems custom?
• 26:38 Why we label the cabinets extensively
• 30:22 Everybody needs electrical distribution
• 32:54 What makes us exceptional?

Key Quotes by Jerry, Dorothy, and Adam:

• We take electrical panels that are typically mounted on a wall and integrate them into one overall cabinet, saving you space, and take all the controls and integrate that into the same cabinet to allow the electrician to have ease of wiring, etc. ~Adam
• We provide customers with the knowledge that they don’t even realize they need to know. When they go into their room, they don’t realize that they’re missing that space till they get to see what we do. ~Dorothy
• Electrical distribution doesn’t need to go into a back room or into an office. It can go just about anywhere, including outside restrooms and hallways that nobody ever uses. We try to find unconventional areas that will never get used that we can put our product in to free up all that space. ~Jerry
• We will work with the electricians during construction and preconstruction to be able to have a conversation so that the underground can be done towards benefiting them when they get the box. It benefits them as an electrician if they have that knowledge. ~Dorothy
• Our systems are custom because it fits their needs and beyond. It’s not a standard product that you just pick off the shelf. We don’t sell widgets. ~Adam
• It doesn’t matter whether you’re building a gas station, a convenience store, a grocery store, or a hospital. Everybody needs electrical distribution—every building, every business. No one gets away with not having power. ~Dorothy
• It’s about people. What it comes down to, for us, is: “Who is that person and what do they need?” ~Jerry