April 28, 2014
Shop Talk
Q&A with Paul Hanlon, Blue Hive Strategic Environments
Paul Hanlon, President and CEO, BlueHive Strategic Environments, Worcester
By Rick Saia
Economic growth is all about building. That also means building brand, which Paul Hanlon knows about internally and externally, for the customers of BlueHive Strategic Environments — which designs and builds trade show exhibits — as well as retail and corporate interiors. The company counts Sony, Hanover Insurance, Waters Corp. of Milford and Worcester State University among its clients. It also recently invested $1 million into its state-of-the-art manufacturing plant out by Worcester Regional Airport, and last year expanded operations to New York City and Portsmouth, N.H.
Do companies place a lot of importance on trade show exhibits in getting their name out there?
They are now; more than they have in the last couple of years. They know that in order for them to succeed, they have to push marketing — they have to get exposure.
What’s driving the recent growth for BlueHive?
People getting back to feeling comfortable about the economy. They realize they have to market their product, and in our particular case, some of the acquisitions we made and bringing in some of the (added) talent, which has allowed us to expand our business beyond its exhibits as well as high-end millwork. So we not only can build someone's trade show exhibit … We just opened up five restaurants in New York City in the last month. So what I've done is create a different business model based on the economy, but drawing all the talent from Worcester.
A recent statement from your company addressed the economic potential of the Worcester area. What do you see as some of the area’s marketable strengths?
The people, the workforce, the availability of good, hard-working New England people.
One of the chamber of commerce’s goals is to talk about the Worcester story at trade shows. If you were putting together a trade show exhibit for the area, what might it look like?
Oh, gosh! I hire people to design those things (laughs). It really comes down to what their particular goals or what they feel is important, because I can't describe to them what they think is important.
A video on your company’s website says manufacturers find it difficult to understand “brand.” Why do you think that is?
They're so engrossed in the product and trying to produce their product … get it to the customer … that they're losing the opportunity to brand their company. When you see the Coca-Cola bottle, you don't have to read the name anymore. You just know it.
Part of your company’s mission states “Employees first.” That may seem revolutionary or counterintuitive to companies who put their clients first. What’s behind “employees first?”
As the CEO, my goal is to create an environment that people want to work, have fun at, love to laugh and know that they're safe. The greatest human desire is, first, to be safe. The second greatest human desire is to be appreciated. As CEO, I will make my employees feel safe (so) that they don't have to look over their shoulder, but to look forward. If they do look over their shoulder, I've got their back. And to make certain I appreciate what they're doing. I also focus on making sure the vendors know I support them. If I tell them I'm going to pay their bills, I pay their bills. As CEO, if I have the greatest people, most motivated people, suppliers that will be there for us in bad times and in good, our clients get the best service.
Which industry or industries pose the biggest challenge — or maybe gives you the most “fun” — in capturing what they want in either a trade show exhibit or a work environment?
There is no favorite. Every project that comes in is custom. Every project that comes in is brand new, at least for me. But that's part of the energy of our company. Everything coming in this door is brand new, first of its kind, everyone's enthralled by getting it produced.n
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