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| Faisal Saleem, speech |
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| LATICRETE Australia team building |
During 2018, ONE LATICRETE ONE FAMILY events are being held throughout all LATICRETE global locations where executives of the company come to talk with our team members about the history, success, culture and future growth plans of the company. The main message is that LATICRETE, despite geographical distance, is ‘one’ team with the same vision, mission and values.
Last week, LATICRETE Australia hosted their event. It kicked off with presentations from Emma Tschannen, General Manager of LATICRETE Australia, Henry B. Rothberg, Sr. Vice President Training of LATICRETE International, and Faisal Saleem, Vice President of LATICRETE International.
Emma Tschannen, G.M of LATICRETE Australia, welcomed our International guests Henry Rothberg and wife Sheila and Faisal Saleem as well as the Australian team to the One LATICRETE One Family event. The team joined in with Emma to welcome the guests in saying “We are one but we are many, and from all the lands we come, we’ll share a dream and sing with one voice, I am, you are, we are Australian”.
Henry B. Rothberg, Sr. VP of Training, then took the team through a series of questions that have been asked: Who are we? What are we going to do to move forward? When did it all begin? He told the story about an innovator and entrepreneur, the late Dr. Henry M. Rothberg, who started LATICRETE in the basement of his family home in the late 1950’s. He spoke about the challenges, the LATICRETE family culture and the future growth plans of the company. Henry thanked each team member for their commitment and spoke about the vital roles that every team member plays in contributing to the success and the growth of LATICRETE.
“I have to remind myself that where we are at LATICRETE today, around the world, is based upon people. I need to address everyone in the room, everyone in this room have all done a great job. Bottom line, thank you as each of you have contributed and made a difference – thank you!” – Henry B. Rothberg, Sr. Vice President of Training.
Faisal Saleem, Vice President LATICRETE International, closed the presentation to the team speaking about the future and growth plans for LATICRETE International team including being the leaders in tile and stone as a single source provider of flooring systems from surface preparation, screed and hardeners, decorative, finishes, resinous flooring and complementary products.
“New products is one part of the plan; if you have a complete line of products, it’s not necessary that you will be successful. I think people, technical expertise / technical know-how and manufacturing processes is something that LATICRETE has, and will help us be #1 within the flooring space, beyond tile and stone.” – Faisal Saleem, Vice President of LATICRETE International
Team Build
The Australian team then participated in a team build session, called ‘Bridging the Gap’, where they broke off into groups to work together to create a ‘Super Highway’. Teams worked with materials they were given, such as pop sticks (ice-cream sticks), rulers, straws, string, glue gun, polystyrene cups and small cardboard. The goal was to create a ‘Super Highway’ which required bridges to be built between 6 tables, within a period of time. The group had to overcome hurdles which were given to them throughout the challenge, and required the team to adapt, communicate and work together to be successful. The ultimate test was to see if a remote racing car was capable of going across the “Super Highway” and the bridges that were built.
The team pulled together and successfully built a “Super Highway” in which the racing car veered through the bridges without any difficulties. The bridges were all given various International Business Unit names, which symbolised despite geographical distance, LATICRETE is ‘one’ team with the same vision, mission and values.
The ultimate challenges through the team build and what every company is faced with on a daily basis is company structure, budgets, communication, team work, procedures and policies. It’s a company’s ability to embrace changes, challenges and adversities to reach the winning goal.
