Cover Story
Ready for anything
How Walt Turner creates an environment of engaged employees at Koppers Inc.
By Brian Horn
Smart Business Pittsburgh | February 2010
Page 1 of 4
Growing up on a farm, Walt Turner learned all about teamwork.
“One person can’t do everything,” says Turner, president and CEO of Koppers Inc. “One person does not have all the right answers. It does take teamwork. Absolutely, the foundations I saw happening were if someone needed help, you pitched in and did it. Or, you scheduled, ‘We’re going to do this job tomorrow. You come help me, and then the next day I’ll come help you.’”
In many ways, working on a farm mirrors what it takes for a company to succeed in today’s business world. Everyone works together with a common direction to get the job done.
That’s the attitude that has helped Koppers, a global integrated producer of carbon compounds and treated wood products, to 2008 net sales of $1.3 billion, an increase of $109.2 million or 8.7 percent over the prior year.
Turner enjoys visiting facilities and talking to employees at all levels of the company to encourage camaraderie and teamwork.
“I try to remember names from the last visit,” he says. “That’s what I enjoy the most. Hearing them talk about their work, talk about their job, their families, what’s going on, what they are doing during their casual time. That’s a part of my job I truly enjoy.”
Turner doesn’t view employees as people who work for him or below him. He approaches everyone as equals to create a team atmosphere.
“We are all equals,” he says. “They are out there performing a good job for the company just as I try to do for my job.
“It’s one common direction and making sure we are all doing what it takes to make the company successful.”
Here’s how Turner creates a team environment by engaging employees through communication, knowing his role as CEO and holding employees accountable.
