Kenneth Paine, president, Hy-Tech Products and Industrial Heat Sources

Kenneth Paine, president, Hy-Tech Products and Industrial Heat Sources

FINALIST: Distribution and Manufacturing
As the president of two highly profitable businesses, Ken Paine believes the key to his success has been, “staying the course and doing the right thing, all the time.” This mantra has motivated him through significant business challenges, from losing $30,000 in his startup’s first year to navigating the ebbs and flows of the economy. In fact, it was losing his job at a roofing company that inspired Paine to found his first company, Hy-Tech Products.
A veteran of the commercial and industrial roofing industry, Paine knew that roofing contractors across the country struggled with the same issues he did: unreliable equipment and a lack of qualified, trustworthy support. Seeing this as an opportunity to carve out his own piece of the market, he launched Hy-Tech Products as a roofing equipment distributor to provide this world-class service and support.
An inexperienced business owner, Paine learned some lessons the hard way – the value of consistent reporting for one. While his first year was a losing one, by always demanding the highest levels of service from himself and all his employees, he was able to overcome the early deficit and grow sales annually.
For Paine, top customer service requires always providing world-class products, so product innovation is a major contributor to Hy-Tech’s sales growth. By spinning off a highly successful e-commerce roof drains website, for example, he created a revenue generator that now accounts for 28 percent of Hy-Tech’s overall business. This business, Industrial Heat Sources, has grown 100 percent in the last two years.
Paine believes the best listeners are the best innovators, so he also spends a lot of time monitoring industry trends and soliciting employee and customer feedback to guide the company’s direction.
How to reach: Hy-Tech Products, www.hy-techroof.com; and Industrial Heat Sources, www.ihshotair.com.