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Some lucky area boys and girls will soon be tearing around their neighborhoods on new bicycles thanks to the efforts of sales and marketing people who represent the Conair Group (Franklin and Cranberry Township, PA) around the world.
Sales reps from across the US, India and Mexico, together with colleagues working in Western Pennsylvania, recently participated in a charity team-building event that had them building 10 bikes that were immediately donated to Lizzy’s Bikes of Seven Fields (Cranberry Twp. area). This non-profit organization is associated with the Mars area Kiwanis group, and is committed to making new or refurbished bicycles available to needy children from 2 to 12 years of age who live in or near the Butler County region.
“Every year, we try to bring our sales team in for training, planning and business meetings,” explained Sam Rajkovich, VP Sales & Marketing for Conair. “Since most of them work remotely and independently, this kind of meeting is tremendously important and team building is an essential part of it. We always have social events that allow people to interact and have fun in between the serious meetings. But this year, we decided to do something different – something with a purpose – and that’s how we came to be building bicycles for kids in need.”
Conair is a global equipment manufacturer, with its main production plant in Franklin and its headquarters in Cranberry Township. The 60-year-old firm sells its products to companies around the world who make things out of plastic.
Building Bikes Builds Team Spirit
Unassembled Huffy bicycles were provided by Magnovo Training Group of Indianapolis, which was hired by Conair to organize the program. The sales group, which numbered around 100, was divided into teams that competed in various games of skill, chance and intelligence to win the parts needed to build a whole bike. The best of the teams were also able to win immunity from various handicaps – like being blindfolded – that would eventually make assembling the bikes more difficult.
In the end, after many laughs and gaffes, and despite fumbling with nuts, bolts and tools, the group was able to finish their assembly tasks and the new bikes, complete with handlebar streamers and helmets, were ready for the kids. Some participants were so touched that they added cash donations totaling $1000, which were also donated to Lizzy’s Bikes.
“This project was a lot of fun for everyone involved,” Rajkovich said, “but more than that, we had the satisfaction of knowing we were doing something good for our neighbors. That was really rewarding.”
The Conair Group (www.conairgroup.com) is a leading global supplier of auxiliary equipment for plastics processors, including resin drying systems, blenders, feeders and material-conveying systems, temperature-control equipment and granulators. Extrusion solutions include line-control systems, film and sheet scrap-reclaim systems and downstream equipment for pipe and profile extrusion. Over 450 individual products solve problems, save energy, cut waste and are easy to use. Conair is also an international company, with long-standing operations in Europe, Asia and Latin America. The industry’s most complete product line, top-flight engineering and unbeatable service, all combine to give processors the confidence they need to succeed in today’s competitive global marketplace.
