27 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® SEPTEMBER 2020 Growth Doesn’t Happen by Itself Adapted from Information by Heron Instruments The history of Heron Instruments reminds us where we stand, where we have been, and where we are going. Knowing the history to which we belong, helps give us meaningful perspective. How can you know where you are going if you don’t know where you have been? Looking back at Heron’s history has undoubtedly shaped the vision for the company, its strategy, and how they do business. The founder of Heron Instruments, Donald Toon, still comes into the office to visit with staff and look at the most recent project the R&D (research and development) Team is working on. He knows every employee well enough to have a conversation and ask about their family, and they all know him as a genuine, caring man with strong ethics. In a time where speed, efficiency, production levels, and competition predict how a company needs to be managed, Heron chooses to look at its rich history to help plan and shape the future, and to overcome current challenges. There is a large photograph of Donald in the boardroom with a quote saying, “$1000 if it works, and nothing if it doesn’t.” This was his standard reply when clients would ask how much it would cost for him to design and build a custom instrument to solve a particular issue. He only wanted to get paid if he was successful in solving the problem. Heron Instruments started designing, manufacturing, and selling groundwater monitoring instruments 25 years ago, in Donald’s basement. He put all of his savings, and any other money he had tucked away for retirement, into his new venture. Armed with scientific knowledge, and plenty of experience in the groundwater industry, it didn’t take long for the company to expand, and they moved some operations to the garage adjacent to his home. A few years later, the company’s continued steady pace demanded more manufacturing space and employees. To help navigate through these times of growth, Donald always referred to his personal ethics. To this day, the company is proud to guide itself using the same fundamental traditions embedded in its history by Donald. The company continued its expansion in 2012, with a new 10,000-square-foot facility, which is currently meeting the needs of the global industry every day. To lead with a sense of history is not to be a slave to the past, but rather, to acknowledge its power; because growth doesn’t happen by itself. Donald was the original architect of the company’s ethical values and shaped the foundation of how customers and employees are treated. ENV The 2002 version of the dipper-T next to its 2020 counterpart.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDk4Mzk=