MESA Products, Inc.

MESA Products, Inc. is a small, privately held business

that designs, manufactures and installs cathodic protection

systems which control the corrosion of metal surfaces in

underground and submerged structures, such as pipelines

and tanks. MESA sells products and materials nationwide;

technical and installation services are provided regionally.

The company’s headquarters and production facility are

based in Tulsa, Okla.; branch offices are in Houston, Texas;

Tallahassee, Fla.; and Los Angeles, Calif. 

Succeeding in a Mature Industry

While the cathodic protection industry in the United

States is a relatively mature market with limited new business,

MESA has grown from a one-man service company in 1979

to a workforce of 75, largely by focusing on customer

satisfaction, improving cycle time and productivity, and

continually exploiting opportunities to improve its market

share. Since its inception, MESA’s philosophy has been to

provide its customers with a quality product and outstanding

service at a fair price. To achieve this goal, MESA focuses on

teamwork and shared goals that include continuous

improvement, continued growth and long-term success. 

• Sales have increased 93 percent since 2000, growing

total revenues from $14 million to $27 million in 2006. 

• Return on equity improved from -5 percent in 1999 to

more than 25 percent in 2005 and presently exceeds that of

industry competitors by 20 percent. 

In a mature industry, success relies on forming and

maintaining long-term relationships with key customers and

suppliers. MESA has earned the loyalty of both by delivering

“industry leading” customer service and emphasizing

customer satisfaction, mutually profitable alliances, and

ethical behavior. MESA’s five strategic goals are key factors 

in determining its success: Customer service, including 

on-time shipping, quality, and customer satisfaction;

relationships, personal, friendly relationships resulting 

in customer retention and supplier performance and

satisfaction; performance excellence, including reduced

cycle time and improved productivity; work environment,

including employee training, satisfaction and ethical behavior

and opportunistic growth, including profits and sales.

MESA uses a quarterly customer satisfaction survey to

measure customer satisfaction as well as identify its

customers’ most important concerns – quality, service, price,

and safety. Through continual communication and ongoing

measurement of its performance as a business partner, MESA

has become the preferred supplier to its customers. 

• Customer satisfaction surveys show that 94 percent of

customers prefer doing business with MESA due to the total

quality of the relationship.

• From 2002 to 2005, the company’s Customer Satisfaction

Index increased from 80 to 88, far outperforming the

American Customer Satisfaction Index of Energy Utilities,

which is at 73.

2006

Award Winner

National Institute of Standards and Technology l Technology Administration l Department of Commerce

Baldrige National Quality Program

Malcolm Baldrige National

Quality Award

Named after the 26th Secretary of Commerce, the

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award was

established by Congress in 1987 to promote excellence in organizational performance, recognize the

achievements and results of U.S. organizations,

and publicize successful performance strategies.

For more information, see http://baldrige.nist.gov/
• In 2006, MESA led its best competitor in 17 of 17 attributes evaluated in the survey process. 

• From 2000 to 2005, retention of key customers increased

from 93 percent to 100 percent. 

• Since 1997, total sales from existing customers have

grown from 70 percent to more than 90 percent.

A monthly balanced report card helps the company to

review its performance and find ways to improve. For

example, the report card process showed that MESA was

routinely missing a target of shipping products within three

days due to a lack of available inventory. MESA constructed

a 5,000-square foot covered storage area, improving

inventory availability and greatly facilitating timely

shipments. 

A variety of tools help to improve performance, including

“lean” manufacturing to reduce waste, certification for

international quality standards by the International

Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Baldrige

principles of performance excellence. 

• Since 2000, MESA’s on-time shipping performance has

improved from 93 percent to 97 percent; error rates have

gone down 50 percent.

• Throughput time in the magnesium assembly area has

improved 82 percent and assembly time of instrumentation

equipment has improved by 60 percent. 

• Since 2002, major complaints have declined from 0.75

percent of orders to less than 0.50 percent of orders. 

MESA’s senior leaders act as role models and use many

means to communicate the company’s values, direction and

performance expectations to employees and suppliers. 

Legal and ethical behavior is spelled out through the MESA

Code of Conduct: Create a safe and enjoyable workplace;

Obey laws and support and protect our community and

environment; Deal respectfully with people; Ethical and

honest relationships with our stakeholders. 

Qualified, Satisfied Employees

A stable workforce is crucial to long-term success, and

MESA has created a culture of empowerment and learning to

attract and retain valuable employees. MESA shows its

commitment to employees by encouraging a positive, teambased working environment and investing in development

and training. All employees are empowered to exercise

personal judgment in taking corrective actions and resolving

complaints. Other incentives include:

• MESA provides a doctor and registered nurse on site

one afternoon each week to treat the medical needs of

employees and their families, at no cost to employees.

(MESA has never experienced an accident resulting in

permanent injury or death, with the last reportable accident

experienced in 2004.)

• Thirty-five percent of annual net pre-tax profits are

distributed among employees based on performance and

position. Since 2000, annual distributions have ranged from

7 percent to 18 percent of annual salary. 

• Career development satisfaction results from MESA’s

employee satisfaction survey range from 76 to 94 percent;

compared to industry averages of approximately 50 percent. 

Tied closely to career development is training. The

company has established an extensive employee training

facility and calls on its most technically qualified employees

to conduct in-house training. It also makes the facility and its

trainers available to customers and industry groups for

seminars and workshops, underscoring the company's

commitment to the entire corrosion control industry.

• According to the American Society for Training and

Development, the industry average for training in 2004 was

$955 per employee. In 2006, MESA spent more than $1,700

per employee. 

• In a 2006 survey conducted by a third party research

organization, 69 percent of MESA employees described

themselves as highly satisfied compared to industry average

of 45 percent. 

• Across the 17 employee satisfaction attributes measured

by the survey, MESA employees scored 20 or more percent

higher than the industry norm, placing them in the top 10

percent of respondents in all the companies surveyed. 

Industry and Community

Leadership

MESA assembles more than 75,000 magnesium anodes

each year, a product line that accounts for 30 percent of the

company’s material revenues. Beginning in 2002, MESA was

instrumental in identifying and addressing an industry-wide

issue of poor-quality magnesium anodes. Working with its

key suppliers, the company implemented a comprehensive

quality assurance specification for product acceptance,

resulting in a significant improvement in the quality of the

company's anodes. MESA then mounted an industry-wide

awareness campaign to alert manufacturers and end users

about the issue. As a result, the quality of anodes throughout

the industry has improved.

MESA also is a leader in its own community. In 2005,

MESA supported 17 key community activities. More than 50

percent of its employees participated in activities such as

Food for Families, the Oklahoma Blood Institute, and

Adopt-a-Family, and donated $45,000 to eight community

organizations – an average of more than $600 per employee.

For its corporate citizenship, MESA has received many

honors and awards, including Best Corporate Citizen 

(2004, Tulsa People), Outstanding Organization Award 

from the National Association of Corrosion Engineers, 

and Manufacturer of the Year from the Tulsa Chamber of

Commerce.

For more information:

Terry F. May, President and Chief Executive Officer

MESA Products, Inc.

P.O. Box 52608

Tulsa, OK 74152-0608

Telephone: (918) 627-3188

Fax: (918) 627-2676

Email: mayt@mesaproducts.com

Web site: http://www.mesaproducts.com