[00:00:05] Speaker A: Hello, everybody, and welcome to Distribution Unpacked. My name is Charles McLaughlin and with me today is Zach Meyers, the senior director of sales for Solaris. Zach, thank you so much for coming on the show today.
[00:00:15] Speaker B: Charles, thank you very much for having me. This is awesome.
[00:00:17] Speaker A: Well, we’re thrilled to have you. Why don’t you take a quick moment to introduce yourself and your role in Solaris and within the wholesale distribution channel.
[00:00:27] Speaker B: Sure. So Solaris is a manufacturer of bath tissue and paper towels.
And interestingly enough, my job really, even though it’s national accounts, is really focused on channel strategy. So I work directly with SP Richards to make sure that what we’re doing for you guys is getting to your customer and getting to their customer.
[00:00:46] Speaker A: That’s a very important role. Right. Making it all the way down to the end user. That’s right. I want to kick off today by talking about markets, trends. Things are always changing. It seems faster than ever. Right. In this industry. So what are some of the market trends that are most impacting your business and where are you choosing to focus?
[00:01:06] Speaker B: You know, that’s a great question. It’s kind of funny because when you think about toilet paper, you really don’t think about too many trends. Right. Because the most important trend is having it right when you need it. But I think, interestingly enough, what has happened is the retail side has really come up with this notion that they need what’s called tad, which is through air dried technology.
We have that, but it’s now hard to get for everybody in the market. So the folks that really launched it, you know, 15, 20 years ago, they are struggling to get that technology, and so are we. And so what’s really good about Solaris is that we are one of the world’s largest, if not the largest manufacturer of tissue in. In the world. Right. And so when you think about tissue, the paper itself is what gives the absorbency. And so the trend of everybody going to this tad, which is through air dried, really sort of is now not a trend because nobody can get it. So we’ve got all the base paper that we can stand. Right. And so our ability to get to the customer is better than most because of that.
[00:02:16] Speaker A: Got it. So what do you attribute to the rise in demand of tad and then what are some of the ways that you’re kind of working around the supply shortage right now?
[00:02:25] Speaker B: Yeah. So, you know what’s funny about TAD is that it gives a really nice dry hand feel and so it really softens up, especially whether it’s a hardwound roll towel or a multi fold towel. And so when folks try it and their hands are dry, they think, oh, this is great. But when your hands are wet, it doesn’t know the difference. Right. And so I think, interestingly enough, the fact that we don’t really have TAD and we were late to the game in developing it is a benefit for us because we’ve never had to go without. Yeah. So the folks that have had it for the long time have really been without it now for the short term. And so we’ve already stayed the course on what we’re doing.
[00:03:09] Speaker A: Got it. So you’re already working with our sales team to give a better alternative to our customers.
That’s great. So we talked a little bit about some of those trends, but I kind of want to shift a little bit more to some of the markets that you plan. I mean, everyone needs toilet paper.
[00:03:22] Speaker B: That’s right.
[00:03:23] Speaker A: And towel and tissue and all of that. But when you look at some of the core vertical markets that we have here in the, in the distribution channel, whether it’s your enterprise, offices, education, health, healthcare, government, what are some of those vertical markets that you guys are focused on and how are those demands unique to that channel?
[00:03:42] Speaker B: Yeah. So I think when you look at the basket of goods that we can deliver to a customer, I think it’s important to sort of think about what you would use at home. Right. So bath tissue and facial tissue, by far, we’re as good or better than anybody in the country. And you look at sort of that hospitality, you look at health care and you look at probably like a multifamily and even some of the businesses, like away from home businesses. That’s where we really win. Right. And so you think about everybody, to your point earlier said everybody needs toilet paper. Yeah, everybody needs facial tissue too. Right. Because it’s right there on the desk or right there in the room. And so that’s something that we’re very proud of.
[00:04:28] Speaker A: Great. And so you kind of mentioned a little bit about how you guys win. What I’m kind of curious to know is how can our customers, those, you know, those dealers in the wholesale space, how can they succeed with your product line?
[00:04:40] Speaker B: Yeah. So I think if you look at the buyer in the marketplace, Right. When you go to the grocery store and get something for yourself, you don’t really look at what’s recycled content. Right. And so when you look at Solaris as a whole, we have rapidly renewable fiber, which is virgin pulp, it’s acacia and eucalyptus blend.
And so it’s Bright and white and soft and strong.
When you compare it to what’s out there in the marketplace, they have a little bit more of a gray look to them because of all the recycled content. And so you think about those choosers at the grocery store, they look for the softest and the brightest and the whitest. Well, that’s what we have in spades. Right. We’ve got that all over the place. And so I think that’s really where we win is because we’ve got stuff that is a better quality and it’s usually a better price point because we’ve gone to the market with market based pricing instead of writing a bunch of contracts.
[00:05:33] Speaker A: Got it. So it’s kind of up to our customers to understand that, hey, this is some of those key metrics you’re looking for, the whiteness, the brightness that you can win with bringing Solaris to the market.
[00:05:45] Speaker B: That’s right.
[00:05:46] Speaker A: That’s great. So, as we are wrapping up today, I wanted to make sure that you had the floor just for a quick minute if there’s anything else that you wanted to bring up about Solaris or about your role in the distribution channel, anything that you want to bring to our community as we close today.
[00:06:04] Speaker B: Yeah. You know, I think honestly, when you think about quality, you know, there’s, there’s the sort of big three that’s out there that we compete against, and then there’s sort of that next tier down. We’re, we’re sort of in the middle between the two of them. We’ve got the high quality, but we also got the market based pricing strategy. And so a lot of people get confused about sort of who Solaris is.
[00:06:26] Speaker A: Right.
[00:06:26] Speaker B: And I think it’s important to really realize that we are all about quality. Yeah. You know, and our people are out in the field day in and day out, working with your people to make sure that your customers are taken care of. Not a lot of people can say that anymore because they’ve gone to an inside sales model or, you know, some sort of electronic medium where they’re, you know, really trying to reach out to the customers. But we have folks out in the field, day in and day out, that are going out and making those calls with your folks.
[00:06:54] Speaker A: That’s great. It’s those sales relationships, it’s that commitment to quality that’s really going to get ahead.
[00:07:00] Speaker B: That’s exactly right.
[00:07:01] Speaker A: Well, Zach, thank you so much for your time today. It was great chatting with you and thank you all for watching.
[00:07:05] Speaker B: My pleasure. Thank you, guys.
[00:07:06] Speaker A: Yeah, have a great day. Everybody.
