More Than Fixtures: The Mission Behind PTL Equipment
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Intro:
In this episode, I visited an elevator industry supplier called PTL Equipment in Toccoa, Georgia. I met with Jonathan Wright, the owner of the company, who started in drafting, worked his way up, and later bought the company. I also met with the national sales manager, Jonathan Latham, a veteran of the elevator industry for over 30 years. PTL Equipment is a family-owned business that views its mission as one of faith, fundamentals, and food.
Transcript:
Jonathan Wright (00:00)
We try our best to make things as easy as possible.
We understand their time is more valuable than ours in the way that they have multiple things that go on to make that steel box move up and down safely and fixtures is a small part of it.
Anything we can do to make their ordering experience easier, we try our best to do that.
Jonathan Latham (00:20)
Elevator companies have a lot that they’re doing. And a lot of jobs that they’re working on. So
project managers and sales people in these different various companies are expecting you to do what’s best for them.
And so it’s all about making it easy.
Matt Allred (00:43)
Hello and welcome to Elevator Tools and Tech, a special series from the Elevator Careers Podcast, where we spotlight the latest innovations, tools, suppliers and technology driving the vertical transportation industry. In each episode, we sit down with the creators, engineers and solution providers who are helping elevator companies work smarter, safer and more efficiently. Today I’m off my typical path at a place called Toccoa, Georgia. I’m here to visit an elevator industry supplier called PTL Equipment.
I’ll be meeting with Jonathan Wright, the owner of the company, who started in drafting, worked his way up, and later bought the company. I’ll also be meeting with the national sales manager, Jonathan Latham, a veteran of the elevator industry for over 30 years. PTL Equipment is a family-owned business that views its mission as one of faith, fundamentals, and food. Let’s step inside and take a closer look.
Matt Allred (01:34)
Jonathan, thank you for having me here today. It’s good to meet you in person.
Jonathan Wright (01:37)
Yes, definitely. Thank you for coming to Toccoa.
Matt Allred (01:39)
Yeah, thank you. Seems like a nice little town. Yes, definitely. Well, tell me a little bit about your journey here at PTL. How did you get here and get started?
Jonathan Wright (01:50)
So I actually started in our drafting department back 22 years ago and worked my way up through from drafting. At the time, drafting was a part-time job. Didn’t have enough work to allow me full-time. And so a full-time position came open in the shop, which was our production assistant. At the time, I guess I was eager, wanted to work full-time and applied for that and got it. And that allowed me to learn
all or most of the processes in the shop, most of the machinery, the different processes, but also help the production manager on a daily basis make sure the flow of the shop was going good. I did that for several years, and a position came available in our customer service department.
and through a lot of prayer and considering and talking with Steve Robbins at the time, our customer service manager, I went through the process of interviewing and got that job.
Jonathan Wright (02:49)
Didn’t think I’d like talking with customers on the phone. I was never a person that wanted to pick up the phone and talk or do anything like that, but loved it.
Thrived in that and got to know people over the phone, got to know their voices more than I did their faces for years and stayed in that position for a while.
Jonathan Wright (03:09)
Steve Robbins retired and his position became available as the manager of that area and allowed me the opportunity to pursue that and got that.
and stayed in that position not long at all before John Heffer at the time, who was the previous owner, offered for me to purchase PTL.
Jonathan Wright (03:30)
And that was in May of ’22.
Matt Allred (03:34)
Oh wow, okay. How much did you know about the elevator industry before you came aboard PTL?
Jonathan Wright (03:39)
I had no clue. I just thought those things existed in buildings and I used to ride ’em, push the buttons,
Jonathan Wright (03:46)
Never considered how things were manufactured. Our bread and butter are fixtures, but even from cab to putting the shaft in buildings and whether it’s hydraulic or traction, it’s crazy the amount of work that goes into making a steel box move up and down.
Matt Allred (04:06)
Yeah, and obviously safely, and go to the right place, and there’s a lot to consider there. So tell me a little bit about PTL, its founding. What does PTL stand for?
Jonathan Wright (04:17)
So PTL stands for Praise the Lord. Bob and Irene Coronado were the founders, started in the 70s in their basement, and they had a house on Long Island City in New York and…
was reached out to by a friend of his that was in the elevator industry at the time. And it just so happened the recession was hitting and the aerospace industry was laying off people. Mr. Coronado was one of them. And so financial struggles at the time and things just weren’t lining up for them with stuff like that. But this guy reached out, knew his engineering background,
and asked him to help develop a more vandal resistant button. His version of the first Positive Stop, a vandal resistant button for the New York City Housing Authority. And that started his venture into the elevator industry. Started two facilities in New York before deciding to move down here in 1990.
Matt Allred (05:16)
So what brought him to Toccoa? What’s the story behind that?
Jonathan Wright (05:19)
So I think some of it was the cost of living in New York, the cost of running a business. But the ultimate thing that they were looking for was a college town and Toccoa has Toccoa Falls College as a Christian based college, which was a selling point for them as well.
Jonathan Wright (05:42)
In New York they often used students from colleges to help fill the gaps when work was needed to be pushed out and they needed a part time job so that was a lot of it and then just the area, they liked the area as well.
Matt Allred (05:58)
Yeah, it’s a beautiful area, the rolling hills and lots of trees, and that’s awesome. Anything remarkable you want to share about that journey to Georgia?
Jonathan Wright (06:10)
I think it took them two to three trips to move down the equipment and it was with two employees. One had had a CDL license, and the other went and got his CDL license, from my understanding, for this trip. Had no understanding of balancing and weight distribution and
did the best they could, went to their first weigh station and found out they were perfectly balanced between axles and was 2,000 pounds underweight with no scales.
Again, a lot of that’s attributed to the grace of God just in the provisions of them moving down here and trusting in where God’s leading them. And they truly give credit to God where credit’s due.
Matt Allred (06:55)
Yeah, that’s cool. So how does your vision differ from that of the owners, the founders?
Jonathan Wright (07:02)
Honestly, I don’t feel it’s different much, between the Coronados that founded the company, and John Heffer purchased it from them, and then I from John Heffer. We truly believe that God is the provider of this He is
the significant force in providing us work, and we contribute that to His grace and His mercies on us. When we do well, we give praise to God. When we’re lean, we still praise God. It’s not promised that we’re given everything daily in what we believe we need.
Jonathan Wright (07:35)
God’s been very good to us. I love what we do here. I love the people we interact with.
People here are like family.
Matt Allred (07:42)
For sure, for sure. So speaking of family, tell me a little bit about relationships in this business. How important are relationships to the work that you do?
Jonathan Wright (07:50)
I truly believe relationships are key in all aspects of just even here, our relationships here. When you spend more time in the waking days here with people that aren’t your family, blood related. So we do laugh together. We laugh, we cry, we rejoice together.
But even with customers, we have relationships that have gone on for years.
We’ve got two in our customer service that have seen kids of customers that we have dealt with for years grow up into the industry as well. And it’s one thing I’ve noticed over time is you see it as a generational business. And a lot of
sons and daughters that watch their parents grow up in it, and just for whatever reason, they love it and want to be in it. They’re not forced to be in it. Right. But it’s cool to see. I think I’ve shared with you before and others that this industry seems small but is really big. What I mean by that is
I grew up not knowing that this industry existed, but it is a vast industry that is multiple companies and stuff like that in our industry, different aspects of it, but a lot of people know everybody.
Jonathan Wright (09:09)
It’s very small when it comes to that.
Matt Allred (09:07)
Yeah, yeah. Sure. And it like you say, it’s very much a family thing. It gets in the blood and definitely in the DNA of certain people. So that’s awesome. What would you say is the greatest mission? What’s the mission of PTL?
Jonathan Wright (09:24)
We try our best to make things easy for our customers, but if it comes between being able to share our faith with someone or getting a job, I would much rather share our faith first, and provide fixtures second. We’re not pushy. We’re not going to try to force anybody to listen to our stories, but a lot of times we have the opportunity to have it come up, and
Jonathan Wright (09:47)
God first is what I look forward to.
Matt Allred (09:49)
That’s cool. cool. What’s one message that you want your customers or the industry to know about PTL?
Jonathan Wright (09:57)
I just want to know that we’re here for them.
Jonathan Wright (09:59)
We try our best to make things as easy as possible. We understand their time is more valuable than ours in the way that they have multiple things that go on to make that steel box move up and down safely. And fixtures is a small part of it.
Jonathan Wright (10:14)
Anything we can do to make their ordering experience easier, we try our best to do that.
We just want to be there for them when they need us and use us as a resource. We’ve got two seasoned veterans in our customer service area, but we’ve got 400 plus years experience here with 20 plus employees. So we might seem small, but we are mighty in the industry when it comes to providing fixtures. And have years of experience.
Matt Allred (10:43)
Awesome. Well, thank you. It’s been a pleasure and a privilege and I appreciate your time.
Jonathan Wright (10:51)
Yes, thank you.
Matt Allred (10:51)
So Jonathan, you’ve been in the elevator industry a little while now, right? How long?
Jonathan Latham (10:58)
So I started in the elevator industry around 1994.
Matt Allred (11:03)
Very cool. So about 30 years in. How long have you known about PTL Equipment?
Jonathan Latham (11:08)
So the company that I started working for in ’94 was a company called Electronic Microsystems, and we made elevator telephones. I had no idea what an elevator telephone was when I started the job, which was a part-time job. Two weeks at most is what the owner told me at the time. And part of the phones that we made were for PTL Equipment.
Matt Allred (11:32)
Okay.
Jonathan Latham (11:33)
And so that was my first introduction to the company.
Matt Allred (11:37)
Just awareness of them, right. You told me about an experience where you actually made a sales call along with PTL when you weren’t even working for PTL. Tell me a little bit about, how did that come about?
Jonathan Latham (11:48)
So I worked for a company prior to this, and one of the things that that company sold was a two-way visual communication system. And I came to Toccoa, and Jonathan Wright and I went to Atlanta and visited TK elevator, and I was there to support him
on the two-way visual communication system, even though at the time I was working for another fixture manufacturer. So the person at Thyssen was very confused, because you had one person with a fixture manufacturer and another person with a fixture manufacturer, and he just couldn’t quite put together why the two of us were there together on a sales call and actually asked,
Jonathan Latham (12:33)
you know, why are you both here? I don’t really understand the…
Matt Allred (12:38)
Which company am I dealing with?
Jonathan Latham (12:40)
And so I said, well, I’m here solely just to support PTL with our visual two-way communication system, which PTL is installing into elevator fixtures. So it was an interesting dynamic.
Matt Allred (12:57)
Very cool. How long after that sales call did you actually join PTL?
Jonathan Latham (12:59)
So it probably was approximately a year and a half, maybe two years. I had an affinity for PTL because we shared a lot of the same values, I’m a Christian and the people that worked here are Christians.
John Heffer, who was the owner before Jonathan Wright. And so we had the same values, the same core understanding of what faith meant and what a company should be doing, as opposed to just a company running,
making money, without consideration of the employees or really what was best for the end customer. So prior to going to the previous company I worked for, after I left Janus Elevator Products, I reached out to John and asked if there was a position available at the time, and the answer at that point was no.
And so when I decided to leave the last company I was with, I called Jonathan Wright and asked, have you given any more consideration to hiring an outside salesperson?
Jonathan Latham (14:09)
in Jonathan Wright’s typical fashion, he said, well, maybe, let me pray about that. So that started that process in the journey of me coming to work for PTL. Which seems like coming home.
Matt Allred (14:25)
Cool, cool, it’s a good fit, good cultural fit. So one thing that really stood out to me in previous conversations is you talked about taking pride in the fundamentals of the business, the day to day, the things that actually matter or would affect or cost contractors money. Some of the things that stood out to me were customer service, making it easy, quality, craftsmanship, and the experience of the team. Can you talk about each of those?
Jonathan Latham (14:55)
You know, I think that at the end of the day, PTL really goes about a business model slightly different than some companies perhaps. And I point out the fact that it’s more about making payroll, treating your employees right, treating your customers right,
and really blessing others. I mean, so when I get here the first of the week, I’m at a soup kitchen to help serve. I’ve never worked in another company that was that concerned with the needs of not only the employees, but the community, and that tends to relate and play out in how your employees interact with the customers.
Today I was interacting with a lady back in the fixtures department, the wiring department, and she said I’ve never worked for a company like this.
Matt Allred (15:43)
Sure.
Jonathan Latham (15:54)
with a smile on her face. And that’s the kind of thing that translates to the care that’s given for that product going out the door. Because if the employee really cares about the company and how they’re being treated as an individual, then their job matters to them,
they’re taking pride in the work that they’re doing. Which is a different approach to what really ultimately happens, which is great customer service.
Matt Allred (16:25)
So tell me, yeah, I wanted to talk about, what does customer service look like at PTL? How would you kind of translate exactly what you’re saying?
Jonathan Latham (16:34)
So I think that it starts with a relationship with the individual that you’re speaking to. I sometimes go on a sales call and talk very little about PTL. And try to really get to know the person, and the needs of the person, and the needs of the person at that company that they’re working for.
And then maybe at the very ask is there any way I can help? Is there a need that you have, that you’re not getting from someplace else?
Matt Allred (17:04)
And they may have already described that to you, right? Well, one thing you talked about before was just about making things easier for customers, and that may mean handling three, or 13, or 27 different vendors for them. They may have even told you that as you’re getting to know them, “Oh, this is what gives me headaches.” Well, I can help with that.
Jonathan Latham (17:30)
Well, you know, everyone that comes to you, and everyone that you visit always has some pain point in their job. And so if you can help eliminate that pain point and learn what that point is for them, know, maybe it’s the fact that they’re having to order this from this company and this from
this company and this from this company, and then do work to get it to go together to make something in a fixture. We have the ability to do that for them. We have the ability to get those parts, put it together. We order from competitors, parts.
Jonathan Latham (18:11)
And put it together in a fixture that makes it easy for our end user, for our customer. And so it’s all about making it easy.
Matt Allred (18:21)
Sure, making it easy. And then that kind of leads to my next question, which was, you mentioned that sometimes employees may worry that they nitpick too much, right? Maybe they’re too perfectionistic. Tell me more about that quality mindset.
Jonathan Latham (18:38)
So I was at a customer visit about two weeks ago, and one of the people said, tell Rich that I really appreciate him, because he takes the quotes requests that I send him, and he looks at it thoroughly, and he catches stuff I miss. And they just couldn’t stop singing his praises. Now,
You know, some people will consider that that’s really being too nitpicky, and that we’re looking at something that they’re requesting and making a change. What we’re really doing, what Rich is really doing, is he’s looking after the customer’s best interest because
Jonathan Latham (19:21)
elevator companies have a lot that they’re doing, right? And a lot of jobs that they’re working on. So project managers and sales people in these different various companies are expecting you to do what’s best for them.
Matt Allred (19:41)
Well, and if they know it’s right, and they know that they can trust that it’s right, that’s one less thing they have to worry about. Because like you say, there’s a lot going on, there’s a lot of complexity, a lot of details, and if I just know that these are gonna be right, then I don’t have to worry about it.
Jonathan Latham (19:56)
Exactly.
Matt Allred (19:58)
That’s awesome. That’s awesome. You’ve talked about, obviously, the customer service. 26 employees, over 400 years of experience is what Jonathan was saying. That’s incredible. How would you say that experience shows up in the product and the customer service experience?
Jonathan Latham (20:16)
It really shows up for me when something needs to get done, and a group of people here come together to discuss on the spot how to get that thing done.I frequently will tell my kids the line from Apollo 13, you know, work the problem. And sometimes I’ll hear them say, I can’t.
And I say, well, I don’t think it’s that you can’t, it just seems like you’re having a little trouble getting past this and coming up with a solution. So let’s come up with a solution. And that’s what I’ve really seen here, that it’s a matter of coming up with a solution to address a problem.
Matt Allred (21:02)
There’s always a solution and you’re right sometimes it takes a committee, a group, a team of experts to come up with ones that would work. You both talked about how the industry is big and small at the same time and obviously, everybody seems to know everybody.
Give me an example of a time that maybe some of that collaboration, maybe you even collaborated. You talked about buying products from competitors and they probably buy your products. How has that worked out?
Jonathan Latham (21:33)
You know, I’ve been in the industry for over 30 years, and sometimes you just never know where a relationship or interaction with a company is going to lead you. And I think a perfect example of that is, you know, over 30 years ago.
When I was making and selling elevator phones out of Dan Gilbert’s basement at Electronic Microsystems, little did I know that I would be sitting here working for PTL. And really fitting in, feeling like I’m at home, feeling like I’m where I should be in this journey we call life.
Matt Allred (22:19)
Yeah, absolutely. So let’s transition a little bit, because when we talked before, we talked about, you know, you had mentioned there’s kind of a theme, or three themes, right? Faith, fundamentals, food.
Who doesn’t get excited when they hear the word food, right? So I want to talk a little bit about that. I get little hints that there’s a story about banana pudding. And tell me a little bit more about that story and how that kind of plays into the culture here at PTL.
Jonathan Latham (22:51)
Well, you know, come let us break bread together, right? Who doesn’t like to sit down around a table with a good meal? And that’s why I like to take people out to lunch to eat with them. Because people like to talk around a good meal. You think about your family sitting down at the table having a good meal.
Personally, I love banana pudding, right? And so I’m always looking for a good banana pudding. And when I come down here, I get to have my fill of good Southern cooking, which I can’t get where I live. And so, Jonathan Wright and I go out to eat.
Well, there’s a woman that has a local restaurant called Shirley’s. She makes a really good banana pudding.
Jonathan Latham (23:49)
Well, her sister Mary happens to work here at PTL. And so, Mary and Shirley kind of got this thing going where they would ask Jonathan Wright, “Who makes the best banana pudding, Jonathan Wright?”
or “Who makes the best fried chicken” or whatever the dish was, right? And so Jonathan was like, “Well, you need to bring me some banana pudding to test,” right? And so they would bring it in and he would try it. And I don’t know that he ever really told them who made the best.
Matt Allred (24:23)
Well, I think that’s a losing situation, right? If you tell, then you’re not gonna get the one to participate anymore, so you know.
Jonathan Latham (24:31)
A whole lot of taste testing going on, trust me.
Matt Allred (24:35)
That’s awesome. and again, that kind of plays into the, maybe not just the town culture, but the company, the employees. So if you think about the people, the history, kind of the way you work together, is there a particular memory that kind of pulls all those together and maybe describes PTL?
Jonathan Latham (24:59)
Well, tomorrow will be the Christmas party. We’re going to be at another venue, not here on site. There’s going to be food, there’s going to be games. I’m sure there’s going to be prayer, sharing of our stories of faith. But, you know, just being here weeks out of the month or the year that I am, which is not that often.
It really is a testament to see how Jonathan Wright and the other people in the management team really interact with the employees and really take into consideration their feelings, their family, their circumstances, and really show grace and mercy, but also are still running a business.
Jonathan Latham (25:50)
Because at the end of the day you still are running a business. But it’s a different way of running a business. So that makes a big difference.
Matt Allred (25:57)
Yeah, that’s great. And you may have actually answered my next question, which is I’m just going to say, for the listeners who are going to hear and watch this interview, what is it, just in a sentence or two, that makes PTL different?
Jonathan Latham (26:13)
So I think it kind of goes back full circle to what we started talking about with Jonathan Wright. It’s our faith, Our faith in God, our faith in Jesus Christ as our savior, and at least for me, how that affects how I work, and my mindset. And so,
that really pours over into sort of the core ethics of the company, right? Treating people right, treating people like you want to be treated, being fair and trustworthy and true.
Jonathan Latham (26:51)
Sounded like the Boy Scout slogan almost, but it’s really just biblical. So, it just makes a difference in the way you treat people. I think at the end of the day, the way you treat people really does make a difference. And it never cost you anything to be kind, right?
Matt Allred (27:13)
For sure. Very true,yeah. So for folks who are listening or people who want to connect, what’s the best way for them to learn more about PTL or get in touch with you?
Jonathan Latham (27:22)
So I would say, they can call our 800 number, 1-800-736-2120. And the website, PTLEquipment.com.
Matt Allred (27:34)
Awesome. Jonathan, thank you. Thank you. It’s been a pleasure and I always enjoy it.
Jonathan Latham (27:37)
No, the pleasure is mine.
Matt Allred (27:38)
Well, I wish you the best as you continue to build the business and do your work.
Jonathan Latham (27:42)
Thank you.
Matt Allred (27:42)
Thank you.
Matt Allred (27:44)
Thanks again for listening to Elevator Tools and Tech from the Elevator Careers Podcast. Please remember to check out PTL Equipment, at PTLEquipment.com or their office phone at 1-800-736-2120. The link will be in the description below. Please like, subscribe, and until next time, stay safe.