The New Pig Culture

How does a company that sells products for cleaning up industrial messes and is led by an accountant who is data oriented create a successful business with an engaging, fun culture?  While success may seem unlikely, it is the story of how a small Pennsylvania company used data-based marketing to grow its business of helping its customers clean up oil leaks and other fluid spills in industrial plants. The company named its testing area for industrial messes “pig pens.” Rather than taking the traditional route of naming its company and products by what they do, the company decided to have fun by naming the company “New Pig” and using this theme to market its products. It worked. Today, New Pig sells its products to over 300,000 companies in 100 countries on all seven continents. 

The company was founded by two men who specialized in industrial cleaning. They were dedicated to finding the best way to clean up messes but had little experience in running a company. After a year in business, they hired their accountant, Nino Vella, as their CFO. Four years later, the owners asked Vella to become the company’s president. Vella accepted the position and the challenge of changing the company culture to better match New Pig’s customer-service orientation. His vision was embodied in the phrase “Happy employees create happy customers who come back.” He was also determined to create a culture that was fun for employees to work in.

Vella had a deep conviction and belief that a poor culture within a company was perpetuated by the tendency for both managers and workers to have a second agenda of hiding their inadequacies. This created a wall of defensive behavior that interfered with the openness and candor that was needed to create a healthy culture. Eliminating this human tendency for hiding one’s inadequacies would allow for the creation of an authentic culture that would elevate vulnerability, trust, creativity, and problem solving while minimizing drama, office politics, and personal agendas. In this spirit, Vella routinely approached his employees with three questions: “What are you working on,” “How are you feeling,” and “What should we be talking about”?  He listened, giving permission for his people to be vulnerable and open with their thoughts and feelings, thereby setting an example of the authentic culture he was trying to create.

When asked what drove a CPA with a traditional accounting background to create a culture that was fun and authentic, he attributed much of his approach to the influence of management thought leaders such as Peter Drucker, Mary Parker Follett, Tom Peters, and others who were committed to inclusiveness and employee engagement. What followed was insightful. Vella talked about the terrible cultures he had experienced, the disregard for people’s feelings he had witnessed, and the nastiness and stress created by the toxic cultures he had seen. It became clear that his deep concern for people’s feelings and a belief that toxic cultures brought out the worst in people were major drivers and the inspiration behind his determination to create a healthy culture at New Pig.

Taking on the challenge of creating openness and vulnerability was a monumental task. Yet, it was rare for employees to drift from the New Pig culture once they experienced it. In those rare cases when they did, leadership invested resources and worked with employees to help them embrace its culture. The company made it clear it would not tolerate behavior that would be disruptive to its culture.

Much of the success of New Pig is reflected in its branding, with its mascot pig and how it used it as a theme to market its products. The company catalogue is full of pig-related references to the cleaning capability, delivery, and satisfaction of its products. An excerpt from its website is an example of this approach: “From our offices in Tipton, PA, your call is answered in two rings by a real person. We’re happy to help with your order or help you figure out regulations, chemical compatibilities, and other messy situations. Our expert advice is always free—give us a squeal!”

Having fun in no way diminishes the care and safety that goes into New Pig’s products. The company prides itself as the leader in providing the best solutions available to clean up industrial spills, leaks, and drips.

Success at New Pig was measured in several ways, including repeat sales, number of customers, sales volume, and profits—all of which showed continued growth. New Pig views itself not as a company that cleans industrial drips and spills but as a marketing company driven by customer satisfaction and loyalty. The company takes pride in its high Net Promoter Score (NPS) as a popular measure of customer satisfaction and loyalty. First introduced in the Harvard Business Review by Fred Reichheld, NPS is a popular measure of customer loyalty based on the question of whether a customer would recommend a company to other customers.

New Pig meets the five criteria of a healthy culture. Its success is further evidence that a healthy culture can include fun and openness, two qualities that are often absent in traditional cultures built on authority and top-down management. While profitable, New Pig views profits as a result of its culture but not its primary goal.