Whip Mix Values Still Hold True Today

Our core values today are part of our DNA as a company and for me personally. I’ll share a few memories of the past to put into context how our Whip Mix values still hold true today.  There’s no particular order or ranking - each one is important.

LOYALTY
Loyalty is the quality of staying firm in your friendship or support for someone or something.
Past:  My father’s first rule was to “Love the Customer”.  From the 1950s to the 1980s, he led the company with the value of treating people as friends based on loyalty, trust and fairness, just as we would want to be treated.  Every letter or fax signature line included “Your Kentucky Friends, The Whip Mix Folks”.  While still in high school, I helped my parents host dinners in our home for dental dealers and professionals from around the world.  My favorite part was having a seat at the table, listening to the conversations being translated into several languages.  

Present:  Loyalty continues as a core value in how Whip Mix conducts business with people in mind first: with customers, team members, suppliers and communities.  We continue to value our long-term relationships, some that now span generations.  With technology advancements and multiple locations, communication has changed, but the message is still the same: Be loyal and treat people as friends.  

PASSION
Passion is a form of intensity, an enthusiasm that compels action.  Passion gives you a reason to keep learning and it gives you purpose.  Passionate people like to help solve problems and they usually have the energy to rally others around their ideas.

Past:  In 1919, my grandfather started a business to sell a complete system for casting gold inlays. It was his passion that compelled him to leave his steady job as an accountant and that rallied his three brothers to join him. In the 1960s, my father engineered an affordable semi-adjustable articulator based on Dr. Charles Stuart’s occlusion principles. I remember Dad sketching machine parts on graph paper while we watched TV as a family. 

Present:  Our passion drives our transformation to be a leader in digital solutions for dental professionals.  This includes investing in technology, training and developing our team members.

INTEGRITY

The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. 

Past:  Integrity is at the core of who we have been since the beginning. 

Present:  We stand by our guarantee that we will make it right - In both the promises and in the products we make.  

VERSATILITY

Ability to adapt to many different functions or activities.  Be flexible, resourceful and have different skills.

Past:  Being versatile enabled us to survive major challenges throughout our history. Whip Mix became a casting foundry to support the war effort during World War II.  And it also developed waxes and other necessities for casting. We then pivoted back to making dental equipment after the war.  

Present:  Now more than ever, our ability to be versatile is important. We have responded to the Covid Pandemic with a hybrid remote working envi andronment to keep our team members safe. We have embraced 3D printing applications are developing 3D print resins and scaling up production.  What excites me most is our “can do“ attitude for future opportunities.  

It’s important that everyone at Whip Mix understands and lives our core values.  They are part of our business culture, and as we employ new people and expand in different markets, they become the guiding principles for how Whip Mix conducts business.

I’m always open to your thoughts on what we’re doing well and how we can do better.