Taking Quality and Collaboration Seriously Ft. Jonathan Gagnon

 

“I’m driven by growth, technology, and new products. I’m a former banker, but I have a strong interest in technology and R&D.”

 

• Jonathan Gagnon

 

Welcome back to a new episode of the Epoxy Business Podcast with your hosts, Steve Larosiliere and Jake Latvala. Today, Steve and Jake sit down with Jonathan Gagnon, president of Lab Surface, and partner in creating Ol Loggin Epoxy.

 

Jonathan and Lab Surface fill a critical position in helping the development of Ol Loggin Epoxy. While Steve and Jake are experts in marketing and woodworking, they are not chemists, and to create a quality product like Ol Loggin Epoxy; it is vital to have experts on every front.

 

Check out this new episode to learn about changing industries, growing a business from the ground up, embracing technology, and much more.

 

 

 

 

Quite A Long Journey

 

“I’m a former banker. That’s what I did for ten years after school. I wanted to become an entrepreneur; I think I already was an entrepreneur, but I wanted to buy a business and grow that business. So I bought a lab that was doing R&D already, which had unused production capacity and intellectual property. That was the criteria I was looking for, and I found it.

 

We started Lab Surface on day one, and now it has become like 97% of the company I initially purchased. So how do you do this? You need to build the foundations, which is the R&D, and understand the technology, the components, and the suppliers very well. To build a very good-looking house, you need the foundations first. We’re not marketing people; We’re a manufacturer. But we feel that now that we have this experience and the technology and the production knowledge, we’re in a very good spot right now.”

 

• Jonathan Gagnon

 

When Jonathan purchased the company that spawned Lab Surface, it was initially an ink manufacturing business specializing in coatings. Originally founded by a chemist, Jonathan told him they needed to begin on epoxy flooring formulas as that would become a big part of the business.

 

 

 

 

The Power of a Partnership

 

One of the aspects of the partnership between Ol Loggin Epoxy and Lab Surface is the level of communication and interconnectivity between the two. This allows all the involved parties to solve issues almost immediately as soon as they happen and work together to improve the product all the time consistently.

 

“I think we could talk about some issues with our product earlier. There was some crystallization, and our partner, Lab Surface, was able to recreate the crystallization that was happening and solve it. This isn’t a white label relationship; This is a partnership, and I feel proud to partner with you on this, to have a product that helps create a livelihood for people.

 

To be honest, some people got pissed off and left, but we’re in this for the long haul. Me, Jake, and Jonathan, we’re here to create this best-in-class product. I have to say kudos to you, Jonathan, and your team. It was like a pivotal moment where Jake and I were stressed, and everybody was like blowing up, but Jonathan came back able to recreate the problem with a solution to prevent it from happening in the future.”

 

• Steve Larosiliere

 

Website: https://labsurface.com