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58 Maritime Professional 3Q 2011Pon that?s called ?Get, Keep and Grow.? He explains, ?This translates into get- ting new customers, keeping them with superior service and growing the accounts that we already have. It?s a simple philosophy, but very important.? PON & PEOPLEThe central key to Pon?s growth can be boiled down to just one word: peo- ple. Turner is adamant on this point. ?It?s an overused expression, but it is true. As we look to grow, our major rev- enue factor is the quality of our people. We need skilled people on the front end to make sure we make and sell the right products, but on the other side, service is equally important.? Emphasizing the point, he adds, ?We offer people oppor- tunity. I can attest to that. I started as a branch manager with four employees and now, I?m a member of the board, with a lot of stops along the way.? Like every firm over the course of the past three years, Pon tightened its beltwhere possible. Pon?s innovative man- agement training program was not one of them. The Trainee program at Pon, consisting annually of two classes of graduating college students, lasts 18 months. Turner says, ?At the end of 18 months, they have to find a job within the company. That?s one thing that we did not cut during the downturn. We knew we couldn?t afford to stop invest- ing in our personnel. What a great deci- sion. It?s not just talk if you put some action behind it. We had a guy who started out packing boxes at W&O and just the other day, I was there for his 20- year celebration. He has risen to SeniorManagement. Those are the success sto- ries you love to tell.? That sounds just a little like Turner?s story, too. PON & DAVID TURNER: A MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT David Turner?s journey at Pon has taken him from Jacksonville to Mobile, New Orleans to San Diego, back to Jacksonville, to the Netherlands, to Houston and now, back again to Europe. While some might chafe at that kind of periodic lifestyle upheaval, he waxes nostalgic about the process. ?Thankfully, all of these moves have been promotions, so that makes it a lit- tle easier. I?m back in the Netherlands for the second time and very comfort- able living here. The culture is great, the people are wonderful and Pon is a won- derful company. I?d be very happy to finish my career here.? He pauses and then adds, ?At Pon, they like to say that, ?over nearly 120 years, we?ve survived two world wars, a depression and now a great recession. And, we?re not looking for the fast buck; crazy unsustainable growth.? The company is going to be there ? always.? You get the feeling that David Turner will, too. MARPRO PROFILEW&O Valve MP #3 (50-64):MP Layouts 8/17/2011 4:46 PM Page 58