Episode Details

Connect with John Hrdlick:

Email: John.Hrdlick@inxintl.com 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-hrdlick-ba953815/

Lisa Ryan: Hey, it's Lisa Ryan, and welcome to the Manufacturers' Network podcast. I'm excited to introduce our guest today, John Hrdlick. John is President and CEO of INX International Ink company. He spent most of his career in the industry at INX during his 44 years with the company. 

He's worked in the production lab and text service, eventually landing. Operations Management around 1994 as a VP in 2011, he became a senior CIO, and then President. He added CEO in 2019. He enjoys managing the employees towards their goals and challenges in all of his roles. He's also an active member and participant on NAPIM boards and the IMDPA associations. John, Welcome to the show.

John Hrdlick: Hi, Lisa. I'm delighted to be here. Always a pleasure talking to you.

Lisa Ryan: Share with us what led you into INX, and share with us that journey of what got you to where you are.

John Hrdlick: Well, it's a journey that most people don't see these days. I came out of high school; there were other opportunities. I did start college after high school, and at the time, due to the cost and my maturity level, I didn't last very long. And I left with the idea that I'd get my act together, I get some money in the bank, and then go back to school. So that led me to a shift position in a factory. I was laid off, and a friend of mine got me into the business where he worked. 

I was a production worker. That was a different company. I stayed there for three years and then went to INX to make more money because I got married. So I've been very fortunate to work for a company like INX, and opportunities kept coming my way. Every chance I had to move up or take on a different role, I took it, and it eventually took me to where I am today. 

Everyone has a mentor, and I was lucky to have Rick Leaneti. He's my mentor. He was our President for 19 years, so he brought me up to the organization, which helped me understand our company's culture. It took me all over the world. I've seen most of our employees. I think most of our facilities and that also includes seeing customers all over the world. So even though I had mainly operational positions. I was still involved with sales and people and to be successful. I focused on that taking care of our people and taking care of our customers.

Lisa Ryan: So when you said that everyone in the company had a mentor expand a little bit more about that. What did that program look like, and how did that what levels do people get mentors. How did that process work?

John Hrdlick: Well, at the time, we didn't have a program. Individuals at INX would take people under their wings and help them along. I worked for Rick for ten years. Then I left and came back about five years later and worked for him again. I moved up to our corporate office, and there was probably a period of five or six years where I didn't work directly for Rick, but he was always there.

When I became CEO, he and I worked together every day. Even when I didn't realize he was mentoring me, he taught me and helped me and the ability to do what I do today; it wasn't an organized program. It was just someone who saw something in me and took me under his wing, and you see that all of our company.

Lisa Ryan: Starting on the production floor and then ending up as President, you're right. It's not a story that you hear every day. So, is that one of the things that you attribute to success is the fact that they groom people within the company versus

John Hrdlick: Least I would say there's a good mix. But what he has done over the years is they do n