8 MiMfg Magazine July 2020
PREMIUM
ASSOCIATE
Member
Spotlight
Fishbeck
Member since August 1994 • Learn more at fishbeck.com
Mike Colvin
Principal
Manufacturers strive to stay
in compliance with regulations at
the federal, state and local level.
They have to be. But the process
of getting there and staying there
isn’t always easy. For many
business owners, compliance is a
word that carries an adversarial
feeling — an “us against them”
fear that government is out to get
them and that they could be one
slip-up away from a hefty fine or
even a closure.
Compliance doesn’t have to
be scary.
“The fact is that most regulatory
agencies aren’t typically looking to
shut any business down — that
isn’t their goal,” said Mike Colvin,
a principal with Fishbeck. “In my
experience, they are willing to work
with any business who is trying
to do things the right way and
most problems that pop up are
ones that could have been avoided.”
Fishbeck is a full-service
engineering and environmental
compliance firm with locations
all across the state. Their team is
well-respected and known for high
responsiveness and decades of
proven success for manufacturing
clients of all sizes.
“When manufacturing succeeds,
everything else seems to rise up
and succeed,” Colvin said. “Too
often, manufacturers feel like they
are all by themselves. It’s so easy to
get bogged down in hundreds and
thousands of constantly changing
regulations. Staying on top of it can
be a full-time job for a business
that just can’t afford to hire a fulltime
environmental, health and
safety manager. They don’t always
realize there are resources to help.”
The proper environmental
consultant should show a
commitment to their
client beyond an
occasional phone
call or quarterly visit.
“Your time is increasingly
valuable, but it’s also important
that you understand the reasoning
behind various regulations as much
as the compliance requirements,”
Colvin explained. “You can be
assigned a dedicated professional to
assist or train your in-house team
on common concerns including
plant expansion, federal or state
reporting and issues like chemical
storage, tracking, and waste or
permit inspections.”
Committed to the personal
and professional growth and
success of their clients, the Fishbeck
team is full of problem solvers
who would rather give you the
tools to eventually succeed on
your own than force you to
depend on others.
“It can feel like a thin line
between being confident in
compliance and worrying whether
you’ll be able to stay afloat,” offered
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How My Company is Innovating
While the COVID-19 crisis has been an
unwelcome guest, Fishbeck is developing new
means of assisting companies in making their
work environments safe and functional. Our
team of experts across multiple disciplines are
collaborating to develop unique solutions.
Colvin. “By applying the proper
strategies, asking the correct
questions and having access to
trusted resources, you’ll have
confidence in the health and safety
protocols you are implementing
and maybe even breathe easier
at inspection time.”
For those businesses that
want to handle it in-house, an
experienced team can provide the
training necessary to help your
team excel while offering a
built-in backup — just in case.
“Especially now, with
additional safety protocols in
place, you should want to be
recognized as a manufacturer
that does business the right way,”
reminded Colvin. “If I could give
every small business owner out
there some advice it would be
this — proper compliance can be an
achievement of every business and
you don’t have to go it alone.” 6