AT&T Connect Web Conferencing Case Study

About USS

U.S. Silica (USS) is a leading silica sand provider with a focus on performance materials that are essential to modern living. The state-of-the art offerings are used in a variety of industries and applications. Oil and gas wells are more productive because the high-quality proppants improve flow rates and recovery from unconventional wells. Wind-powered and solar energy are more economical due to cost effective manufacturing. Paints and coatings are more durable because of the quality of U.S. Silica’s crystal structure. Geothermal wells are more efficient due to improved heat transfer. Electronic devices are more scratch resistant because of the specially sized sand the company offers, and high-performance metal parts are more uniform because of strict product and quality control. At U.S. Silica, the devotion to remaining on the cutting edge of technology helps improve the quality of every day—at home, at work and at play.

Situation

Company leaders believe the key to U.S. Silica’s longevity is the ability of staff to work with customers to find new and innovative ways to use minerals. As the company grew, however, it became more difficult to support this collaboration between the 16 USS locations. It was also hard for sales reps to meet to create the sales forecasts that determined production schedules for its plants. Setting up conference calls was a cumbersome process and the Web conferencing product the company tried could accommodate only a few employees on each call. U.S. Silica needed an easy, reliable way to connect large groups of employees and customers.

Solution

AT&T Connect® combines voice, Web and video in one easy-to-use tool that lets U.S. Silica employees and customers come together to conduct the company’s business. Departments from sales, IT, Human Resources, Finance and Administration use AT&T Connect to collaborate, saving time and money and reducing the need for business travel. The solution requires no special equipment, so employees at company facilities or home offices are able to use any laptop or smartphone to come together to better support internal needs and USS initiatives.

Serving Industry

A house built on sand may not last, but a U.S. company built on sand has been going strong for over 100 years since founder Henry Harrison Hunter discovered the rich Oriskany sandstone deposit in West Virginia. U.S. Silica produces silica, the most common constituent of sand, and other industrial minerals for the energy, glass, foundry, chemical and construction industries. Over the years, the company has acquired many properties and developed hundreds of products with a network of 16 production plants and packaging facilities across the country and sales offices in North America and China.

Ike Crytzer, U.S. Silica’s IT manager, said silica is a versatile product. “There are veins of sand of different quality, size and hardness,” he said. “One vein may be very good for the oil and gas industry because it’s crush resistant, and another may be softer or clearer and better suited for making glass.”

Collaboration is Vital

Management believes the ability of staff to work with customers to find new and innovative ways to use U.S. Silica’s performance material is a key to the company’s longevity. An AT&T MPLS PNT network connects U.S. Silica locations and enables vital work processes such as ERP systems, finance and production. The network’s flexibility allows U.S. Silica to upgrade easily as it grows. “We’re currently working with AT&T to add to our infrastructure,” Crytzer said. “It’s growing with us, and it’s seamless.”

Yet one area that was lacking was the ability to easily collaborate. It became more difficult and time consuming to set up conference call bridges, especially when large groups of people were involved. Sales teams have to meet regularly to create the sales forecasts that drive production at company plants, and most other departments need to communicate often with employees across the U.S. “Collaboration is vital,” Crytzer said.

U.S. Silica officials bought an off-the-shelf web conferencing product, but it didn’t meet the company’s needs. “Only the first 25 people got to attend a meeting and that wasn’t good,” said Crytzer. “We were always scrambling to get everybody on the phones together, and it always took a while,” he said. “Developing strategy, forecasts and budgets was tough when your phone lines and the number of people who can dial in are limited.”

Communication with staff was further complicated because U.S. Silica’s operations are spread across the U.S. “We have folks at corporate headquarters in Maryland and others out at our plants in multiple locations,” he said, many of whom work from home offices in isolated rural locations.

Enhanced Productivity, Minimized Cost

U.S. Silica works to stay on the cutting edge of technology to maximize productivity and minimize down time, Crytzer said. A high degree of satisfaction with its MPLS-based virtual private network led the company to consider AT&T Connect; the voice, video and Web conferencing solution was a good fit because it scales easily to accommodate a large number of participants.

Officials recognized the value of the solution immediately when they were able to conduct a company-wide town hall meeting using AT&T Connect without worrying about limiting the number of participants. “It was great,” Crytzer said. “We logged in 85 different lines at the same time without a problem.”

Convenience was another important factor. “People can use AT&T Connect any time they want, without worrying about whether anyone else is scheduling a call. That‘s the biggest benefit,” he said.

“It used to be a nightmare,” Crytzer added. “It took our administrative assistants a lot of time to schedule the calls, reserve the conference bridges and invite staff to meetings. Now we send an email to invite participants to dial in and everybody’s happy.”

Productivity in the Office and on the Road

AT&T Connect vastly simplifies the logistics of bringing staff together. “Our management team can meet when someone is in Chicago and someone else is in Frederick. We can speak by phone, use the Web to share information and even use video if we need it,” Crytzer said. It enables the company’s new sales staff in China to connect easily with their North American counterparts.

The solution also strengthens U.S. Silica’s ability to work with its customers and vendors. “Vendors used to be here all the time. Now we use AT&T Connect and do what we need to do,” he said. “It’s a whole different world.”

The company saves significant time and money since the solution reduces the need to travel. “Every one of our departments in U.S. Silica has the ability to use AT&T Connect, and we all leverage it,” Crytzer noted. The IT Department uses it to provide support to home office workers and the purchasing department uses it to conduct regular status meetings.

Productivity in the Office and on the Road

AT&T Connect vastly simplifies the logistics of bringing staff together. “Our management team can meet when someone is in Chicago and someone else is in Frederick. We can speak by phone, use the Web to share information and even use video if we need it,” Crytzer said. It enables the company’s new sales staff in China to connect easily with their North American counterparts.

The solution also strengthens U.S. Silica’s ability to work with its customers and vendors. “Vendors used to be here all the time. Now we use AT&T Connect and do what we need to do,” he said. “It’s a whole different world.”

The company saves significant time and money since the solution reduces the need to travel. “Every one of our departments in U.S. Silica has the ability to use AT&T Connect, and we all leverage it,” Crytzer noted. The IT Department uses it to provide support to home office workers and the purchasing department uses it to conduct regular status meetings.

Stability and Support for the Future

Crytzer expects the video component of AT&T Connect to become increasingly important in U.S. Silica’s meetings with staff and customers. He said he has confidence in the ability of AT&T Connect to handle important calls. “When we conduct finance calls with analysts everything better work,” he said.

He doesn’t hesitate to recommend AT&T Connect to colleagues. “I tell them it’s something they definitely want to pursue. I have nothing but good things to say about it since I’ve never had a bad experience,” he said. “It just works every time.”

As U.S. Silica expands and the number of remote users grows, the value of AT&T Connect will be magnified. “I see a lot of opportunities to use technology to communicate in ways that haven’t been done yet in this industry,” said Crytzer. “The company that gets there first, best and fastest is going to do well.”