Item 1. Business
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
We distribute, blend and manufacture chemicals and specialty ingredients for our customers in a wide variety of industries. We began our operations primarily as a distributor of bulk chemicals with a strong customer focus. Over the years, we have maintained our strong customer focus and have expanded our business by increasing our sales of value-added chemical products and specialty ingredients, including manufacturing, blending and repackaging certain products. We believe that we create value for our customers through superb service and support, quality products, personalized applications and trustworthy, creative employees.
We conduct our business in three segments: Industrial, Water Treatment, and Health and Nutrition.
Industrial Segment. Our Industrial Group specializes in providing industrial chemicals, products and services to industries such as agriculture, chemical processing, electronics, energy, food, pharmaceutical and plating. This group’s principal products are acids, alkalis and industrial and food-grade salts.
The Industrial Group:
• Receives, stores and distributes various chemicals in bulk quantities, including liquid caustic soda, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, urea, phosphoric acid, aqua ammonia and potassium hydroxide;
• Manufactures sodium hypochlorite (bleach), agricultural products and certain food-grade products, including liquid phosphates, lactates and other blended products;
• Repackages water treatment chemicals for our Water Treatment Group and bulk industrial chemicals to sell in smaller quantities to our customers;
• Performs custom blending of chemicals according to customer formulas and specifications; and
• Performs contract and private label bleach packaging.
The group’s sales are concentrated primarily in the central United States, while the group’s products sold into the food and pharmaceutical markets are sold nationally. The Industrial Group relies on a specially trained sales staff that works directly with customers on their specific needs. The group conducts its business primarily through manufacturing locations and terminal operations. Agricultural sales within this group tend to be seasonal, with higher sales due to the application of fertilizer during the planting season of March through June given the regions of the country where we are located.
Water Treatment Segment. Our Water Treatment Group specializes in providing chemicals, equipment and solutions for potable water, municipal and industrial wastewater, industrial process water, non-residential swimming pool water and agricultural water. This group has the resources and flexibility to treat systems ranging in size from a single small well to a multi-million-gallon-per-day facility.
The group utilizes delivery routes operated by our employees who typically serve as route driver, salesperson and trained technician to deliver our products and diagnose our customers’ water treatment needs. We believe that the high level of service provided by these individuals allows us to serve as the trusted water treatment expert for many of the municipalities and other customers that we serve. We also believe that there are significant synergies between our Water Treatment and Industrial Groups in that we are able to obtain a competitive cost position on many of the chemicals sold by the Water Treatment Group due to the volumes of these chemicals purchased by our Industrial Group. In addition, our Industrial and Water Treatment groups share certain resources, which leverage fixed costs across both groups.
The Water Treatment group operates out of 33 warehouses supplying products and services to customers primarily in the central United States and Florida. In fiscal 2021, we added three locations, including two by acquisition and one through organic growth. We expect to invest in existing and new branches to expand the group’s geographic coverage. Our Water Treatment Group has historically experienced higher sales during April to September, primarily due to a seasonal increase in chemicals used by municipal water treatment facilities.
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Health and Nutrition Segment. Our Health and Nutrition Group specializes in providing ingredient distribution, processing and formulation solutions to manufacturers of nutraceutical, functional food and beverage, personal care, dietary supplement and other nutritional food, health and wellness products. This group offers a diverse product portfolio including minerals, vitamins and amino acids, excipients, joint products, botanicals and herbs, sweeteners and enzymes.
The Health and Nutrition Group relies on a specially trained sales and product development staff that works directly with customers on their specific needs. The group’s extensive product portfolio combined with value-added services, including product formulation, sourcing and distribution, processing and blending and quality control and compliance, positions this group as a one-stop ingredient solutions provider to its customers. The group operates out of facilities in California and New York and its products are sold nationally and, in certain cases, internationally.
Raw Materials. We have numerous suppliers, including many of the major chemical producers in the United States. We source our health and nutrition ingredients from a wide array of domestic and international vendors. We typically have distributorship agreements or supply contracts with our suppliers that are periodically renewed. We believe that most of the products we purchase can be obtained from alternative sources should existing relationships be terminated. We are dependent upon the availability of our raw materials. While we believe that we have adequate sources of supply for our raw material and product requirements, we cannot be sure that supplies will be consistently available in the future. In the event that certain raw materials become generally unavailable, suppliers may extend lead times or limit or cut off the supply of materials to us. As a result, we may not be able to supply or manufacture products for our customers.
Intellectual Property. Our intellectual property portfolio is of economic importance to our business. When appropriate, we have pursued, and we will continue to pursue, patents covering our products. We also have obtained certain trademarks for our products to distinguish them from our competitors’ products. We regard many of the formulas, information and processes that we generate and use in the conduct of our business as proprietary and protectable under applicable copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret and unfair competition laws.
Customer Concentration. In fiscal 2021, none of our customers accounted for 10% or more of our total sales.
Competition. We operate in a competitive industry and compete with many producers, distributors and sales agents offering products equivalent to substantially all of the products we offer. Many of our competitors are larger than we are and may have greater financial resources, although no one competitor is dominant in all of the markets we serve. We compete by offering quality products with outstanding customer service at competitive prices coupled and with value-added services or product formulation where needed. Because of our long-standing relationships with many of our suppliers, we are often able to leverage those relationships to obtain products when supplies are limited or to obtain competitive pricing.
Working Capital. Due to the nature of our operations, which includes purchases of large quantities of bulk chemicals, the timing of purchases can result in significant changes in working capital and the resulting operating cash flow. Historically, our cash requirements for working capital increase during the period from April through November as caustic soda inventory levels increase with most of our barges received during this period. Additionally, due to seasonality in the Water Treatment segment, our accounts receivable balance is generally higher during the period of April through September.
Regulatory Matters. We are subject to numerous federal, state and local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate, including the management, storage, transportation and disposal of chemicals and wastes; product regulation; air water and soil contamination; and the investigation and cleanup of any spills or releases that may result from our management, handling, storage, sale, or transportation of chemicals and other products. In addition, societal concerns regarding the safety of chemicals in commerce and their potential impact on the environment have resulted in a growing trend towards increasing levels of product safety and environmental protection regulations. These concerns have led to, and could continue to result in, more stringent regulatory intervention by governmental authorities.
In addition, we operate a fleet of more than 150 commercial vehicles, primarily in our Water Treatment Group, which are highly regulated, including by the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”). The DOT governs transportation matters including authorization to engage in motor carrier service, including the necessary permits to conduct our businesses, equipment operation, and safety.
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The manufacture, packaging, labeling, advertising, promotion, distribution and sale of our food, pharmaceutical and health and nutrition products are subject to regulation by numerous national and local governmental agencies in the United States and other countries. The primary regulatory bodies in the United States are the Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”), the United States Department of Agriculture and the Federal Trade Commission, and we are also subject to similar regulators in other countries. In particular, the FDA’s current good manufacturing practices (“GMPs”) describe policies and procedures designed to ensure that nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements are produced in a quality manner, do not contain contaminants or impurities, and are accurately labeled and cover the manufacturing, packaging, labeling and storing of supplements, with requirements for quality control, design and construction of manufacturing plants, testing of ingredients and final products, record keeping, and complaints processes.
Further information related to government regulation applicable to our business is included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, in Part I, Item 1A - Risk Factors.
Human Capital. Our team is a key to our success and we are committed to creating a workplace that attracts top talent and develops leaders and drives performance on behalf of our customers and shareholders.
We strive to recruit the best people for the job regardless of race, color, nationality, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation or any other status protected by law. It is our policy to comply fully with all applicable laws relating to discrimination in the workplace and are committed to advancing an inclusive, collaborative and respectful culture.
The health and safety of our employees is our highest priority. We work to ensure our employees have a thorough understanding of health and safety precautions that need to be taken in all business functions. Specific safety initiatives include accident prevention work, improving process controls, safety training, safety committees, safety audits, incident investigation and improvement measures.
We have ensured the safety of our employees and our customers during the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing contingency and continuity plans to respond quickly and appropriately to identified risks, safe work practices in accordance with the guidance provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ("CDC"), and flexible working policies. We leveraged technology to enable approximately 175 employees to transition to remote working and enhanced sanitation and hygiene practices at all of our facilities. Finally, we worked with a private company to offer our employees free, rapid testing for COVID-19 across the country. Through communication, enhanced resources and leadership, we were able to support our employees, serve our customers and keep our facilities clean and safe during the pandemic.
We strive to provide employees with competitive wages commensurate with their skill levels, experience, knowledge and the regional market. Full-time employees are eligible for health, dental and vision insurance, paid and unpaid leaves, 401(K) plan, retirement plans, life and disability/accident coverage and our employee assistance program.
As of March 28, 2021, we had 742 employees on a full-time equivalent basis across the United States. Approximately 37% of our employees were female or racially and ethnically diverse, and approximately 10% were covered by a collective bargaining agreement. Of the seven members of our Board of Directors, two are female, five are male, one is Asian American and six are white.
Available Information. Our Internet address is www.hawkinsinc.com. We have made available, free of charge, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and, if applicable, amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file these materials with, or furnish them to, the Securities and Exchange Commission. Reports of beneficial ownership filed by our directors and executive officers pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act are also available on our website. We are not including the information contained on our website as part of, or incorporating it by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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