Wendy Banks: A Focus on Excellence

Originally published in the Fall 2017 issue of NC Currents magazine.

Some days, Wendy Banks still finds it hard to believe she co-owns a successful construction coatings company. “My husband likes to tell people that I paint the sewers,” laughs Banks, who started Carolina Management Team (CMT) with her brother David Van Zee in 2003. From the beginning, her focus has always been on exceeding expectations, taking the stereotype of a painting company and turning it on its head.  

It comes down to listening to what is important to the customer, and what is the most desirable outcome, she explains. “Ultimately it’s all about how do we deliver excellent customer service,” says Banks. “That service mentality has been deeply rooted in my training and experience since I was 20.”  

After graduating with a degree in Hospitality Management, she spent four and a half years as a senior sales manager for Walt Disney World, selling parties in the theme park to corporate America and various associations coming to Orlando for their conferences. Then in 2001, Disney started to downsize and Banks decided to take advantage of the company’s ‘voluntary separation program.’ By that time, she was completing a Master of Business Administration and considering her next career opportunity.  

“I come from a really entrepreneurial family,” says Banks of her decision to go into business instead of continuing in the hospitality industry. Her father George had run a coatings business in Florida and her older brother Mark launched a thriving painting business in Colorado straight out of college. When her younger brother David suggested that they start a coatings company in North Carolina, a business plan began to take shape.  

“That was really the beginning,” confirms Banks. “We’ve been focused on water and wastewater ever since the City of Winston- Salem called us. We fell in love with the people.” The City hired CMT to paint the Manson Meads Complex, the building that houses the administration team for the water and wastewater division.  

The project was memorable for another reason: the supplier unknowingly provided two different paint tints resulting in a stripecoated finish. “That’s when we truly came into our own,” recalls Banks, explaining that Sherwin-Williams mixed a new batch of paint and sold CMT a spray pump at minimal cost. “He more than made it right and allowed us to do the same.”  

Banks adds that initially, she and her brother found the public sector intimidating. “Local, state, and federal government agencies often procure goods and services with low bid prevailing,” she explains. “We knew we would have trouble competing because, based on my Disney experience, our focus was on excellence. We were really concerned about providing a quality service and still winning the work. I was convinced that the relationships would help us build the company and that is exactly what happened.”  

The company’s goal has been to have 100% repeat customers. “If you take them through the process well, they get to the desired outcome and are eager to tell their friends and colleagues about us,” says Banks. This philosophy has served CMT well. Since its founding in 2003, CMT has grown to 45 employees and nearly $5 million in annual revenue.  

CMT’s growing reputation resulted in calls from the US State Department to travel abroad. The company flew its team across the African continent in order to solve a problem other contractors were unable to fix. “We were excited that we could plan and appropriately deliver an excellent finished project in a place like Madagascar,” says Banks. “There are no Home Depots, no rental companies – no resources available there.”  

The State Department turned to CMT again when other contractors were unable to repair a water tank at the US Consulate in Tijuana. CMT was able to figure out how to remove the coating that was leaching into the drinking water and reapply a lining system so that the water was potable. Both the tanks in Tijuana and Madagascar were subterranean, making the projects even more challenging.  

“The water and wastewater industry in North Carolina, with all their projects and their belief in us, provided the proving ground for us to represent our state on a national and international stage,” says Banks.  

She also credits the NC AWWAWEA for helping both the company, its owners, and its employees succeed in the industry. Within a year of founding CMT, the company participated in its first NC AWWA-WEA Annual Conference. “We had the pleasure of sitting beside Steve Shoaf at the very first dinner,” recalls Banks. “He encouraged me to get involved. We’ve never looked back.” Members of CMT chair two sections of the Professional Wastewater Operators Committee. The company has also conducted several procurement workshops through the NC AWWA-WEA.  

Meanwhile, Banks has served as chair of the Exhibits Committee and is currently vice-chair. Banks also sits on the Plant Operations and Maintenance Committee, through which she has worked on planning the operations and maintenance track for the Spring Conference. As the subcommittee chair for the awards committee, she has focused on the Maintenance Technologist of the Year and the Don Francisco Educator of the Year awards. Most recently, Banks was tapped for the Leadership Development Program, with Brian Tripp as her mentor.  

One thing that Banks has always known is that having a strong support system is critical to success. “I don’t think I could possibly serve the water industry if I wasn’t part of NC AWWA-WEA,” she says. “People in this industry are very gracious. If you ask for help, they’re always ready to share.”