This is a part of a monthly series of Q&As with members of the cider community from across the U.S. Brewer Magazine & Cider Business will share business and personal insights from decision makers in the cider industry to help you get to know each other better and learn more to better develop your own brand.
Matt Dickason, Director of Production Operations, 2 Towns Ciderhouse — Corvallis, Oregon
BREWER: How does a typical day in your role look, and how do you balance operational demands with fostering a positive team environment?
DICKASON: We generally start the day reviewing the operations of the previous one with our management team, and making sure we are prepared for the day. Walking the floor and communicating with the team to ensure operations will run smoothly is crucial to assigning priorities across the production space, as well as understanding how to balance the day. Once the plan is made with operations for the day, then we start looking into the future with our ordering and scheduling folks to make sure production, orders, personnel, and outside vendor activities all line up coherently. Within that, there is also the element of staffing and hiring with the teams that I direct, so I work with my teams and the HR department for recruitment, retainment, performance reviews, wage adjustment, and sometimes mediation. I also report to the executive team about operations, challenges, and future planning, and work to be the conduit for information between them and the production team. Balancing all of this communication and scheduling can be very challenging, but we have put a very dedicated and talented team in place, so it’s easy to trust and delegate to them. Without that element, getting all the pieces to fit together would be very difficult.
BREWER: Are there any recent accomplishments for the cidery in your department that you want to tout? How is it going to improve your business going forward?
DICKASON: It’s tough for me to single out one accomplishment in a department where so many things are happening simultaneously. We live in an ever-changing landscape of supply chain issues, trends, challenges with space, and a shifting industry. I personally am most proud of our ability to adapt and change with quickness and relative precision. Every couple of years, these new challenges require pivots to our overall strategy, and our team has the skills and ability to continue navigating through these things as they pop up. It’s easy to say I am proud in general about winning GABF cidery of the year, which is true, but working day-in and day-out for over a decade with a team I trust is the true accomplishment in my book.
BREWER: What have you found to be the most effective way to handle customer feedback, both positive and negative?
DICKASON: We try to handle all feedback with honesty and integrity. We have an excellent QA/QC program that monitors and checks all steps of our process throughout production, and we take quality very seriously. We catalog and library every product we make so we can check any reports of issues with reports from consumers or accounts with the same batch. Whether it’s our staff at the taproom, or production or sales teams, everyone takes any negative feedback seriously and we try to make sure we respond quickly and with an open mind. On the other hand, we absolutely love positive feedback, and love interacting with our community and supporters.
BREWER: What first drew you to the industry, and what keeps you passionate about being part of it today?
DICKASON: I was drawn to the industry very early in college while I was homebrewing with my roommate while attending Oregon State University. It didn’t take long to know that I wanted a job brewing, and found that opportunity before I even got my degree. Once I had my foot in the door with beer, I was able to build my skills and contacts to understand a larger picture. At that point, I had known the founders of 2 Towns for a few years, and had brewed with most of them. When they asked me to be part of the crew, I was honored to accept. Fast forward 18 years from my first brewing job, the game has changed completely, and so has my understanding of the entire craft beverage industry. The ever-shifting nature of that landscape is always presenting new challenges and opportunities that keep the team and myself on our toes, and that makes it easy to stay engaged and passionate about growth.
READ MORE: The Partnership That Blossomed a Mainstay for 2 Towns
BREWER: What are you sippin’ on right now from your cidery that you really enjoy?
DICKASON: Our new Guava Get Down cider is absolutely awesome, while I usually prefer a drier cider with minimal fruit, I think we really hit a home run with that one.
BREWER: What’s one piece of advice you’d give to new managers stepping into a role similar to yours?
DICKASON: I would have many things to say to a person who is just stepping into that role, and I have been training managers for quite a few years now for larger scale production. I have basically told every one of those folks that “you can’t do it all.” It’s easy to get caught up in every little problem or detail, especially when everything seems to be a challenge on any given day or week. My advice is to build a team you can trust, and effectively communicate and delegate the things that you can, while also making time to look down the field to anticipate other issues. Even with a smaller operation, no one person can “do it all” for very long, and it can lead quickly to burnout. I don’t believe in sacrificing anyone’s sanity for the sake of production. If you can lead by example and have your team members’ backs, and give them the tools they need to be proactive, communicate, and delegate effectively, the day to day issues start to work themselves out organically. All of that and don’t be afraid to ask for help!
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