June 2016

Volume 6, Issue 2

The Skin-ny
PSI Awards

Dont miss...
New Employees
Page 4
Celebrations
Page 5

On Sunday, June 26th, the Star Tribune published The Top Workplaces 2016 a list of the best
places to work in Minnesota. The evaluation for the Top Workplaces program is based upon
feedback from an employee survey that many of you completed a few months ago. We had 67
employees who responded to the survey, so thank you all for taking the time to respond. Over
1,555 organizations were invited to participate in the survey, and over 73,870 employees shared
their views.
We are honored to be included in the list of Top Workplaces, especially since the judges were
you, our employees! You can find more information and a complete list at:
StarTribune.com/topworkplaces2016

PSI in the News

Page 6

On June 23th, some of our employees attended the Star Tribune Top Work Place luncheon held
at the Radisson Blu at Mall of America. Pictured: Jerry Holtorf, Marilyn Foss, Andy Wadewitz,
Nate Hansmeier, Troy Vail, Carrie Kroening, Neil Gessner, Tegan Blagoyevich, Kelsey
Udenberg, and Miranda Haldorson.

Cheers!
Flu Shot Clinic
Monday,
September 19th

Honkers Game
Monday,
August 1st

In June, we hit our 4th record sales month of

the year! You can feel the workload
increasing at a steady pace. Every single
employee plays a crucial role in making PSI
a success. Remember that without our sales
staff, our product awareness and sales
would not continue to grow at this pace.
Without our manufacturing and packaging
staff, there would be no product for the sales
staff to sell or customers to buy. We would
not have the quality product that we strive for
without our QA and lab personnel. We
would not be able to ship same day as
ordered which we pride ourselves on, without the efficiency of our warehouse and shipping dept.
Our maintenance staff keeps our facility clean, organized and equipment running efficiently. Our
customer service and entire office staff keep business operations moving along smoothly. So,
congratulations everyone on a job well done! Exceptional teamwork.

Sales and Marketing

Coupon test
We have had over 700 coupons redeemed as part of our coupon test in Florida. This has been
met with resounding approval from both physicians and patients. Our goal is to expand this
nationwide to provide patients with more reasons to purchase our sensitive skin products.The
coupon will be added to the newly revised prescription pad which will be distributed to
physicians in August when the Vanicream Z-Bar is released.
Tours
In June we hosted two tours for the Red Hat Lady Society. We
talked about the history of PSI and gave a brief walking tour
around the company. To the right is a handmade thank you note
from these ladies.
We also hosted a group of educators from the Rochester
Chamber of Commerce Full Circle Classroom program. Their
goal is to provide better understanding of the Rochester
community and to identify what job skills are needed in the
Rochester area.

The Vanicream Voice

Our monthly newsletter continues to perform well as we grow in subscribers each month. Our
newsletter is being opened and read by over 53% of subscribers and about 12.5% are clicking
on links to learn more. This is compared in industry averages for email newsletters in our field of
12.8% open rate and only 1.5% click rate. If you havent subscribed to The Vanicream Voice,
you can sign up on our website: www.Vanicream.com
We (Vaniply Ointment) sponsor
the RockSteady Running events
throughout the year including the
Endless Summer Trail Run Series in
the Minneapolis area. Races take
place on a Wednesday evening (after
work) once a month in various
suburbs of Minneapolis. Every runner
will receive a trial size tube of
Vaniply Ointment. Most events fill
in advance at 450 runners. No day of
race registration. If you would like to
participate, information is available at
www.estrs.com. Search them on
Facebook Endless Summer Trail
Run Series. The last two summer
races are in Eagan July 13 and
August 10 in Bloomington.

We are working with the Rochester Moms Blog for upcoming product reviews on Vanicream
Sunscreen SPF 50+ and Vanicream HC. We supplied product to several of their bloggers and
they will be writing reviews on their site: http://rochestermn.citymomsblog.com. Look for these
posts on our Facebook page later this summer.

Website
Update
Our website home page product drop downs have been updated. A new Personal Care
category has been created. The Vanicream Diaper Rash Ointment and Vanicream
Shave Cream are listed here. The Anti-Perspirant Deodorant will be added when it is available
for sale.
Customer Comments
The reviews on each product page have been a great addition to our website. Here are some
of the reviews posted on our website this quarter.
Anna wrote on the Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser page: Amazing! My skin has never
looked better. I don't suffer from sensitive skin problems but it's the only product I have found
to get rid of my blackheads and diminish my pores. Before I would use products that would
clog my pores and with this cleanser, along with the Vanicream Lite Lotion, I have the best
skin I've ever had in my life.
Suzanne wrote on the Vanicream Skin Cream page: This cream is a miracle to me and my
daughter. We both have eczema very bad and this cleared is up within a day!
Barbra wrote on the Vanicream Skin Cream product page: I found out I am allergic to
Epoxy resin and gold. Dermatologist gave samples of Vanicream. I went out and bought the
big jar with the pump. My face is looking so good, I even use it around the eyes. I also use
their face cleanser. The Vanicream is the only moisturizer I will ever use.
Darlene wrote on the Vanicream Skin Cream product page: I have DDS, and other medical
problems. I have always had many skin problems, this stuff is wonderful!
Isabel wrote on the Vanicream Lite Lotion I don't know what I would do without this lotion. I
first heard about it through my dermatologist. She said that with my sensitive skin I would need
to use something like this. THIS STUFF IS THE BOMB! Perfect for a dry and sensitive face.
Vanicream is awesome!
In addition, here are two visitor posts on our Facebook page. To see more, check out
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialVanicream/

Staff News
April Birthdays
Mike Miller, Tegan Blagoyevich
Mandi Schmidt
(not picturedNathan Fritz, Spencer Brady,
Olivia Galkowski)

May Birthdays
Carrie Kroening, Victoria Sanders
(Not pictured Claire Ziller, Damian Son,
Erin Leary)

June Birthdays
Greg Garner, Nicole Scobba, Kelsey Udenberg,
Brian Leary, Neil Gessner, Cheryl Coughlin,
Andrew Neilsen, Lori Blake, Christin Chanhma

Welcome New Employees!

New Position

Garrett Studer

Jamison Hardy

Warehouse

Production

Olivia Galkowski

Justin Vutha

Marketing & Sales Intern

Production

Damian Son has accepted a Full-time

position at PSI in the Pkg./Mfg. areas.
Congratulate him when you see him.
He is a great addition for us.
4

Staff News continued...

PSI
Anniversaries
5 years

Congratulations!

Tegan Blagoyevich

Senior Sales Representative

Krystle Kalland

Senior Sales Representative

15 years
Vutha Un
Janitorial

Nate Hansmeier

Packing Team Leader

Nicole Lampland was married on

st
May 21 to Chris Scobba.

Grant Schuth and Vienne were married

th
May15 on Grants farm in Wabasha.

Mike Miller and Steph Meek welcomed

rd
daughter Maiya Rae Miller on May 3 .
Christin Chanhma and Jessica Vutha
welcomed daughter Mirabella Juliette
th
Chanhma on May10 .

Best Wishes
Sam Peterson resigned his position as Accounting Assistant effective June 29 th He has
accepted a position at the University of Wisconsin Eau Clare. We thank him for his
contributions to PSI and wish him well on his new job as well as his upcoming marriage. We
wish him the very best and thank him for his work here at PSI.
Gavin Sandwick has moved from the shipping department and taken a summer internship in
Finance. We look forward to working with him as he continues his education at the University of
Minnesota at Duluth in Finance and Accounting!

What People are Talking About

Dermatologist and Skincare Artist Dr. K Papantoniou from Commack, New York tweeted about
our Vanicream Skin Care line! Check out her website: http://drpapantoniou.com/

The articles below featured our products in their story. To read them, they can be found
on our website under www.psico.com/Company/In the News/.

The Best Lotions for Eczema or Very Sensitive Skin

April 2016. Huffpost Style. Vanicream Lite Lotion is a derm-approved pick for the best lotion
for eczema or sensitive skin.

The One Beauty Product You Need for Festival Season

April 2016. Bustle. Sunscreen needs to be in your festival bag no matter what! Vanicream
Sunscreen SPF 50+ is #1 on the list of top sunscreens!

Best Drugstore Skincare Products

May 2016. SELF. Vanicream Skin Cream is listed by the skin pros as the #1 moisturizer for
sensitive skin.

How To Get Ready for Sandal Weather

June 2016. Askmen.com. For dry skin issues Dr. Fil Kabigting, Assistant Professor of
Dermatology at Columbia University Medical Center, recommends Vanicream Skin Cream for
a nighttime foot moisturizer!

Doctors Orders: 9 Ways to Get True Beauty Sleep

June 2016. Lorens World. NYC dermatologist Dr. Kaleroy Papantoniou tells how to get the
beauty sleep we all need. She recommends Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser!

Safety Committee
Nate Bernard is a new member of the safety committee. Current members are Bill Weber,
Robert Sportsman, Jerry Holtorf, Nina Barnett, Erik Kuester and Nate Bernard. The safety
committee meets quarterly.
The safety committee schedules random fire and severe weather drills for our facility.
Remember if you hear the fire alarm system, all employees are to evacuate through the closest
EXIT and meet in the west parking lot near Fastenal. There are evacuation maps posted in
various locations throughout the building. Know where the closest exit exists in the area you are
working.
If a tornado or severe weather warning is issued, employees will be notified by the overhead
page. All employees are to report to the Safe Zone which is in the hallway between the
gowning room and the labs. In most instances, Ricks office is in the Safe Zone!

Social Committee
Our summer employee/family picnic will again take place on the Sports Deck at the Rochester
Honkers baseball game Monday, August 1st. Tickets, food and drink will be provided for
employees and family members who wish to attend. A sign-up sheet will be in the lunch room by
early July. Please provide the number of tickets needed for your family and designate whether
they are an adult or child. A child is 12 years old or younger.
All employees must attend the event or take PTO for the afternoon. If you prefer to work, make
arrangements with your supervisor. PSI will close at 11:00am to allow employees to pick up
family members before the game which starts at 12:05pm.

PSI in the Community

PSI sponsored a hole at the 21st Annual Womens Breast Cancer Golf Tournament held at
Northern Hills Golf Course on June 17th. There was an event at PSIs tee box. Each team
member paid $1 to roll the dice for your hole score. Team Vanicream took first place in their
flight.
PSI is a major sponsor of the The American Cancer Society Relay for Life Olmsted County
which will be held on July 15-16 at RCTC. If you would like to participate in this fundraising
event, information and a registration form is on the bulletin board near the employee entrance/
lunchroom.
7

PSI in the Community continued...

PSI is going to be a collection partner again this year for the United Way Head Start program. There will be a blue barrel
in the lunchroom starting Tuesday, July 12 through July 28 for donataions. Below are the items needed.

Pinterest
Michelle has been working on info-graphics that link to products and/or articles on our website.
These are a few info-graphics that have been added to our Pinterest this quarter! Check our
our page: https://www.pinterest.com/vanicream/

Human Resources and Finance

Blood Drive
Thank you to everyone who
participated in the PSI BloodDrive. We
had 11 people registered to donate
this time. Congratulations to Vicky
Avery and Lori Heins as they were the
lucky winners of the $25 gift cards!

Flu Shot Clinic

Mark your calendars! Monday,
September 19th is PSIs annual Flu
Shot Clinic. Each employee, spouse,
and children that live in the home, are
eligible to receive the flu shot at no
cost to the employee.

Product News
The Research and Development Updates
The final formulations for Vanicream Body Wash and for Vanicream Facial Moisturizer with
SPF have been submitted to manufacture their pilot batches.
The Vanicream Sunscreen Spray SPF 30 pilot batch was manufactured and it has passed all the
SPF and water resistance testing. A search is being made for its packaging options.
R&D continues to formulate a new Vanicream Sunscreen SPF 50+.
A novel formulation was successfully developed for Zinc Pyrithione 40% dispersion without any
formaldehyde in it. This dispersion was then used to develop Free and Clear Anti-Dandruff
Shampoo. The final formulation for Free and Clear Anti-Dandruff Shampoo has been submitted
to manufacture its pilot batch.
The Vanicream Night Renewal Cream formulation has also been finalized with great results.

10

Lab News
Spring has kept the QC lab quite busy! The continuous circle of raw ingredients, finished product,
cleaning samples, stability samples and product development projects keeps us on our toes.
Our intern is back for one more summer. Janek Walker started again on May 16. He will be a
senior this fall at UW-La Crosse majoring in Biochemistry.
We have been slowly updating the computers and operating systems that run our instruments in
the lab. Most of our computers have been running on Microsoft XP. This is out of date and is no
longer supported. To get our software to be able to run on Windows 7, we have needed to
purchase a software update. With Tobins help, we have successfully updated 3 of the 5
computers. In doing this, we have also increased our data security.
One event that kept us on our toes this month was when part of our UV-Vis spectrophotometer
stopped working. The sipper, which introduces the sample into the instrument, stopped working.
Most of our assays use this sipper as part of the method. This unit was irreparable and it was time
to hit the panic button. Luckily we were able to locate an affordable replacement online. After
receiving the new part, we were up and running again.
Currently there are two surveys out; Vanicream Cleansing Bar (Due June 30th) and Free &
Clear Anti-Dandruff Shampoo (Due July 5th). Please get those surveys in on time if you are
participating! One winner for each survey will be drawn for a $25 Gift Card; if your survey is in by
the deadline you are eligible to win. If you have any questions or would like to participate in future
surveys please feel free to see Miranda Haldorson.

Chemical of the Quarter: D-Panthnol

D-Panthenol is an ingredient in Free and Clear Conditioner. It is a humectant and helps hair
absorb and retain moisture. It also helps to give hair a smoother texture. The retained moisture
helps to prevent hair damage caused by combing, brushing, blow-drying and perming. Therefore,
it is commonly used as the conditioner in hair care products. It is a thick, clear liquid that is readily
soluble in water. It readily binds to the hair shaft providing moisture and shine to the hair follicle
and reduces the formation of split ends. The D in the D-Panthenol has to do with the absolute
orientation of the OH depicted below with the solid wedge.

What comes easy wont last, what lasts wont come easy.

11

Warehouse News

Warehouse Racking
Electric Pallet Jack

Additional racking has been added in the

receiving warehouse and in front of the cages for
additional storage.
The electric pallet jack is now in use and all
warehouse staff has been trained and authorized
to use it.
Joe Lovett

Christin Chanhma and Andrew Becker are

currently supporting the shipping staff part time
during the day and evening shifts.

Information Technology
Change is Coming This Summer
Later this summer we will be updating our technology, specifically our servers and backup
systems. It will bring great improvements to our environment. The equipment and software
has been received and I have started planning the installation, configuration and migration to
production. This plan includes several phases starting in late July so that we can benefit from
some of the new technology sooner and not have too many changes all at once. I hope to
have everything migrated by the beginning of September 2016.
The migration will break out the server roles (security, e-mail, PSI system, etc.) into separate
server installations which will increase performance, manageability and reliability. This plus
the faster server hardware, redundant systems, and more responsive storage will create a
better user experience. For the most part you will not see any difference in the way you use
your computers, that will stay the same, but you will notice much improved performance and
response times to network resources.
First to be implemented will be a new remote access server that will let remote users and
travelling sales reps access the PSI system and other programs securely from just about any
device. After this I will begin to migrate our current systems onto the new hardware.
I will try to make this migration as painless and as smooth as possible, but I also know there
will be unforeseen issues that will crop up. For this, I wish to thank you in advance for your
patience as we move to the new technology. As always, please contact me directly with any
questions or concerns.
Resolution of Recent Fax Failures
After Jaguar Communications replaced their fiber module on the morning of 6/27 and also
moved the fax machine to its own analog line, we have only had one failed outbound fax from
6/27 to 6/29 that wasnt a busy or unanswered number.
12

Building and Maintenance

The PSI parking lot on both sides of the building got a facelift as it was crack-filled, sealcoated, and re-striped. It looks great! Please park within the lines and leave the visitor parking
spaces for our visitors. They will be marked, however in the meantime, they are the first four
spots outside the front entrance as you enter the lot on the northwest side.

Manufacturing and Packaging

We purchased a new Waukesha Pump (#6), which will be
used in packaging and manufacturing. In addition, we have
purchased 2 Bottle Gap Transporters, they will transfer
containers on and off of a new checkweigher, which we will
receive next month. It is necessary to upgrade and replace
older equipment in order to keep up with the demand for all of
our great products.
We welcome back our college and high school students who
are here working for the summer months. Vanicream HC,
previously made in 38 kg batches, has been scaled up to a
1,000 kg batch. Anti-dandruff shampoo has been scaled up to
a 38 kg batch. It looks good and is in the trial stage and is out
for employee evaluation.
Bruce Larsons daughter got married on June 18th. If you see
Bruce wandering like a lost puppy; now you know why! (Its
not because he is from IOWA!)

Bottle Gap Transporters

The wonderful rumor has come true! After a long time, we have started the Transition and
Weigh room remodel . Enlarging this space will help our efficiency and our capabilities moving
forward. The transition room is a heavily traveled room. Any component, chemical and anything
else goes through the transition room to get inside manufacturing and packaging rooms.

Weigh Room

Transition Room

13