“It’s all about trust”

Success is built on strong relationships and great service and quality product, and the common denominator is trust.

David Marnalse, Senior Account Manager at Heartland Polymers, takes pride in the fact his customers know they can rely on him to support the needs of their business. “It’s all about trust,” says Marnalse “You’re not judged by how you perform when things are going great. You’re judged by how you perform when things get difficult.”

“It became apparent to me that being outside the Gulf gave customers some level of security for their supply. I became very intrigued with Inter Pipeline’s (Heartland Polymers’ parent company) circular supply and access to propane. It’s unique in the industry. Strategically, from a supply chain perspective, it just makes sense.”

Dealing with the last few years, especially in the polymer industry, reinforced Marnalse’s commitment to trust and accountability. To maintain open and frequent lines of communication, to “look them in the eye and tell them you’re going to stay with them” until the situation is resolved. While it’s never enjoyable to be the one delivering bad news, Marnalse believes “that’s the most important time to be talking to your customers. Put yourself in your customer’s chair. You have to be ready and willing to do whatever your competition is unable or unwilling to do.” And that is what he can guarantee for Heartland Polymers customers.

A retired U.S. marine, Marnalse has been in the polymers industry for approximately 25 years. A structural engineer by trade, he originally got his foot in the door to polymer sales by promising to be “a winning underdog.” He made up for his lack of sales and industry experience with tenacity, an endless curiosity about the products his customers create and a voracious appetite for continuous learning.

That first assignment in his first job was to grow the markets in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. “They used to tell me I spoke funny with my Boston accent,” he recalls of those early days when he learned as much as he could about the polymer industry. Those early experiences forged a lifelong respect for the roles of trust and accountability when developing long-term relationships with the businesses and people he serves, well beyond the transaction of a sale.

In 2020, Marnalse became aware of Heartland Polymers through longtime acquaintance Yonas Kebede, Heartland Polymers director of Sales and Marketing, and was immediately interested in Heartland’s integrated polypropylene (PP) and propane dehydrogenated (PDH) facility as well as the abundant access to propane feedstock, cavern storage capabilities and its commitment to sustainability.

When Marnalse isn’t hitting the heavy bag in the gym or taking in the beauty along one of the greenspace pathways near his home in North Carolina, he’s often consuming a new book or a podcast on Audible. Always learning, always improving.

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