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62 63 has a contract with the Army Corps of Engineers. That same company is bidding on multiple projects across the country, including one in the Pacific, so it might change our footprint, considerably.” One of Cooper’s challenges, and one that he shares, these days, with many companies in many sectors, is finding enough skilled workers - especially in a rapidly changing business environment. “Most of the time, I can’t find a person in areas that we’re in that has ten years’ experience doing what we do,” he laments. “The business of working on a gaso- line pump, today, is significantly different than it was 20 years ago because that same technician, today, is not just working on the fuel-related equipment - he’s also a network engineer; he’s working on networking systems that are connected to point of sale systems that are all connected to the internet. Then you add being out in the field, in the cold, in the dead of night, trying to get a fuel sensor to talk to a point of sale system out in the middle of nowhere. That’s a difficult person to find.We have them, but we need more. So, training is a never-ending situation. There’s always a new product to train on; there’s always a new certification to get.” Over the long term, Cooper says that the plan, going for- THE ACTERRA GROUP Proven, reliable DEF storage and dispensing equipment www.Blue1USA.com (770) 688-1958 •Turnkey systems for quick and inexpensive installation •Pre-wired per UL-508A electrical standards •Available in 500 – 6,000 gallon storage capacity A Proud Partner of the Acterra Group ward, calls for his brother, Terry, who is the com- pany CEO, to move out of the business’s opera- tions in the next year or two and focus mainly on acquisitions and capital. “And, in my five-year plan, we’re looking at growth opportunities through acquisitions for some of these new mar- kets we can get into,” he avers. Meanwhile, Cooper affirms that the Acterra Group will continue to take care of its customers, as well as its workers. “We’re a small, family busi- ness and we try to take care of our employees,” he states. “My father was always adamant that the people who worked here were his extended family, and so, my brother and I have tried to take that same attitude.We are very proud to be entering our 60th year of business, and our success has been due to the great staff we have PREFERRED VENDOR n Blue1USA www.blue1usa.com TAD COOPER // PRESIDENT TERRY COOPER // CEO had over all of these years. “And we’re customer driven.Why do my cus- tomers stay with me? Service - that’s the most important thing; to keep their operations up and running. If our equipment is down, we need to make sure it’s maintained.We know that in the fuel business, if they’re not pumping fuel they’re not happy. So, we try very hard to keep repeat customers happy.”