Business View Magazine | December 2019

95 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2019 VERMEER MIDWEST the dealers. They’re improving and providing more training all the time, but the way the technology is changing, that’s definitely a big need.” Looking ahead, Vermeer Midwest in good hands. Junior Kool is 82 and still comes in to Goodfield most every day. And the third generation is also becoming active in the family business: Kelsey Kool is Marketing Manager, Trey Heming is Parts Manager in Aurora, and CJ Kool is a drill specialist in Goodfield. Offering some final words of wisdom, Steve Kool reflects, “You always wonder, does the customer come first or does your team come first? But I think how you balance both of them is critical to running a business. We’re excited to see what the third generation will bring to the company and how they will help form our future.” Go the extra mile. Work the extra hours. Get your boots dirty on the jobsite. Do whatever it takes to take care of the customer. At Vermeer Midwest, that’s simply how business is done. acknowledges, “We’ve been on a real growth mode for the last 20 years, and I have to credit the Vermeer Corporation for the way they’ve added product groups and products within their product lines. Just being able to follow along with Vermeer and being prepared as they bring new products to market, that’s how we’ve grown our company. And that’s our primary direction – to continue to let them lead by bringing out these new products and being able to jump on every opportunity they provide us. “The equipment today is more electronic, more computerized, more automated. We’ve seen a lot change, even in the last five years, and it’s absolutely critical that our staff keeps up with advanced training so they can pass it along to the customers. Most of our technician training comes from Vermeer, some online, and then, for the more technical training, they go back to Vermeer Corp. for schools. With all the new technology, they are struggling to beef up their training department to handle the needs of all Courtesy of Mark Jones