jan-2018

262 263 MATERIAL HANDLING SERVICES PMS 1795 FORKLIFTS l STORAGE SOLUTIONS l FLEET MANAGEMENT l WAREHOUSE EQUIPMENT & PRODUCTS NEW USED RENTAL PARTS SERVICE TRAINING l l l l l l assets.They last longer,so the keymeasurable is fixing them fast and correct the first time.We have 800 of our own technicians in 35 states,and over 20,000 affiliate sub-contractors in the other 15 states–it’s an army.” BVM: Howdo you differentiate yourselves from the competition? Parent: “We’re an aggregate solution,whereas our competitors provide a partial solution.If you want a comprehensivemodel,you come to us and we don’t reallyhave anycompetition in that area.If you’re okayworkingwith several vendors to pack- age your own solution andmanagemultiple sup- pliers,we do have competition in each phase of the life cycle.Our real competition is the customer wanting to do this for themselves.But as the years go by,more people arewanting to outsource.We provide the people,processes,systems,time,and data to do it better than anyone else.” BVM: Anyvaluable business relationships that have impacted your growth? Parent:“ All theOEMS–their design of the product gets better and better.There are 20,000 brand affiliates and independent dealerships we do business with around the country.Technology partners,Sales Force andMicrosoft,are key.Our financial sponsors: Southfield Capital,C.I.Capital, Harvest Partners.Banks and lenders that have facilitated our growth.And the leasing companies that do financing for our customers.” BVM: What are your companypriorities for the future? Parent: “Our plan is to stay focused on doing business throughout NorthAmerica.We have in- vested a ton tomore easilycollect data on all our assets,customers,and technicians.Wewant to get themil- lion plus data points into amore usable format.We contin- ue to invest in training people,hiring newpeople,acquir- ing top companies-specifically,investment in technology that gets into our customers’and employees’hands–even those in the field–via handhelds in a real-time fashion. “Top of the agenda five years fromnowwould be geographic coverage.Wewant to have our own people and offerings in all 50 states.Secondly,consistent use of data to increase savings to our customers from20 to 30 percent.That’s taking out another 10 percent of waste.We alsowant to offer a good lifestyle,goodworkplace,and good culture,as we continue to grow.We’ll be five times the sizewe are today,in terms of people and revenue,so wewant tomake sure they’re challenged,they’re happy, they likewinning,and theyunderstand that if we’re going to take out another 10 percent,we’ve got to use the data differently to provide a better solution.” PREFERRED VENDORS n Power Designers LLC www.powerdesigners.com Power Designers LLC was founded in 1998 and is based in Madison, Wisconsin. The company offers in- dustrial battery-powered systems for industrial battery, and motive and stationary power markets, including modular chargers for industrial battery systems, electric forklift trucks, vehicles, tuggers, and sweepers; and an Ethernet/Web application suite for remote battery and charger monitoring, data logging, and management. The company also provides battery monitoring and equalization devices, and automated battery cyclers and conditioners. n Hawker Powersource www.hawkerpowersource.com n Andersen Material Handling www.andersenmaterialhandling.com