 Chris Cella, president of Heubel |
Raymond Corp equity dealership Heubel Material Handling Inc is playing a major role in the central US market for narrow-aisle forklifts.
In forklift classes 1-3, "we have a marketshare of more than 25% in the counties we cover, and we have 3,000 active customers," says Chris Cella, president of Heubel since January 2007.
Kansas City-based Heubel has branches in Earth City, Missouri, near St Louis; Springfield, Missouri; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma; Omaha, Nebraska; and Wichita, Kansas; and also serves the western Iowa, southern Illinois and western Kentucky markets.
Heubel says it provides parts and service for more than 9,200 forklifts, maintains nearly 6,000 customer-owned or leased units, offers the central US's largest rental fleet of narrow-aisle forklifts with 537 units and has 80 used forklifts.
Heubel refurbishes post-lease equipment in Earth City or Kansas City. In late 2008, the firm invested about USD50,000 for a paint booth in Earth City. "We may do that in other locations as we grow," Cella says. Heubel installed a paint booth in Kansas City in 1992.
Heubel established new facilities in Oklahoma City in 2008, Earth City in 2006 and Omaha in 2004. "Wichita is next," Cella says.
Cella empowers employees to make decisions on the spot. "Our people are focused and have purpose and a sense of responsibility," he says. "That is why we have a high customer retention rate."
Brian Richardson is vice president of aftermarket operations, and Margaret Lee is vice president and treasurer.
About 55% of Heubel's 157 associates have more than five years' tenure. The average is seven years. More than 80% are involved in providing aftermarket support services.
For some, tenure lasts decades. In January, after 39 years, Lyndell Clevenger retired as Heubel parts manager in Kansas City.
Fleet management is an important component of the Heubel offering. "With a smaller customer, we take a larger role, and with a bigger customer, we may do analysis," Cella notes. "We provide centralised bi-monthly invoicing for 80 locations with an average of 30 trucks each, and we support more than 100 Home Depot stores for Raymond."
In the fleet management arena, certain Heubel-paid technicians have permanent on-site assignments at seven St Louis area locations of a large manufacturer of biochemicals.
In addition to forklift activities, the dealership provides layout and design services for warehouse racks and automated storage and retrieval devices and carousels. Heubel represents Remstar International Inc of Portland, Maine, a business of Kardex AG.
In that era, winning an order meant converting a prospect to narrow-aisle forklifts. John Heubel built early but long-lasting relationships with Hallmark Cards Inc, Cook Paint & Varnish Co, Western Auto Supply Co, Davis Paint Co and Katz Drug Stores and operated the business until retiring in 1983.
Cella anticipates emission regulations "will eventually help us as more customers move to electric trucks from propane or gas".
Regarding fuel cells, "we see a tremendous amount of interest from customers in learning more about it," he says. "At this time, there is a gap between the ability of manufacturers to bring the technology to market at a price that is sustainable, but that will happen." Greene, New York-based Raymond actively evaluates fuel cells. Cella believes, among eventual possibilities, that some improved form of "battery technology could trump fuel cells".
Historically, Raymond hired John A Heubel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1956 and assigned him to Kansas City. Heubel had been selling conveyor systems.
Tom Gustafson succeeded Heubel as president and oversaw expansions in Lincoln in 1985, St Louis in 1986 and Oklahoma City and Tulsa in 1987.
Bob Krawczyk joined Heubel Material Handling sales in 1976, later was vice president of sales and became president in 1994. He recruited Cella from a Raymond dealership in Cleveland, Ohio to become manager of the St Louis branch in 1994. Cella became a Heubel equity holder in 1996 and vice president of sales in 1997.
Krawczyk retired in December 2006, and Cella succeeded him as president.
Cella, 48, grew up in Ohio, entered the forklift business in 1986 and, in night school, obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio in 1993.
Since Krawczyk's retirement at the end of 2006, Raymond Corp has owned a majority of Heubel shares.
"As an equity dealership, we have the best of both worlds," Cella says. "We have an entrepreneurial spirit and factory-direct support, and it really works." Raymond has 21 ownership groups and 108 service centers.
"Literally, if we have a large national account with a need, we can get it done in one day," Cella reports. "That is unique in the industry."
Raymond recognized Heubel as a dealer of distinction initially in 1996 and for 12 of 13 successive years including 2008.
Heubel had 2008 sales of USD49.6 million, up from USD43 million in 2007.