Photo courtesy of Sennebogen
Material handler manufacturer Sennebogen LLC, Stanley, North Carolina, has announced its annual “Dealer of the Year” winners, with Birmingham, Alabama-based Tractor & Equipment Co. (TEC) named as 2021’s top dealer. Employee-owned TEC operates 20 machine sales and service branches.
Envimat, a recent addition to the Sennebogen network and the first dealer from South America to win recognition in the Sennebogen’s distributor awards, was second, and Tyler Equipment of East Longmeadow, Maine was third.
TEC has seen changes at its top level in the past year. Dan Stracener remains chairman, while Chad Stracener has become CEO, with his former position as president filled by DeVaughn Pettit. With this transition, Dan Stracener credits the company's success to teamwork in his organization.
“I’m doing more in the background these days,” Dan Stracener says, “while Chad and DeVaughn and our teams are running the day-to-day business of the company. They also have close regular contact with various areas and levels of Sennebogen.”
The Straceners’ hands-on approach to the business is reflected in their relationship with Sennebogen, the company says.
“Sennebogen is a hands-on manufacturer with its customers, and they understand the sense of urgency in our business, so they’re a fantastic partner. We’re totally aligned. When you go to a sales meeting with Constantino, it’s all about taking care of the customer – that’s the top of their list and it dominates every conversation. It includes more than just sales: parts, service, training and anything that the dealer does with or for the manufacturer, they are involved. A lot of that is somewhat siloed within other manufacturers but with Sennebogen you have this straight line of communication,” Dan Stracener says.
“Even through COVID,” Dan Stracener says, “Sennebogen did not accept any excuses for supply chain issues. They found a way. And we sold more new machines with Sennebogen than we have in any in our history, last year. For me, it’s very enjoyable to see the younger guys take over the company successfully and to get these kinds of results.”
Dan Stracener also notes the continual development of Sennebogen’s product line.
“They are totally dedicated to the product and that really shines through," he says. "While others have come in and out of the market or have focused on one area, Sennebogen, being customer-focused, has consistently been there. The Sennebogen product is very simple and efficient. They design that into their machines so you can diagnose problems on the spot; things that are simple enough that a customer can even troubleshoot it themselves.”
Dan Stracener continues, “Whether our customers are in aggregates, or scrap, or tree care or anything that’s a material handling application, Sennebogen has just continued to grow and create new offerings for the industry. That’s been a big part of keeping our product line fresh and opening up new opportunities.”
At Envimat, Director Vinícius Casselli says the firm’s recognition as one of Sennebogen’s top dealers came as a “very big surprise.” Envimat was established a little more than three years ago, but in that time, Casselli and his team have delivered over a total of 120 machines to Brazilian customers including scrap processors, steel mills, pulp mills and other forest-based operations.
“We know that we are doing a good job in Brazil,” Casselli says. “But this recognition pushes us to dedicate ourselves more, because we know that we are on the right path.”
Casselli says Envimat’s success is the result of two key factors. The first is fulfilling Sennebogen’s mission of customer service and support.
“By keeping Sennebogen’s promise of training, onsite visits, sales support, service and stocking parts, we are showing our market that Envimat is not just a dealer, we are a part of Sennebogen.”
The second factor is Envimat’s exclusive focus on Sennebogen equipment.
“I often tell our team that our plan B is to make plan A work,” says Casselli. “And our plan A is to dedicate ourselves entirely to selling and keeping Sennebogen equipment up and running.”
Serving southern New England, Tyler Equipment is a 100-year-old equipment dealership. Brooke Tyler III, the company’s third-generation president, is carrying the family tradition forward.
“We provide tools that our customers use in their daily business. When that tool is out of service, downtime needs to become uptime as fast as possible. Through all the years, this has been the focus of our company,” Tyler says.
To ensure the highest standard of before and aftersales service, Tyler’s staff includes an application specialist and team of technicians dedicated solely to Sennebogen.
“Our team provides expertise in all aspects of selling the right machine for the application and supporting the customer. That’s the key to our success," Tyler says.
Tyler Equipment is one of Sennebogen's longest serving distributors. Sennebogen says a shared philosophy of turning downtime into uptime is what led the two companies to discuss their potential future together in 2002.
