Photo courtesy of Milton CAT
Hank Spies
Hank Spies, Milton CAT's longtime used equipment manager, passed away on Feb. 26th.
Mr. Spies served in the United States Army from 1968 to 1974. After owning and running his own business, H.A.S. Equipment, based out of Mahwah, N.J., he joined Milton Caterpillar, then Jordan-Milton Machinery, in 1983.
During his 32-year career at Milton CAT, Mr. Spies would become one of the most well-known individuals in the used equipment industry.
"I attended the Florida auctions with Hank for 20 years and I could never get over how many people Hank knew, folks from Cat, counterparts from other Cat dealers, auction company representatives, independent brokers and competitors — he knew them all by name and you could see the respect they had for him," said former Milton CAT Vice President Dave Perry.
Most important to Mr. Spies was using the knowledge and experience he amassed to help a customer, someone at another Cat dealership, or a new employee trying to get their footing.
Mike Sherman, who would follow in Mr. Spies' footsteps years later as Milton CAT used equipment manager, spoke of meeting him for the first time.
"Before I even started at Jordan-Milton, I rode with Hank to see if equipment sales was something I was interested in doing. I met a very loyal customer that day who spoke of how much he depended on Hank. I will never forget the impact that day had on me deciding to work at Milton CAT," Sherman said.
Russ Kisseberth, who worked for Mr. Spies at Milton CAT, also talked about the influence that Spies had on his career.
"The first day I worked with Hank to the very last, he treated me with the utmost respect. He was a gentleman and was always willing to pass his knowledge along to me and anyone else. I would not be where I am today if it were not for him and his guidance," Kisseberth said.
Tim Perkins, who also worked for Mr. Spies for many years added, "he was passionate about the industry, Milton CAT and his craft."
In calling customers over the last few weeks to let them know of Mr. Spies' passing, Kisseberth was reminded of how much they depended on Spies.
"They all said the same thing, he was the go-to guy when you needed advice or help with anything related to used equipment. He was always ready to listen and share his thoughts."
Mr. Spies would oversee and manage the tremendous growth of the used equipment business at Milton CAT. Over his 30 years, the company went through several large acquisitions and territory expansions, greatly increased its overseas business and adopted new technologies, additional sales channels and expanded offerings. It was a time of great change and Mr. Spies had a sense of how to adapt and thrive through all of it.
"In the end, Hank really didn't need to work but he wanted to, and I really benefitted from his insights as did Milton CAT," Perry said. "I had complete trust that Hank's actions and words had the best interests of the company in mind. He would tell me what he thought no matter the consequences. That is truly hard to find in any organization and I valued that so much."
Fellow CAT Dealer used equipment managers routinely sought out Mr. Spies' guidance and he took great satisfaction in doing whatever he could for them.
Bill Yurkovic, used equipment manager at Cleveland Brothers said "by the end of our first lunch, I knew that I had gotten into the right part of the equipment business. As a young used equipment manager, Hank took me under his wing and taught me the ropes. Over 30 years of trips and auctions together he helped me to have a great career at Cleveland Brothers. The one thing I came to realize about him is that he reveled in the opportunity to help a fellow used equipment manager. He was always eager to give advice to all the young folks about the business. He was almost giddy to get into those conversations."
Yurkovic added that Mr. Spies once told him, "It's not the tractors, it's the people," and Yurkovic added, "it's ‘those people' who will greatly miss Hank for all he did for them."
Photo courtesy of Milton CAT
Hank Spies participated in a Northeast Caterpillar Dealer used equipment meeting held in Halifax, NS, in the mid-90s.
