When Dennis Heller became president of Stephenson Equipment this past January, he knew that he’d have one primary job responsibility — continue the Harrisburg, PA-based company’s 46-year tradition of customer service and equipment expertise.
Heller’s rise through the ranks at Stephenson began in 1992 as a sales representative covering southern Pennsylvania. Three years later, he was promoted to sales manager of the Harrisburg branch and then in 1998, he became vice president and branch manager, a role he filled until becoming president of the company.
Heller’s ascendancy to president of Stephenson came about when he and Bob Criste, who is vice president and chief financial officer, purchased controlling interest in the company from Jim and Karen Penman this past January.
“It was decided to maintain ownership from within the company so that business will be as usual,” said Heller.
Paul Stephenson, who founded the company in 1957, had owned the business a little more than 30 years before he sold it to the Penmans.
Heller said his vision of the company is simple: “The value of Stephenson is that we will continue to be experts in our product lines, which is lifting and road building equipment. We will continue to find new ways to add to our company’s value to serve our customers. We’ll also continue to provide new product lines as well as being proficient in markets we serve.
“We offer additional services such as CCO training for operators, which is something that most distributors do not offer and invest in. Stephenson continues to develop additional services and ways to help the customer with their business. We are going to have various specialty paving seminars, as well as more operator training programs for our customers,” he said.
The company also recently added Cedarapids pavers to its lineup. “This takes us to major roadbuilding contractors in western PA, and this is a definite fit for our package,” said Heller.
“It’s these kinds of additions and services that will improve upon our goal of growing our business and will still keep us specialists in all that we do,” said Heller.
Stephenson’s other equipment lines include Link-Belt cranes, Elliot aerial platforms, National boom trucks, ShuttleLift carrydeck and gantry cranes, CMI Mills, LeeBoy pavers, Schwarze street sweepers, Tiger mowers, and Rosco among others.
In addition to its location in Harrisburg, PA, Stephenson has locations in Pittsburgh, Selinsgrove, Syracuse and Buffalo covering the markets of Pennsylvania and Upstate New York.
Stephenson has more than 100 employees and has two divisions, Service Supply Corporation, which sells light equipment and supplies; and Precise Positioning Products. Precise was started as a division in 2001 and provides high-tech surveying and GPS equipment for today’s growing marketplace. Heller said he expects that adding the Precise Positioning Products division will help Stephenson’s customers be better ready to handle the technological advances for the new century in building.
Ask Heller what Stephenson’s future success really boils down to and he’ll put all the credit on people — both employees and customers. “The employees of Stephenson Equipment are vital to our growth and all of them are very special to Bob [Criste] and me,” he began “We are really focused on all our employees and have recognition for all of them. We are committed to 40 hours of training for each employee for every year. This investment is key to our success.
“The vision that Bob and I share as a common goal is customer satisfaction rooted in a financially stable company for the new millennium. Customers can be assured that we are ready to continue to service our every growing clientele. We will continue the Stephenson name and are very proud of it,” Heller concluded.
Today's top stories
