New Employees Employee Handbook

EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER
September 2016
Volume 24
Number 12
New Employees
We have no multiple-of-five work anniversaries this month, but in five
years we might: Please welcome our three new employees.
DAVID BAKER – Dave is new in our Minot store, working as the relief driver for
Lori out of our store. From Minot, he is married with three adult children.
Dave enjoys hunting and old cars.
KEVIN SCHERER – Kevin is new at BENCO-Bismarck, but he’ll be familiar to
some long-time Hedahls employees—in the early ‘80s Kevin worked in the
machine shops in our Dickinson and Bismarck stores. From Bismarck, he is
married with a son, Jacob. Kevin is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys bicycling and snow-shoeing. He also enjoys woodworking, photography, and
classic cars.
CHRISTOPHER McNEAL – Mac is new in sales for BENCO-Shakopee. From the
Twin Cities, he has a son and daughter-in-law. Mac enjoys classic cars and
horseback riding. He likes meeting new people and spending time with
family.
Employee Handbook
By Dick Hedahl
Hedahls has had an Employee Handbook for decades. Over the
years as circumstances, regulations, and laws change, so have our policies and procedures. We have incorporated these new requirements into our operation as we went along. Periodically we
publish a new version of the Employee
Handbook. We are publishing a new one
this month. It will be in your hands shortly.
There are a few minor changes, and
some bigger changes from our previous
publication. But all of the changes have
been in effect for quite a while. We always
make the adjustments on a running
change basis. If the changes are significant, we let you know about them through
our newsletter and company bulletins.
Read through the new Employee
Handbook. If you have any questions,
please feel free to talk with your manager,
Larry Lysengen, or call me.
Thanks to Katie Ferderer and Peggy
Lee for their hard work on this update.
Golf Tournament
The 29th Annual Hedahls Golf Tournament was held on August 29 at Apple
Creek Country Club in Bismarck. Like
last year, we had 51 golfers making up
13 teams of Hedahls customers, suppliers, and employees. Hedahls employees who played were Larry Lysengen,
Rich Eback, Arnie Zahn, Wayne Benedict, and Mike Laib.
In A flight, first place went to Bo
Selleck of Wilmar Tools, Darin Morman
of Cross Country, Pat Wingenbach of
Butler Machinery, and Ric Mewissen of
IPS. Second place went to the Capital
RV team of Jim Doll, Garret Arntz, Bryce
Doll, and Nate Horner. Third place went
to the Napoleon Oil team of Derrick Leier, Matt Roth, Brett Gross, and Kevin
Wolf. In B flight, first place went to Brandon Kramer of FM Forklift, Greg Nevins
of Nevins Sales, and Larry Lysengen of
Hedahls. Second place went to Tim
Murphy of Wilmar Tools, Chris Daniele of
Wallworks, Tom Kenyon of Gates Corp,
and Mike Goldade of Wallworks. Third
Place went to Paul Ward of Gates
Corp, Scott Bittner of Capital RV, Joe
Koverik of Protune Plus, and Darin
Rohrich of Hastings Filters.
Thanks to everyone who helped, including Bob Hampshire of Headquarters
and Duane Hudelson of Continental
Elite Belts and Hoses. Thanks also to Joy
Richey of Headquarters, who has been
taking the tournament pictures for
many years. Thanks also to Hastings Filters, AMS, Tenneco, Pico, Gates, National Oak, Tall Sales Co., Axalta Paint,
Delegard Tool, Cross Country, Wilmar
Corp., Tri-Star Eng., Disco, North Pro
Reps, K Tool International, Northern Battery, ISN, Cardone Industries, and PBE
Jobbers WHS for donations of prizes.
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Top left: Cheryl Nelson. Top right: Wes Schmidt (Bill Barth B/S), Rich Eback
(Hedahls), Wayne Blohm (Ryan Dodge). On the green: Darin Rohrich (Hastings), Scott
Bittner (Capital RV), Joe Koverik (Protune Plus), and Paul Ward (Gates). Left: Wayne
Benedict (Hedahls). Above: Kraenzel (CK Auto), Jim Friedman (Pico), Mike Laib
(Hedahls), Wes Schmidt (Bill Barth B/S). Page 3 at the top: practicing putts with the golf
carts at the ready, and Mike Laib studies the green.
New Williston Store Building
By Dick Hedahl
Over a year ago we decided our Williston store building was inadequate for our needs. We tried to find
a building that would serve our needs and be affordable. After months of searching, we decided to build
on a lot several blocks north of our current building. It is nearly ready for us to move in. We have scheduled
our final transfer to the new building for the
weekend of October 7, 8, and 9. A number of
factory reps are committed to helping, as are
some of our other store people and Headquarters folks. Kevin Falcon and his crew
have a lot of work ahead, but the culmination of all that work will be a very nice facility
for Williston’s customers and employees alike.
Congratulations to Hedahls of Williston for
your new auto parts store building.
Above: Interior of our new Williston store building. At left: exterior sign at
night. Below: Exterior of the new store building.
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IDEAS FOR BETTER SELLING:
Welding Our Sales to
Proper Inventory Mix
Forney Industries (Welding) was started by James D. Forney
from Fort Collins, Colorado, in 1932 when he invented an instant
heat soldering iron and went door to door and farm to farm selling
it. In 1936, he invented the Forney welder. It was 110Volt, 125amp.
It was the first successful welder designed for non-industrial use.
Then in 1945, the Rural Electrification Administration began delivering 230-volt utility service to the farms and ranches across America. The Forney sales staff received permission to climb the REA
poles to connect Forney welders to 230-volt power for demonstration. As you can imagine, the farmers bought them in great numbers, because it allowed them to make repairs and modify their
equipment like they never could before. In 1949 Forney was producing over 500 welders a week. James Forney passed away in
1986, but his company lives on. There is a great company history
on their website: https://www.forneyind.com .
The welding category has grown for us in just the short time we
have had the line, simply because we seem to have the right stuff
on the shelf. Forney understands the welding business and is competitively priced, and their representative Craig Heath lives in Bismarck and is one of the most helpful people I have ever met. One
of the reasons our sales have come alive is that Craig did his
homework store-by-store, area-by-area, and he designed the inventory by store. We have even become the welding supplier for
a couple
of small coop stores in
our northwest territory.
Watch for
many up
and coming Forney
specials,
even welders. Thanks,
Dale
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We’ll take our text today from the
Notre Dame football program
with their motto “Play like a
Champion Today.” After all, a winning strategy in football is a lot like
a winning strategy in sales.
Be in shape and ready for the
game: Maintain the endurance to
call on your regular customers
and seek out new leads to boot.
Hone your skills: You sometimes
hear someone called a natural at
sales, like a natural athlete, but
the truth is that football players
drill and practice, and so should
salespeople. There are skills and
details of a sales call that can be
practiced, drilled, and improved.
Execute well: When you’re in the
game or in your customer’s shop,
focus and execute. It’s all about
the details and follow-through.
Watch out for turnovers—theirs,
yours, or your competitor’s: If your
customer fumbles, see how you
can help. If you fumble, apologize
to those you’ve let down and go
back to the fundamentals. And if
your competitor fumbles, well,
that gets to the next point.
Be alert to opportunities: Whether
it’s a customer’s need or a competitor’s turnover, recognize the
opportunity and capitalize on it.
Be ready to score in a variety of
ways: Touchdowns, safeties, field
goals, PATs, and two-point conversions—like a football team, you
have plenty of options in selling.
Maybe it’s a stock order, a
changeover, a monthly special, a
new piece of equipment, or that
your customer is low on paper
towels—it all adds to the score.
Deal with defeat: Finally, if you are
defeated today, go back after it
hard tomorrow.
1970 Road Runner Superbird Clone
By Dick Hedahl
Just like most of us in the auto parts business, many customers of all of the Hedahls companies are avid
automobile fans. They buy them, rebuild them, dream of them, and modify them. This month’s car is just such
a modified classic car. Our Williston store manager, Kevin Falcon (standing with the car in the photo) sent me
the pictures.
This one is a restored 1970 Plymouth Satellite, converted to a 1970 Road Runner Superbird Clone. Paul
Sagser, owner of PLS, an auto repair customer in Epping, North Dakota, completely restored this beauty. But
he took it a step further. He added a clone kit to the Roadrunner to make it a replica of the famous NASCAR
version of the 1970 Road Runner called the Superbird.
The Superbird only lasted one year, but it was a sensation on the NASCAR tracks in 1970.
Paul’s car now has a 1969 440 cubic inch engine, 6
-Pack equipped. It has a 4-speed transmission and a
GearVender Overdrive with a Dana 60 rear end. It
started life with a 318. Only 1920 models of the Superbird were produced in 1970 and the originals are very
rare and very expensive. The Superbird kit gives it all
the look and feel of the original Superbird Road Runner
of 1970. Paul’s beauty is very much an eye-catcher,
but as a clone, it doesn’t make Paul feel like he’s in
danger of crashing a museum piece every time he
drives it.
It is painted Hemi Orange and Black, with tinted
glass all around, even the back window.
Nice work, Paul.
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Health Fairs
We will be hosting health fairs again this fall beginning in October. It’s your
chance to get some of your health screenings done for the plan year, get a flu
shot, and maybe win a Windows Surface Tablet Computer. Everyone who participates in a health fair will be entered into a drawing for a new Windows Surface.
The schedule for the health fairs will be included in the October newsletter.
Remember, this is an opportunity to get three of the four health screening tests
completed (blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol) to qualify for bonuses.
As a company, we left $15,525 in health screening test bonuses unclaimed last
plan year.
The company covers the fees for the tests at the fairs. Watch for details about how to prepare for the tests.
Once again this year, for stores without an on-site health fair, employees can still participate through your
local health provider and the company will reimburse you for the cost of a flu shot and tests for blood sugar,
blood pressure, and cholesterol.
And By the Way… Dan Schreck Retires
After nearly 35 years at the Hedahl Tire Co. and
the Main Street Tire Co., Dan Schreck has retired.
His last day on the job was Wednesday, August 31.
Dan didn’t really want a retirement party, but
some folks from Headquarters sneaked over in the
morning with cupcakes and good wishes.
Dan began as a salesman at Hedahl Tire in
January 1982, when clipboards were used for inventory and the shop had only one hoist. Computerization followed in the late 1980s, and Dan became manager in 1991. In 2000, Dan oversaw the
transition from Hedahl Tire to Main Street Tire, with a
change in business model from mostly wholesale to
mostly retail, with expanded shop services.
Blessed with his father’s strong heart and weak
knees, Dan has been slowed in recent years with
concerns about possible knee replacement. About
a year ago, Dan started bicycling in hopes of helping his knee. It has worked pretty well, and he rediscovered how much he enjoys it. This summer Dan
has been logging over 100 miles a week. Recently
he has upped that mileage as he trains for a 45miles charity ride sponsored by the FargoMoorhead Rotary Clubs. Dan’s Rotary Club in Bis-
marck meets on Wednesdays, and Dan dressed in
his cycling clothes and brought his bicycle to the
meeting to solicit sponsorship for the charity ride.
So if you are studying the pictures and wondering
why Dan appears to be dressed to go bicycling on
his last day of work, now you know. Thanks for your
years of good work, Dan, and good luck.
The Tire Co. is still in operation, with Brandon,
Tyler, and Chris still on the job, still selling tires and
wheels and doing repairs and maintenance on
tires and cars. The company itself has become part
of Hedahls, Inc. in the same way that, years ago,
BENCO and NEMAC went from being subchapter S
corporations to being divisions of Hedahls.
Photo left: Dick Hedahl, Dan Schreck, and Larry Lysengen.
Above: Dan and his crew—Tyler Bader, Chris Hauge, and Brandon Jensen.
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