Vermeer hosts Recycling Specialist Training and Demo Days in Pella
Vermeer takes the word “specialist” serious, and holds training for recycling specialists every year. In September, the Vermeer Environmental segment held a training event for dealer recycling specialists from around the globe. When it comes to environmental equipment, the specialists don’t just have to understand the machines, but also the applications they are working with, from processing wood waste and compost turning, to agricultural residues for biomass.
The week-long event was held at the manufacturing headquarters in Pella, the first day starting with newcomers to the recycling specialist role. On the second day, the recycling specialist veterans joined the training, which was held for specialists Monday through Wednesday.
The training event is something we try to do every year to keep the specialists educated on the latest product offerings,” said Jeff Bradley, recycling and forestry applications engineer. “We want to give them the tools to effectively support recycling equipment, and we had a lot of good information and new product information to share this year.
The training was held in conjunction with a customer event, complete with full demos from some of the largest machines Vermeer manufactures. During the specialist training, the classroom time was kept to a minimum and the hands-on time with equipment was taken advantage of.
This training event allows our specialists in the field to network and share successes with one another, as well as ideas. We are all a team and communication is key,” said Jay Sarver, recycling and forestry sales manager. The group was shown various recycling and forestry machines, including the new HG6000 Tier 4i, WC2300XL and the new knife kit for Wildcat trommel screen applications.
With the customer event held that same week, the turnout for the event was the largest the environmental group has seen thus far, and they are excited to see a continued growth in numbers.
These recycling specialists working within the dealership help provide valuable insight during the purchase process and work with their sales team to determine the needs of the customer and what product is best suited for them.
The purchasing process doesn’t happen over night and Vermeer recycling specialists are there to cover what a customer needs to know to ensure success, not only at the beginning of the sales process but through the whole process to closing, and continued support thereafter,” said Sarver.
Various Vermeer dealership specialists presented the some specific training sessions held on the last day of the training event.
For the first time, we had seasoned specialists lead some of the breakout sessions, which allowed them to showcase their talents, as well as give a spin on real-life sales pitches,” said Bradley.
Another new feature to the event this year, the segment invited market advisers to present on new initiatives, current and future needs, market growth and how to engage and find opportunities to work with customers within those markets.
We wanted to give a big thank you to Eric Kinsley with Innovative Natural Resource Solutions and Nora Goldstein with Biocycle for participating in this year’s event,” said Sarver.
The customers attending the Demo Days arrived on Thursday for a tour of Plant 4 and the Global Pavilion and museum, as well as an afternoon of go-karting, before heading to dinner. On Friday morning, Mary Andringa, President and CEO, welcomed our guests and provided an overview of the company and principles that help guide the company in the right direction.
Our executive team was supportive and available throughout the day to visit with customers and dealer representatives,” said Sarver.
The rest of the day was spent outside, with the customers and specialists viewing demos of various recycling machines. The morning featured compost turners and trommel screens at the demo site behind the Global Pavilion. The afternoon was spent at a remote demo site about 15 minutes outside of Pella. Various customers were heard saying that the tub grinder was a “monster” and that for Vermeer and Wildcat to be able to offer both compost turner designs was great to see.
The success in the event was not only heard from the attendees, but also seen in the retail sales that were a result, including a group that had been persistent in running competitive equipment until they were recruited to run machines at the demo site.
People think of us as a small company, but bringing customers and new Vermeer members to the corporate offices is always very impressive for them,” said Craig Drury, sales representative at Vermeer Canada, who also noted that the demo sites were great for the event.
The customer I brought was extremely impressed with Vermeer,” said Rick Slaughter, sales representative at Vermeer Northwest. “He really liked that Vermeer had a lot of the same values he did in running a business and saw the event as the ‘ultimate experience’ for a potential customer.”
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