General Equipment 35th Anniversary

A Supplement to Construction Equipment Guide

Fargo, Bismarck, Minot & Williston, ND Sioux Falls, SD • Shakopee, MN • Urbana, IA www.genequip.com • 800-437-2924

EQUIPMENT YOU WANT. PARTS YOU NEED. SERVICE YOU DESERVE.

.RPDWVX FRQJUDWXODWHV *HQHUUDO (TXLSPHQW 6XSSOLHV ,QF RQ \HDUV RI EXVLQH HVV *HQHUDO (TXLSPHQW 6XSSOLHV ,QF KDV GHYHORSHG YDOXD DEOH EXVLQHVV UHODWLRQVKLSVV ZLWK ERWK .RPDWVX DQG WKHLU FXVWRPHUV F KUHH DQG D KDOI GHFDGHV RYHU WKH ODVW WK :H ZLVK *HQHUDO (TXLSPH HQW 6XSSOLHV ,QF FRQWLQX XHG VXFFHVV LQ WKH IXWXUH

2

WE’VE GOT EXCLUSIVE FEATURES T O GE T MOR E DONE Oal` CG:=D;G ]p[YnYlgjk gf l`] bgZ$ q gm dd be prepared for even the toughest worksite [`Ydd]f_]k& L`Yl k Z][Ymk] o] j] [geeall]\ lg Zmad\af_ hjg\m[lanalq%Zggklaf_ ^]Ylmj]k af gmj eY[`af] k qgm ogf l Úf\ Yfqo`]j] ]dk]& O`ad] gl`]j eY[`af]k eYq g^^]j hgo]j Zggkl$ gmjk ak mflae]\ Yf\ gh]jYlgj%[gfljgdd]\& L`]f l`]j] k l`] ]p[dmkan] af\]h]f\]fl ljYn]d ^]Ylmj] l`Yl d]lk qgm \a_$ da^l Yf\ ljYn]d Yl l`] kYe] lae]& O] ]n]f l`gm_`l g^ l`] dal ld] l`af_k$ dac] koaf_ ÛYk`]jk Yf\ af\mkljq% d]Y\af_ nakaZadalq l`Yl ]f`Yf[] kY^]l q& Hdmk oal` hj]ea]j gh]jYlgj [ge^gj l k$ qgm ea_`l Y[ lmYddq ]fbgq gh]jYlaf_ gmj eY[`af]k&

KOBELCO-USA.COM/EXCAVVATORS

3

General Equipment & Supplies

General Equipment & Supplies showcases an impressive lineup of equipment at its Fargo, N.D., headquarters.

By Giles Lambertson

***

CEG CORRESPONDENT

Customers have been finding solutions at General Equipment since 1984, when Shilling’s father, Don, helped co-found the company. Don Shilling had grown up around his father’s construction company on the West Coast, but eventually graduated from high school in North Dakota. Upon graduation, his father introduced him to owners of Fargo-based General Diesel and Don Shilling went to work there. He worked himself up from wash bay attendant to technician to assistant sales manager to sales manager, in what Jon Shilling calls a manifestation of the American dream.

The final step in the dream came after General Diesel experienced a sales downturn. When the initial phase of the fracking oil

General Equipment & Supplies is a notably generic name for a company. Yet the North Dakota-based company enjoys a high public profile throughout the upper Midwest and across the border in Canada. Furthermore, after 35 years in business, it still is experiencing growth. President and CEO Jon Shilling attributes this success to the company’s customer-centric philosophy.

“The main point I’d like to make,” Shilling said in a 35th anniversary interview from his office in Fargo, “is that the purpose of our company is to provide solutions, to take care of our customers. We’re not just looking to sell another piece of equipment. We like to say we are building meaningful relationships by earning trust and we do that by asking the right questions in order to provide creative solutions.”

see page 8

4

Celebrates 35 Years in Business

General Equipment & Supplies has been lucky to have many loyal employees. Some have even been with them since the beginning. Long-time employees (L-R) include Dave Broten, Jerry Kern, John Gromatka, Mark Johnson, Dale Hatfield and Don Shilling.

5

6

THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT FOR YOUR OPERATION

The Right Equipment For over 90 years we have led the way as manufacturers for the aggregate, mining, industrial, construction and recycling industries. As part of Astec Industries, we set ourselves apart by designing, manufacturing and selling the most innovative, productive, reliable and safe equipment for the industries we serve, coupled with unparalleled customer service. We are pleased to offer a complete line of crushing, screening, conveying, washing and classifying, and track equipment.

Learn more at kpijci.com

SOLD AND SUPPORTED BY 4300 Main Ave. Fargo, ND 58103

905 20th Ave. SE Minot, ND 58701

3901 N. Lewis Ave Sioux Falls, SD 57104

3715 4th Ave. S. Hibbing, MN 55746

(701) 282-2662

(701) 852-0479

(605) 336-9000

(218) 262-3130

3500 Apple Creek Rd. Bismarck, ND 58504

4082 2nd Avenue West Williston, ND 58801

4600 Valley Industrial Blvd. S. Shakopee, MN 55379

5364 Hutton Drive Urbana, IA 52345

(701) 223-9700

(701) 572-0570

(952) 224-1500

(319) 214-4084

www.genequip.com 7

The original ownership group poses with pride. (L-R): Orvis Stockstad, Jerry Kern, Don Shilling and Gene Hestalden.

from page 5

he became president of the new company called General Equipment & Supplies. Shilling was the expert on construction rolling stock, Jon Shilling says, and became sales manager. Gene Hestdalen was the service manager and Jerry Kern became point man for the company’s entry into the aggregate equipment business. Seven years later, the company opened a second location in Bismarck and, two years after that, a branch in Minot.

Hestdalen left after a couple of years, but Orvis remained president for a decade before retiring. Kern and Shilling are still with General Equipment, Shilling as chairman of the board and Kern as vice chairman, each handling special projects. “They have similar business minds,” Jon Shilling says of his father and Kern. “ Their goals were the same, but they each had a different mindset.

Through the years they would put their heads together and come up with the best way to achieve their goals.”

boom died out and weakened the company, then-34-year-old Don Shilling and three co-workers bought the Fargo office and assets of General Diesel. The quartet proved to be a good fit.

Orvis Stockstad had developed more industry relationships so

Seen here is the company’s most recent location in Urbana, Iowa.

8

General Equipment & Supplies’ current executive team (L-R) are Don Shilling, chairman of the board; Steve Berdan, vice president of parts; Matt Kern, vice president of rolling stock sales; Sara Frith, vice president of customer relations; Jon Shilling, president and CEO; Tanya Groft, vice president of finance; Steve Stafki, vice president of service; and Don Kern, vice president of aggregate sales.

Styles may change over the years, but customers have always been greeted with a smile at the company’s parts counter.

The service team is in the field around-the-clock making sure customers are up and running.

Three of Kern’s children are extending the family legacy at the company. Don Kern is vice president of aggregate equipment sales and Matt Kern vice president of rolling stock sales. Jerry Kern’s daughter, Sara Frith, is vice president of customer relations. Other executive team members are vice president of parts Steve Berdan, vice president of Finance Tanya Groft, and vice president of service Steve Stafki.

Today, General Equipment operates from 10 locations in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and two bordering provinces in Canada — Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Its Urbana, Iowa, office is the newest one as the expansion continues. “Our intent is to open a store on the eastern side of Iowa as well. We

cover Nebraska but have no office there yet. And we’re looking at expanding operations in northern Minnesota with storefronts to serve our customers better,” Jon Shilling says.

General Equipment customers have access to an array of topline equipment from manufacturers of aggregate and construction machinery. In the aggregate sector, crushing, screening and conveying equipment brands range from A to T (Anaconda to Terex Finlay) with KPI-JCI, Lippmann, Generac Magnum, Superior Industries and several others in between. General Equipment salespeople sometimes blend brands for a customer to produce see page 14

9

10

17 YEARS

SUCCEESSFUL PARTNERSHIP

RM MT, VEI’s North Americcan Headquarter, is prouud to have built a long lastiing partnership with General Eqquipment & Suppliess

SMART LOAD DER R SCALES Available at each General Equipmennt & Supplies location

Camera & radar syysstems for heavy equipmeennt Are you warned of im mm minent danger while backing gu up?

A RadarEye system alo ong with an Orlaco camera detec ct stationary and moving objects 100% % waterproof Heate ed lens e Shock & vibration proo of

CALL GENERAL EEQUIPMENT & SUPP PLIES TODA AY Y

www.genequip.com \ Fargo, ND 800-437-2924

\ Minot, ND 800-825-0479

\ Bismarck, ND 800-279-4437

\ Williston, ND 701-572-0570 11

\ Shakopee, MN 800-966-1455

\ Sioux Falls, SD 605-336-9000

\ Urbana, IA 319-214-4084

Fargo, Bismarck, Minot & Williston, ND Sioux Falls, SD • Shakopee, MN • Urbana, IA www.genequip.com • 800-437-2924

Sales • Rental • Parts • Service

EQUIPMENT YOU WANT. PARTS YOU NEED. SERVICE YOU DESERVE.

12

13

Sun or snow, customers know they can count on the service team to be onsite.

line—and is working with two county governments and Fargo municipal officials to expand sales.

Aggregate equipment constitutes 60 percent of General Equipment’s business, with cranes and other movable machinery divvying up most of the rest.

Komatsu sales and rentals account for 30 percent of the rolling stock business.

All these products generate some $150 million a year in business volume. At the peak of the fracking revolution, business volume touched on $200 million—doubling over three years—and the strategic goal is to return to that $200 million and beyond.

As everywhere else, rentals boomed at General Equipment after the 2008 downturn. Unless a big infrastructure renewal deal is struck in Washington or the construction economy is otherwise stabilized, Shilling doesn’t see a lessening of interest in rentals. And that’s all right, because the company rents any piece of its equipment with an option to buy.

Fully 80 percent of its rentals transition to purchases, Shilling says, especially in the aggregate division. ***

To keep this machinery running and maintained, General Equipment has a $10 million inventory of parts in its U.S. locations. This massive overhead comes at an upfront cost to the company, but Because you never know what a customer may need, General Equipment & Supplies keeps a solid we pride ourselves in providing our customers what they need when they need it stock of parts ready when they’re needed. as best we can.” the president says.

Managing parts will be made easier with the current construcfrom page 9 tion of a 10,000-sq. ft., state-of-the-art central warehouse in custom pieces of aggregate equipment.

Fargo. Nightly shuttle runs occur among the branches and the On the construction side, Komatsu is the flagship product, main location and from a Komatsu outlet in Minneapolis as but hardly the only stellar brand. Other product lines include needed. Shilling says that 95 percent of the time when a part isn’t Dynapac, JCB, Kobelco, and Trail King. A broad line of Link- on a shelf, it is delivered the next day.

Belt cranes is offered at the North Dakota and Minnesota The company promises 24/7 parts and service availability and locations, the lifting machines ranging from rough-terrain or keeps its promise. One particular customer with a 24-hour sugar all-terrain units and telescopic models to huge lattice and beet operation especially keeps the phone ringing at night. Service crawler cranes. technicians number about 100, including apprentices and interns, Auxiliary products support the two major industries, including and some of them drive to remote locations in the company’s 36 Major Wire woven and stainless-steel mesh, Gorman-Rupp service trucks. “Our shops are packed with work, but the trucks pumps, NPK excavator attachments and Trimble and Topcon are on the road quite often,” Shilling says. “I think about 70 perlaser and GPS equipment. General Equipment also has a presence cent of the work we do is on site, where customers need us the in the governmental market—largely through the JCB product most. Downtime is costly to them, so we do our best to repair on

14

Service technicians are more efficient than ever with tool tracking.

15

16

Terex has been with General Equipment & Supplies since the start.

site to minimize their downtime. Large, extensive repairs are done in the shop where a clean environment and overhead cranes are needed.”

The Canadian side of business has a slightly different mix of aggregate product lines—Volvo Penta diesel engines and Haver & Boecker screening equipment, for example, with a $5 million inventory of parts. At branch offices in Regina, Saskatchewan, and Winnipeg, Manitoba, the company is upgrading shop facilities to better service larger equipment.

Shilling acknowledges that doing business in neighboring countries is, well, interesting. “There definitely are challenges.

Currency is an issue. Regulatory compliance issues come up.

There are different requirements for employee benefits. Different holidays. And moving equipment back and forth across the border can be a hassle.” While General Equipment is not looking for another location, it has recently introduced a new aggregate crushing line to its Canadian customers.

*** The company is not experiencing a shortage of service technicians. This is unusual among construction equipment dealers. Shilling says the difference is an internship program the company developed with North Dakota State College of Science (Wahpeton) and Komatsu America.

The two-year program begins with a high school recruiter interviewing candidates to determine if they are a good fit for the company’s culture. The process includes multiple shop visits and work shadowing, a parent night and lots of mutual learning about each other. If accepted into the program, a student will have up to 100 percent of school costs repaid depending upon grades. The program was launched in 2016 and has produced 18 graduates with 16 more in the pipeline.

“I can honestly tell you that we don’t have an overwhelming need for techs,” Shilling says. “We are pretty comfortable at

17

Aggregate makes up a large chunk of General Equipment & Supplies’ business and the company ensures each customer is provided highly-

each location.” Inhouse trainer Jason Mahrer works with veteran techs on the construction side to keep up their skills.

Aggregate equipment technicians are sent to manufacturers’ classes.

More than 225 people work at General Equipment in 2019

and all are immersed in a culture that emphasizes four core values: Do the Right Thing, Have Passion, Be Innovative, and Work Hard. As maxims, they are not especially novel, but they are consistently stressed. “We are trying to empower our employees to make decisions on their own, for the customer and the company,” Shilling explains. “We won’t question what they are doing. They don’t have to come back and justify every little decision.

They are asked to do what they believe is right.”

Shilling says the company tries to hire people who personally ascribe to the core values in their personal lives “so they don’t have to come to work and be a different person.”

While the company always has promoted values, three years ago they were shrunk to just four in the hope that employees would more easily adopt them. “Five or six years ago, people working here might have been able to name one or two of the values. Now probably 90 percent of our people know three or maybe all four of them.”

18

customized solutions for spreads like the one pictured here.

***

Five successful events have been held so far.

“The entire purpose is to teach aggregate industry customers what they might want to know to better their businesses,” says Shilling. “We talk about equipment, too, but the intent is to educate our customers. It is an expense for us. We don’t make money,

Then, again, there is the name—General Equipment & Supplies. Shilling concedes that it is not something that easily distinguishes the company. “We do run into that issue,” he says of the name’s generic character. “We get calls from people looking for General Rentals or something. It is a little difficult.”

Efforts to market the company are ongoing, with an app and a slightly differentiating logo to distinguish between U.S. and Canadian operations. “We do our best to get our name out there,” the president says. “We have a pretty good brand and a good website. But a guy who has never done business with us might have to exert a little effort to find us.”

To help customers and the community more easily recognize the company name, General Equipment sponsors an “Aggregate Expo” in Fargo every three years. The company takes over the Fargo Holiday Inn and fills a parking lot with machines and more than 50 vendor booths. Every 90 minutes, an hourlong class on industry topics is conducted by experts. The Aggregate Expo has 60-minute classes.

19

but we do get to know our customers better.” The two-day March event attracts customers from surrounding states and Canada.

Company founders didn’t envision General Equipment growing to what it is today, Shilling says. “The company grew because of demand for its products and services. But growth is our strategy now.

There is expansion on the horizon. I’m not sure where yet, but it’s coming in the near future.”

Like his father, Jon Shilling grew up in a family business and enjoyed working part-time at the office. But he wanted to work for an airline and earned a business degree at the University of North Dakota to that end. He then got sidetracked—the 9/11 terrorist attack set back his airline

20

plans—and he was thinking about purchasing a cellphone company when he talked it over with his father.

“After we got done, he said, you know, if you are interested you can always come work for me,” Jon Shilling recalls. So he did, beginning in sales and marketing responsibilities before taking over for his father in January 2017. Does he believe the company has another 35 years in it?.

“I do,” he says. “Thirty-five years and beyond. Maybe we can make it to our 100th anniversary. I see outstanding growth ahead, all of it because of a great group of people. If we in management treat our people right, they will take care of our customers and anything is possible.”  CEG

21

FLEX-MAT WAS CREATED IN 1996 TO UNLEASH SCREENING FLEX-MAT WASPRODUCTIVITY. CREATEDTHIS ININDUSTRY-LEADING 1996 TO UNLEASH TECHNOLOGY PROVIDES THE HIGHEST THROUGHPUT SCREENING PRODUCTIVITY. INDUSTRY-LEADING AND PERFORMANCE IN THIS SCREENING MEDIA. TECHNOLOGY PROVIDES THE HIGHEST THROUGHPUT www.majorflexmat.com AND PERFORMANCE IN SCREENING MEDIA.

www.majorflexmat.com

©2017 Major Wire Industries Limited. A Haver & Boecker Company. All Rights Reserved.

©

1

FACILITY

AUTHORIZED DEALER & CERTIFIED FINISHING FACILITY

LOCAL SERVICES: More than having top products, local services include: > Screening Performance Assessments > Screen Maintenance Seminars > On-site technical assistance > Inventory near you

CONTACT INFORMATION & LOCATIONS:

1-800-437-2924 www.genequip.com

majorflexmat.com ©2018 Major Wire Industries Limited. A Haver & Boecker Company. All rights reserved.

22

&RQJUDWXOODWWLQJ J *HQHUDO (TXLSPHQW RQ \HDUV RI SURYLGLQJ H[FHOOHQW VHUYLFH DQG HTXLLSPHQW

WILLISTON, ND

MINOT, ND HIBBING, MN

BISMARCK, ND

FARGO, ND SHAKOPEE, MN

SIOUX FALLS, SD URBANA, IA

FARGO

BISMARCK

MINOT

WILLISTON

4300 Main Ave. Fargo, ND 58103 (701) 282-2662 (800) 437-2924

3500 Apple Creek Rd. Bismarck, ND 58504 (701) 223-9700 (800) 279-4437

905 20th Ave. SE Minot, ND 58701 (701) 852-0479 (800) 825-0479

4082 2nd Avenue West Williston, ND 58801 (701) 572-0570

SIOUX FALLS

SHAKOPEE

HIBBING

URBANA

3901 N. Lewis Ave Sioux Falls, SD 57104 (605) 336-9000

4600 Valley Industrial Blvd. S. Shakopee, MN 55379 (952) 224-1500 (800) 966-1455

3715 4th Ave. S. Hibbing, MN 55746 (218) 262-3130

5364 Hutton Drive Urbana, IA 52345 (319) 214-4084 (800) 437-2924