ASC Construction Equipment USA Inc. has been the Sennebogen dealer in North Carolina and South Carolina since 2010. At the time, Brad Stimmel, ASC president, was looking to expand the business, and that’s when Sennebogen came to his attention.
"When I started to investigate the scrap industry, I saw that there were several good manufacturers," said Stimmel. "But, after studying the market and the options, Sennebogen became my first choice. [They are] the market leader and their business philosophy is similar to ours."
Stimmel said that Sennebogen already had a strong presence in the scrap industry, so ASC planned to continue with the legacy.
"What we bring to the table is a focus in the forestry, waste, and aggregates industry, as Volvo already has a significant presence in those industries," Stimmel said. "With Sennebogen in our portfolio, we can now be a one stop shop for our customers."
Now that the relationship with Sennebogen is well established, ASC is taking a more aggressive approach with the product. This includes moving veteran ASC employee Rob Jordan into the position of material handling and demolition segment manager, which took place in April. He was pleased to accept the position and was asked if he wanted to go back out into the field.
"I’m a sales guy at heart," said Jordan. I have been involved with the Sennebogen product line for over 10 years and Sennebogen is a proven, quality product that I really believe in. Our account managers are involved with these customers because of the other products that we offer, but I’m the in-house specialist on the Sennebogen product line. So when there are any questions about the right type of machine, the right size of machine and what a customer needs, that’s where I assist the ASC sales team. It’s a joint effort between myself and the local account managers for every territory."
Jordan said that the biggest market for Sennebogen material handlers has predominantly been scrap yards and steel mills — anything to do with moving metal.
"However, there are a lot of other opportunities that Sennebogen is really starting to branch out into in our territory," Jordan said.
One area of interest is a seaport. With the expansion of the Panama Canal, ports on the East Coast will be changing how they’re set up to accommodate these larger vessels, which means there will be greater opportunity for machines that will be needed to unload those vessels carrying bulk cargo.
"Another industry that is really starting to take off is using Sennebogen machines in the logging industry — not actually cutting down the logs, but at lumber yards, saw mills, or pellet facilities — they use the machines for unloading and stacking those logs,” said Jordan. "These are not necessarily new ideas for Sennebogen, but lumber yards, saw mills, and other manufacturing facilities are markets that we’ve not really tapped into yet that we’re trying to go after."
Jordan said the transition into selling Sennebogen machines is going really well so far.
"We’ve made some good strides in the ports as well as the logging industry," said Jordan. "One interesting area of note is where the two markets have met. There are a lot of logs being shipped overseas that are going to sawmills in different countries, so you have the logging industry meeting the port industry. That is a neat little segment all to itself."
Jordan said that his biggest hope is to get a more diversified group of customers to weather the changes in demand for the scrap market or logging.
"The more diverse your company is, the less impact it has on your business if one particular segment is down," said Jordan. "You need to try to balance everything out and split it between the markets. I also want to pursue other markets. If it’s not logging or ports or scrap, I want to see about other areas where we can potentially look at using these machines in the future."
About Sennebogen
Sennebogen has been a leading name in the global material handling industry for nearly 60 years. Based in Stanley, N.C., within the greater Charlotte region, Sennebogen LLC offers a complete range of purpose-built machines to suit virtually any material handling application. Established in North America in 2000, Sennebogen LLC has quickly become a leading provider of specialized equipment solutions for recycling and scrap metal yards, barge and port operations, log-handling, transfer stations, and waste facilities from coast to coast. A growing network of distributors supports Sennebogen LLC sales and service across the Americas, ensuring the highest standard of professional machine support and parts availability.
About ASC
For more than 50 years, ASC has been providing Volvo Equipment distribution and experience internationally, and is the largest Volvo equipment dealer in the world. With 12 strategic locations throughout the Southeastern United States and three new offices in North Dakota, the largest articulated truck fleet in North America, and the reigning Volvo World Champion Service Technicians, ASC is committed to providing world class customer support.
For more information on ASC Construction Equipment call 704/494-8100 or call Rob Jordan at 704/839-9553.
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