For NPK Construction Equipment, under the leadership team of President Dan Tyrrell, Vice President of Sales Jay Noel and Regional Manager Scott McGuigan, launching its first company-owned store in Georgia presented both opportunities and challenges.
“NPK historically distributes its product through an exclusive dealer network. The Atlanta market has been without an exclusive dealer for a couple of years due to the economic downturn, so NPK decided to launch its very first company-owned store under the name NPK DemoTrax,” said Noel. “The Atlanta market is historically a ’Top Ten’ construction market in the U.S., with very robust aggregate, demolition and scrap industries. We searched for two months to find a suitable location that provided enough shop/service area, along with adequate yard space to store machines.”
According to McGuigan, the goal for NPK was to locate a facility in the metro Atlanta area with easy access to the vast majority of the city within an hour’s time frame. Equally important was the ability to provide the product support capabilities of a full-service dealer. For McGuigan, the task was easier said than done.
“It proved much harder than we originally anticipated, but the facility we found turned out to be absolutely perfect from a size, functionality and location standpoint,” McGuigan said. “The facility has a large service area with three large bay doors for easy access for large equipment and enough space to handle all the required tooling. NPK DemoTrax has secured a facility in Norcross, Ga., very close to the I-85 corridor. The building is a 6,500 sq. ft. (603.9 sq m), full-service facility that sits on a two-acre lot. This commitment gives us the capability to provide the excellent product support NPK customers have come to expect.”
NPK, a worldwide manufacturer of hydraulic attachments for the demolition, construction, recycling and aggregate industries, was founded in Osaka, Japan, more than 90 years ago. Today, it maintains manufacturing facilities in Japan, the Czech Republic and, closer to home, Cleveland, Ohio. NPK Construction Equipment in Cleveland was founded in 1985. Today, with more than 80 employees, NPK Construction Equipment has more than 70 construction equipment dealers and more than 300 branches throughout North and South America.
“NPK sells through exclusive distribution,” said Tyrrell. “This helps us give the highest level of customer support in the industry. Thousands of customers throughout the United States have come to expect outstanding customer support with NPK products. Without an exclusive dealer in Georgia, NPK customers were suffering without reliable spare parts and dealer-personnel trained in NPK application, repair and maintenance. NPK DemoTrax will bring that high level of product support back to Georgia.”
“NPK has a great reputation in the Georgia market,” McGuigan added. “As the market here continues its recovery, contractors are bidding low on jobs to get the cash flow. They need quality products for sale or rent, and they need them quickly after a job is awarded. Committing to a rental fleet of late model, low-hour excavators with new NPK attachments fulfills an underutilized niche in the marketplace and provides an excellent opportunity to grow greater customer awareness of the NPK product line. All rental fleet excavators will be equipped with full demolition guarding, rub rails and falling objects protection to protect the operators’ and customers’ safety.”
The current staff at NPK DemoTrax consists of Inside Sales Coordinator Andrew Szafraniec, Outside Account Manager Joe Burton and Field Service Technician Charlie Morgan. The sales coordinator is responsible for all parts ordering and shipping, as well as all rental logistics. One of the account manager’s main duties is introducing NPK DemoTrax to the marketplace and growing the NPK customer base in parts, sales and rental. The field service technician will service and repair the rental fleet, as well as perform rebuilds on customer hammers, processors and shears.
As far as inventory, the NPK leadership team said NPK DemoTrax will have new and used units across the entire spectrum of the NPK product line. This will include hydraulic hammers, plate compactors, secondary concrete crushers, material processors, scrap shears, demolition grapples and hydraulic thumbs, as well as all the attachments needed for the quarries, demolition contractors, municipalities, general contractors and scrap yards across Georgia.
Having only opened its door in September 2012, the company is focusing on its short-term goals, which include convincing customers in the Georgia markets that DemoTrax offers all the parts availability, service commitment and rental and sales application expertise to help them now and in the future.
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