For just over a year, Fleet Masters Equipment Repair in Holly, Michigan, has been a part of SENNEBOGEN’s Authorized Service Program. Shaun Smith, founder and owner of Fleet Masters, began the business in October of 2020, working out of a pickup truck. He has since expanded the business to its Holly, Michigan, location with eight employees, five service trucks, and plans to continue to grow. Shaun attributes part of that growth to becoming a SENNEBOGEN Authorized Service Provider.
“The process to become an ASP was pretty straightforward,” explained Smith, “we filled out an application and it was within a couple days that we had phone interviews and talked to their ASP channel manager who filled us in.” Shaun’s team then completed the requirements to become an Authorized Service Provider and got started right away.
Growing In The Industry
“The program has been great for us and gotten us into a lot of business directly and indirectly,” explained Smith, “some customers referred us to work on other SENNEBOGENs. We have gotten a lot of new business just from the ASP program.” Fleet Masters Repair Service started to receive calls regarding SENNEBOGENs roughly a month after attending training classes in Stanley, NC, and the calls haven’t stopped since. Calls range from basic repairs to axles and swivels.
“The ASP program bridges the gap for the customer and gives them another avenue for service. With SENNEBOGEN, you can buy your machine from who you want and choose who you want to do your service. I think that’s a huge plus because customers aren’t stuck to one party, if they have a bad experience they can go elsewhere for better service.”
Training and Parts
Becoming an ASP allowed Fleet Masters Equipment repair to stock parts and gain machine knowledge, which was an advantage for Shaun.
“The training program is great,” acknowledged Smith, “the instructors are very knowledgeable and they get you right in on the machine. They actually bug the machine and take stuff apart, then walk around just like an operator and say ‘hey, this is what’s going wrong with the machine,’ and you just dig in and fix it.”
Shaun also praised SENNEBOGEN’s online learning hub for giving his team the ability to find information on machine issues anytime and anywhere. “The information you need to do repairs, and even just service information and pressures, are all right there and very detailed. It’s a great tool that we use frequently.”
Fleet Masters Equipment Repair stocks parts, such as filters, fuses, relays, and fittings, so customers do not have to wait on shipping times to get their operations back up and running. Among Fleet Masters’ parts are SENNEBOGEN Preventive Maintenance kits, which are hour and machine-specific and packed with the parts needed at various service intervals, as well as UPtime Kits.
“The UPtime kits are great. They are very well designed and a real time saver when you go out and have relays on hand that cover every E and D series machine,” explained Smith, “We use the electrical kit a lot, and the fitting and o-rings kits all the time.”
Why Shaun Recommends the Program
“I would recommend the ASP program to anybody that is at a point in their business where they have the ability to grow and want to grow and sustain,” Smith claimed, “it helps you get into the industry and help customers with their SENNEBOGENS. It’s also a really good way to learn because you have service information and can get help from SENNEBOGEN. You can learn and better your education, which as an independent you lose.”
Fleet Masters Equipment Repair’s Future as an ASP
Smith described SENNEBOGEN as having a team culture. “If you need something and call over there, you get a team effort. They get you the information fast, and they call us monthly to make sure we have everything we need as an ASP,” said Smith, “They want everyone to be on the same page and to be a team, so when you partner with them, you get the backing of SENNEBOGEN.
“This time last year, we probably worked on one SENNEBOGEN. Now, we are working on twenty or more units. I see in the next three to five years, we will transition most of our business to working on SENNEBOGENS.”
Interested in becoming an Authorized Service Provider? Reach out to sales@sennebogenllc.com.