Plan B Is Still The Program

Stanley, NC: As the SENNEBOGEN Dealer of the Year for two years running, Vinicius Casselli, Director of Envimat, the SENNEBOGEN dealer in Brazil, his plan was to make Envimat the top dealer. And Plan B was to make Plan A work. Well, it is working as well as he expected. But as he said recently, “Although SENNEBOGEN material handlers are relatively easy to sell because of their engineering and overall product quality, their customers expect their machines to be able to operate 24 hours a day.” To make that happen, he has an army of mobile factory trained mechanics to do just that.

The Award Winners 

At a recent ISRI Show, today known as the ReMA Show (Recycled Materials Association), Constantino Lannes, President of SENNEBOGEN America, Envimat was once again named Top Dealer in the SENNEBOGEN America family. “We are very proud of the accomplishments of all our dealers. We have the best dealers in the industry,” said Lannes.

Brooke Tyler IV, from Tyler Equipment Company with company offices in Massachusetts and Connecticut, this year’s first runner-up (and the 2022 Tree Care Dealer of the Year) stated that since SENNEBOGEN machines are purpose-built, he has technicians and service vehicles that have also been “purpose-built” with factory training and stocked with UPtime Kits and all the special tools they might need to service a SENNEBOGEN material handler.

Chad Stracener, from Tractor & Equipment Company of Alabama, the second runner-up (and the 2023 Tree Care Dealer of the Year) also talked about their service trucks, and factory-trained technicians that are out there every day meeting the needs of their customers while continuing to build customer trust and confidence. As well, he recounted that TEC continues to invest in inventory and an inventory delivery system that ensures continuous uptime and machine availability.

At the meeting, Brooke Tyler and Chad Stracener both agreed with the sentiment from Vinicius Casselli. “Our customers know that they are buying the best product on the market, but in return, they have high expectations for machine uptime.” They all agreed that as distributors, they take this responsibility seriously and each of them have invested heavily in parts inventories and technician training at the SENNEBOGEN Training Center.

They also agreed that a good salesman will sell the first piece of equipment, but it is the impact of the parts and service people that keeps them coming back.

Becoming Partners With Our Customers

Envimat, as the company name says, addresses their two main areas of interest: A) Environment and Material Handling.

Initially, Envimat was well known in the forestry industry and made their mark there. However, based on that history, Casselli brought in steel, scrap and recycling market specialists, “We hired these individuals because they know the business of our customers and understand the challenges they face every day.” Casselli continued, “Our sales teams are well versed with the SENNEBOGEN product line but our specialists bring something new to each situation. We know what the customers want and we see it as part of our job to be their equipment partner and help the customer be more profitable. They can do that when we have earned their trust and we work with them to choose the right machines with the right attachment for their operations and applications.”

Casselli went on to say that some of his best salespeople are his customers. When asking one of his customers if he can bring in someone to see their SENNEBOGEN working in their yard, they always say, “Yes, of course. But you’re not allowed to come. Stay home. We’ll have a good conversation,” and they do. He says they tell them all about the machines but most importantly, they tell them about our service fleet, parts inventory and our factory trained mechanics. “We’re very proud of our relationship with our customers. We are also very excited that we are bringing five customer technicians this Fall to the SENNEBOGEN Training Center for free factory training that will be done in Spanish.”

What the Customers Like. Really, Really Like!

One of the things that his customers really like is the simplicity of the SENNEBOGEN material handlers. The off-the-shelf componentry as well as the fact that they are hydraulic over hydraulics vs the competitive machines that use proprietary parts and are electronic over hydraulics. That combination, in the environment that they work in, makes them much more prone to failure and downtime due to the electronic componentry that controls the machines.

Casselli does go on to say that the success of Envimat is also due to the support they get from SENNEBOGEN America and its President, Constantino Lannes. He says the SENNEBOGEN team is there every month and works with new customers to maximize their investment. “Constantino is also here regularly, and we are working with him all the time. He is so knowledgeable. Our customers love to talk with him especially as he speaks their business language but is also fluent in Portuguese and Spanish.”

When asked if he felt that a “Threepeat” was possible for next year, he indicated that he had a great deal of respect for the other dealers across North America but he will continue to work Plan B to make sure Plan A is successful!