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“ We currently have contracts with the US federal government contractors . Typically , we repair and maintain the fueling systems at military bases throughout the country , which can involve anything from doing concrete work at the facilities , to dealing with a 20-inch valve on one of their pipelines . It also means we maintain the systems on the flight lines for the airplanes at air force bases , as well as the offload , and receiving fuel from the tanker trucks .”
Collaborative culture
Coupled with the business ’ leading service , Acterra Group boasts an excellent team of experts . Subsequently , the leadership group works hard to encourage a supportive and united atmosphere . “ There are about eight of us on the committee . We might have a night out at the local hockey arena for the minor league team we have , or attend a minor league baseball game . On the 4 th of July , we have a company picnic at our offices , and everyone gets together to have a good time ,” shares Bryan .
Above that , Tad shares that the business is experimenting with the use of additional incentives in areas like recruitment , in order to get everyone involved in the company ’ s growth . “ I am really pushing my whole team to start thinking about what they do every day , and if the operation isn ’ t working , we want them to feel empowered to find out how to improve it so it makes it better for the whole company . We are really pushing hard to give them the freedom to make changes to our business and be a partner instead of being here for eight hours and then going home with no sense of fulfillment . If they are more invested , I believe it will help us in the end and increase the value of our culture ,” he says .
Continued growth
The future for the business looks promising
... and if the operation isn ’ t working , we want them to feel empowered to find out how to improve it so it makes it better for the whole company
as the two leaders share that targets include a 30 percent growth . “ We have been very lucky these last two years ,” shares Tad . “ The backlog is significantly higher than it has ever been . As a business owner , I love to see the backlog . However , we ’ re experiencing the trouble of hiring people , even in our different regions , which limits how much business we can complete . We hired a recruiter in house , and she is doing phenomenally . Typically , every manager is tasked to handle hiring themselves , but by spending a bit of money on a new person who focuses on recruitment , we are really starting to see the applications go up , the interviews increase and the process go down , which has been fantastic ,” he says , and Bryan agrees .
“ The recruiter has taken a lot off the managers ’ plates because trying to get people hired has slowed down work . From my perspective , the company ’ s growth plan is to double the size of our business in the next two years , and then if we can , triple in five years . Those are what we ’ re discussing with our equity partners , and it is a growth plan that they would like to see ,” Bryan says .
Over the last six decades , Acterra has evolved from a gas station equipment and service enterprise to a multi-faceted organization with exceptional sales , service and installation capabilities , and under the Cooper name , there is no doubt the business will continue to thrive for many more generations . ■
www . acterragroup . com
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