The saga continues…
Watch as Vance puts the finishing touches on the scrambled egg breakfast he made for the staff of SJF Material Handling. Will Vance emerge as the next rusty Iron Chef??
SJF Presents – Rusty Iron Chef – Part I
We recently thought it’d be fun to show you how our sales staff stays motivated on a Friday. Our very own “Rusty Iron Chef” Vance Haugen hows us how to keep the troops happy and well-fed with his take on scrambled eggs.
This Friday tradition has been happening now for some time, and Vance, Jason and Jim decided to give it the “Iron Chef” treatment. Watch now, as Vance begins to whip up some delicious breakfast for the SJF staff.
SJF Takes the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge!
Yesterday, Sam Sterner accepted the ALS #IceBucketChallenge. He subsequently challenged the SJF Sales Staff, and being as there are so many of them involved, we had to break out the skid loader to make sure everybody got a piece of the action.
Check out the video after the jump.
Employee Spotlight – Vance Haugen
Well, it’s finally happened – our employee spotlight has shone its beam into the deep and dark world of our sales department. No matter the risk to body and soul, your intrepid reporter will brave this chasm of depravity and malfeasance* to bring you ever closer to understanding the people who make SJF tick.
Today, we get to meet Vance Haugen. Vance would be considered one of the elder statesmen of the sales department, having been here since 2007. Let’s learn a little more about Vance Haugen and what drives him to be one of SJF’s top-notch solutions specialists.
*It has been brought to my attention that not everybody would take this as the joke that it is. I truly like and admire all of my coworkers, but it’s always fun to give them a bit of a hard time – especially the sales guys.
Name: Vance Haugen
When did you start working at SJF? April, 2007
What do you like most about working at SJF? Working with my associates.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work? Golfing and spending time with my grandchildren.
What’s your favorite day of the week? Friday.
Biggest pet peeve? When I’m supposed to be somewhere and other people are holding me up.
What is something about you that people would be surprised to know? I enjoy cooking.
After Work Trap Shooting
SJF just acquired an Olympic quality clay pigeon launcher so that we could offer employees the opportunity to burn off some stress after work by doing a little target shooting.  The idea originally came about when a group of employees expressed in interest in shooting clays. Recently, SJF had the opportunity to purchase this high quality clay thrower and decided to start a friendly bi-weekly target shooting club.
This past week saw SJF’s employees getting together after hours to break in the new Atlas clay pigeon machine. Needless to say, there was no lack of verbal taunting during the inaugural event. By the time the sun started to set, several challenges were made and accepted which will (of course) need to be settled in the weeks ahead. Stay tuned for more updates and photos.
Shown left, Dave Kieper brings more clay targets for the new Atlas thrower.
SJF Hires Three New Solutions Specialists
After an exhaustive search, SJF Material Handling (Winsted, MN) has hired three new solutions specialists (sales staff).  These three are stepping into some pretty big shoes that were recently vacated by a couple of other very prolific sales staff.  We sincerely wish them all the best and are looking forward to seeing what new skills and talents they can add to our growing family at SJF.
Eric Thovson comes to us with an auto sales and marketing background, and is very active in his community.
Thomas Moore has previous experience selling Skid Loaders and Compact Mini Skid Loaders and enjoys working with his cattle on his farm.
If you call in and talk w/one of these gentlemen, please welcome them, and wish them luck in this new endeavor.
Employee Spotlight – Lori Bachel
Today’s Employee Spotlight introduces us to Lori Bachel. Lori is a finance machine! Any and all orders sent in to SJF will pass through her hands at least once.
The sales people give Lori a lot of flak, but she’s the one making sure that all of our ducks are in a row. Without Lori at the helm, we would be lost.
Name: Lori Bachel
When did you start working at SJF? January, 2011
What do you like most about working at SJF? That the supervisors trust that I will get my work done without hovering over me and micro-managing. I also like that most everyone at SJF has a pretty good sense of humor and are forgiving when you’re having a bad day.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work? I love to ride my motorcycle, it instantly puts a smile on my face. I also love hanging out with my kids, and doing most anything outside. Oh, and if I get a free 5 minutes, a good book is great.
What’s your favorite day? Thanksgiving
Biggest pet peeve? People who start a sentence with “It just…” It instantly puts my hackles up.
Name something about you that people would be surprised to know. I hate getting out of bed. Even though I get to work bright and early, it’s a struggle. If I could, I would l live in bed, pay my bills there, eat there, watch TV there. I would stay in bed until I had bed sores.
What question would you like to answer that you didn’t get asked? What two foods would I have if stranded on a deserted island and it is all I could eat forever? Jerky and Pizza Rolls.
Employee Spotlight – Shawn Heaver
Hello, readers! We are going to try out something new today. We have decided to take one of our employees and shine the spotlight on them so that you can better understand who we are and what makes us tick.
We also want to thank the incredible people we have working here who fill orders, load trucks, refurbish equipment, do paperwork, and all of the other messy jobs that come with running a successful material handling equipment company.
That said, our first Employee Spotlight falls on Shawn Heaver. He runs the day-to-day dock operations, as well as works in the yard fulfilling orders from time to time.
Name: Shawn Heaver
Year started at SJF: 2005
What do you like most about working at SJF? I get to work with all different kinds of machinery. I’m a big machine guy.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work? Relaxing and gaming.
What’s your favorite game? God of War (PS3)
Do you have any other hobbies? Mostly sitting on the couch, trying to figure out what games can you win real money with. But as far as physical activity, bike riding and walking. I try to ride my bike to work when the weather is nice.
What’s your favorite day? Friday, because it’s payday and the weekend is just around the corner.
What is your biggest pet peeve? When people smack their lips when they’re eating.
Name one thing about yourself that people would be surprised to know. Nothing – I’m a pretty low-key guy.
