This summer, we had the pleasure of hosting Katy Hoefer as our intern at our facility in Houston, Texas. Katy is studying Industrial Distribution at Texas A&M University. Throughout her internship, she experienced what it is like to work at our employee owned company and has looked up to our Account Manager, Geoffrey Hartnup. Geoff has been readily available to guide and help Katy explore all things hydraulics. Katy sat down with Geoff to get to know him better to understand how he got to where he is now in his career.

What is your role on a day-to-day basis?

“I am an Account Manager for territories in Houston and east Texas.  My day to day activities consist of calling on customers, finding new customers, technical support, providing quotes and specifications for products and teaching younger employees the ins and outs of the business.”

When did you join Hydraquip?

“I have been here for 6 years. I started in June of 2014.”

How have you grown within the company?

“I was lucky enough to intern with Hydraquip for two summers. After I graduated college, I joined the team as an Inside Salesman. From there, I moved into my current position as an Account Manager.”

Why did you go into this field?

“In college I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go into business or engineering. I chose this field because it allowed me to experience the best of both worlds. I enjoy the business side by doing sales and communicating with customers, while on the engineering end I get to draw schematics, design systems and complete calculations for these designs.”

What is your favorite thing about your job?

“I enjoy the company culture, being a part of an ESOP company where I am an employee owner and the fact that my job is always bringing new challenges.”

Where do you see yourself next?

“I really enjoy my job and would like to continue my role as an Account Manager for a while. Eventually, my goal is to transition to a management position.”

During this summer, we have the pleasure hosting Richard Ardila as our intern at Supreme Integrated Technology. Richard is studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Houston. Throughout his internship, he has experienced what it is like to work at our employee owned company and has observed our Production Engineering Manager, Wes Bacarisse. Wes has been readily available to guide and help Richard explore all things hydraulics. Richard sat down with Wes to get to know him better and understand how he got to where his is now in his career.

What is your role? Explain what you do on a day to day basis.

“My role is to manage the engineering department.  I also manage my own projects while keeping track of the production and making sure all projects are finished by a certain time.”

When did you start at the company?

“I started with Supreme Integrated Technology in October 2010, one week before my daughter was born.”

How have you grown within the company?

“I started as a regular engineering designing component. I then worked hard and learned about hydraulic components in lift boats. This helped me excel in the field to transition into the position I am currently in.”

Why did you go into this field?

“I have always believed that this is my calling. As a child I used to take things apart and try to figure out how they worked. I began my career working in a sheet metal shop and eventually decided to go back to school and finish my degree.”

What is your favorite thing about your job?

“My favorite part about my job can also be the most frustrating – the different fast pace work at SIT. Everyday the project is different and with difference comes new issues to solve.”

What has been the most challenging thing about your job?

“The most difficult part is managing people – making sure they’re on task and that the projects are finished on time and efficiently. It’s easy to manage yourself but it’s hard to manage others. It is especially hard doing this during COVID-19 since many employees are working remotely from home.

Meet our June employee spotlight, Diane Munoz! Diane is a part of our EOHI Accounting team. She has dedicated herself and her hard work to our company for almost 20 years. We are beyond grateful for all that she does. Let’s get to know her better:

What is your role? Briefly describe what you do.

“I am in Accounts Receivable. I handle collections, credit approval and anything else that needs to be done on the customer side.”

Who/what inspires you?

“My dad has been my biggest inspiration. Although he has passed away, he is someone I have always looked up to. He was a very hard worker with an attitude of be kind to everyone – especially those you work with. He always went out of his way to talk to people with a smile on his face.”

If you had to pick one strength you bring the to team, what would it be?

“I believe that I am big on communicating with the team. We always want to ensure that we talk things out to see if there’s anything different we could be doing, finding more efficient ways to operate.”

What do you like to do in your free time?

“Most days my kids are my free time! Between my three children, we are either at the baseball fields or playing in the backyard. Our new favorite quarantine activity has been family bike rides.”

If I could learn how to do one thing, what would it be?

“I have always wished that I could be craftier. Being able to sew would also be helpful with my kids.”

Where were you born?

“I was born in Houston and have been here my whole life.”

What’s the best thing about your job?

“The best thing about my job is the people I work with. I have known some of my co-workers for nearly 20 years. These people continue to make my days more enjoyable.”

What’s been one of your proudest moments at EOHI?

“Being a part of the growth. I have worked here for 19 years now.  Starting when we were just one company and then growing from there. For me to be there when new companies were acquired and new ones formed is something I’m really proud of.”

How do you define success?

“To me, my family defines success. I believe that I’ve done well with keeping my babies happy and healthy. All of these blessings with my family is what success looks like to me.”

Where is your favorite place that you’ve traveled?

“I love Lake Tahoe! We have vacationed there in the summertime and winter. During the summer months we go horseback riding and hike through small trails. In the winter we love to go snowmobiling.”

Meet our May employee spotlight, Ryan Thomson! Ryan is an Account Manager at Hydraquip in our Denver, CO location. He has been with our company for three years now and continues to proactively seek new opportunities to build to the success of the EOHI family. We appreciate all his hard work and want to share a few things Ryan is passionate about.

What is your role? Briefly describe what you do.

“As an Account Manager, I work to increase sales with both new and existing customers by building relationships based on trust, dependability, and knowledge.”

Who/what inspires you?

“My family and friends inspire me every day to be the best version of myself.”

If you had to pick one strength you bring to the team, what would it be?

“My ability to diffuse situations by communicating effectively with everyone.”

What do you like to do in your free time?

“I really enjoy playing ice hockey, going hiking/camping, listening to live music, and gardening. Living in Denver allows me to be able to enjoy the outdoor and explore new trails.”

If you could learn how to do one thing, what would it be?

“I’ve always wanted to learn how to fly a plane. I love the idea of having the freedom of being able to go anywhere whenever I want.”

Where were you born?

“I was born in the South Chicago Suburbs. I moved to Denver 4 years ago without ever visiting prior to the move.”

What’s the best thing about your job?

“Being a part of the EOHI family is the best part about my job! The relationships I have made within the company have allowed me to grow both personally and professionally. Meeting new people every day and building relationships based on trust, dependability, and knowledge are just a few reasons why I love my job.”

What’s been one of your proudest moments at EOHI?

“Gaining the trust of a customer that told me “NO” for almost a year is a moment I continue to take pride in. I was able to help them out of a jam, and the following year they purchased $43,000 worth of hose and fittings. The year after they did $88,000.”

How do you define success?

“Success is showing up every day and striving to do better than the day before. It is also making sure the ones around you (family, friends, and colleagues) prosper as well.”

Where is your favorite place that you’ve traveled?

“Exploring the back-mountain roads and hiking trails of Colorado is one of my favorite spots to venture to. This is the reason that led me to move to Denver!”

Meet our April employee spotlight, Dustin Osborn! Dustin is one of our newest team members taking on the role of Automation and Controls Sales Manager for Elite Controls, Inc. in Houston, TX. He joined our EOHI family in March and is already proactively seeking to enhance Elite Controls’ business. We are excited to have Dustin on our team and wanted to sit down to get to know more about his passions.

What is your role? Briefly describe what you do.

“My role is the Automation and Controls Sales Manager. I am responsible for all sales and growth within Elite Controls. I am tasked to help marketing develop sales strategies and expand our sales reach. I am also responsible for hiring and training our inside and outside sales team.”

Who/what inspires you?

“When it comes to a professional inspiration, I truly admire business leaders and entrepreneurs like Dave Ramsey and Simon Sinek. I enjoy listening to business podcast to learn about leadership mentality. My personal inspiration is my wife. There is nobody that works harder than she does. She is always striving to go above and beyond and I aspire to compete with her hard work mentality.”

If you had to pick one strength you bring the to team, what would it be?

“I think the biggest strengths that I have brought to Elite Controls are my field sales service and project management experience. These skills have given me the ability to find new opportunities and grow as a company.”

What do you like to do in your free time?

“I enjoy staying active and working out. Unfortunately, during the COVID-19 crisis, it’s been a bit more challenging to get to the gym, so I’ve resulted in lots of running. I also love anything outside – whether it be tennis or basketball, I enjoy the outdoors. When I’m not outside, I like to listen to podcasts or play guitar. College football is also one of my favorite things to tune into…Go Wolverines!”

If you could learn how to do one thing, what would it be?

“I think it would be helpful to become fluent in Spanish. I took four years of it in high school but never took the time to really retain it. I think it would be super helpful in the business world, especially being in Texas.”

Where were you born?

“I was born in Wauseon, Ohio. I moved to Texas in 2014.”

What’s the best thing about your job?

“I believe the best thing about my job is the customer interfacing. It is cool to be in front of customers to witness the sales growth. I also enjoy that I get to be a part of closing big orders.”

What’s been one of your proudest moments at EOHI?

“Although I have only been here for a short time, I feel proud to have won a big order. I was able to see this order through from start to finish. It is truly rewarding knowing that I am playing a part in this EOHI family.”

How do you define success?

“In my opinion, success means winning. It takes several different elements to be successful – from developing goals, to achieving these goals and working as a team. Continual growth is a sign of success.”

Where is your favorite place that you’ve traveled?

“The beaches in Mexico have been my favorite place to vacation. I love being out in the sun where I can stay active playing volleyball or swimming in the ocean. Although I enjoy the relaxation of a beach, it is hard for me to sit still for so long.”

Meet our March employee spotlight, Branko Horvat! Branko is our General Manager of GCC NW. He oversees our offices in Kent, Washington, Spokane, Washington and Portland, Oregon. He has been with us for a little over a year and recently celebrated a promotion. We sat down with Branko to get to know him better and understand what motivates him to be a leader on our team.

What is your role? Briefly describe what you do.

“I was recently promoted from Sales Manager to General Manager. As a General Manager, my role is to be the team leader for all GCC NW. I am leading the team to help solidify sales with customers and provide value. With this new role, I have taken on more responsibilities to make sure our team is moving in the right direction. I want to break down the barriers to be a part of the business which will essentially make my sales teams’ jobs easier. I believe that my job is 80% leadership and 20% management because if you do a good job at being a leader, then the management side will come easier.”

Who/what inspires you?

“Kindness is what inspires me. It is one human being helping another. If we all took a little time to provide at least one act of kindness per day this would be a better world. It is about nurturing the soul of people so that they have more energy to take on the next challenge in their life. It is about elevating people to some greater need. It is about people wanting to be part of a team so they can add value.”

If you had to pick one strength you bring the to team, what would it be?

“I would say it is communication. I probably say this like a broken record, but business environments usually fail because of poor communication. Every day I try to find some new or better ways to communicate to the GCC NW team. How do we keep people informed so that they can execute the next task without worry? How do we keep doors open for innovation and entrepreneurial behavior to exist? How do we ask our people to take calculated risks? How do we continuously improve who and what we do every day? Well, it is what and how we communicate. I believe in feed forward advice versus feedback. I believe in clear vision and creativity. I believe in modeling the way for others so that they can act on behalf of the business. All of this can be realized by good communication.”

What do you like to do in your free time?

“I try to disconnect from work by spending time outdoors. Since moving to the northwest I’ve found myself hiking and exercising on a regular basis. I keep my mind exercised by being a woodworker. The fun is in the failures of woodworking so you can improve and one day make that one masterful piece of furniture and call it your own. I also spend a lot of my time with my wife, Erin. Her and I love camping and spending time in the outdoor space of our home. We love to travel and see the world.” 

If I could learn how to do one thing, what would it be?

“I would like to learn how to fly an airplane. It would be amazing to observe the perspective of the world from high above.” 

Where were you born?

“I was born in Chicago by Yugoslavian immigrant parents that arrived in the United States 20 days earlier. I didn’t speak English till I was 7 years old and had a speech impediment going into High School.  Most of my extended family lives in former province of Yugoslavia called Slovenia.”

What’s the best thing about your job?

“The best thing about my job is seeing and observing the success of our people. There is nothing more rewarding than watching a person light up when they succeeded in capturing the respect of our customers.” 

What’s been one of your proudest moments at EOHI?

“This goes along with the best thing about my job. The most rewarding thing is believing in someone to help improve our business and then one day have a customer say we are the best. It is about trusting our people and allowing them to run the business. Their success is when I feel a true sense of pride.”

How do you define success?

“Success is a feeling of serenity knowing that we put forth an effort to do our best in capturing the best in all of us. It is more about the effort and attitude we put forth to a common cause. It is the quality of the achievement because we did our best.”   

Where is your favorite place that you’ve traveled?

“This answer is twofold. My first favorite place to travel is my hometown of Capron, Illinois. This location sounds strange, but I grew up on a large 2000-acre farm where we raised beef cattle. My fondest memories are of those days growing and living the life lessons of farm life. I always enjoy going back and seeing the town and driving past the remnants of the farm. The other destination that I hold dear to me is the other hometown of Bled, Slovenia. This is where most of my extended family lives today in the foothills of the Alps. We have a family reunion every five years. My family members back in Slovenia enjoy a rich life of farming grapes for wine, olives for olive oil, and plums for brandy.”

Tampa, FL – On March 6, 2020, John Flieman, III, announced his plans to retire on April 3rd from his position as CEO of GCC. With over 34 years of service, John served in multiple roles for the company, including as district manager, sales manager, Vice-President of sales, President and CEO.

John began his career in fluid power working for Scott Equipment located in the Midwest. Starting as a salesperson, John worked his way up to Executive Vice-President. Looking to escape to warmer weather, in 1986 John moved to Jacksonville, Florida to join the company, then known as Gulf Controls Corporation, as a territory manager. With a strong work ethic, excellent technical knowledge and sales abilities, John was later promoted as the first sales manager for the company, and subsequently relocated to Tampa to act in his new role. John continued to move upward with his promotion as the company’s Vice-President of Sales before taking over the complete operations of the company as its President.

When Employee Owned Holdings, Inc. (EOHI) acquired the assets of Gulf Controls. (now GCC) in 2013, John and the entire team were excited to join the 100% employee-owned family of companies. John played a critical role in managing the acquisition and providing for a smooth transition with customers and vendors. Later in 2018, GCC expanded to the Northwest with acquisition of Valin Fluid Power’s assets located in Washington and Oregon. John, in his new role of CEO, was specifically tasked with managing integration of the newly acquired Northwest offices and teams.

“John has been an enormous help and important presence for us over the years,” stated Rod Longnecker, GCC’s President who will also be taking over John’s responsibilities after his departure. “We wish him all the best in the future.”

“John has been an integral part of our company,” said Richard Neels, President and CEO of EOHI. “His management in Florida led GCC to become recognized as a premier distributor for those vendors depending on us to bring value-added solutions to the market. John’s professional reputation has been absolutely invaluable for the growth of our employee owned company.”

“I am excited about retirement and I want to take this opportunity to thank all employees for the enjoyable and rewarding experience I’ve had working for this company,” says John. “I have worked in the fluid power industry for over 40 years and am thankful to call many in the industry my dear friends. I genuinely enjoy working with our customers to solve challenges and building mutually beneficial relationships with our world class supplier partners.”

EOHI is a 100% employee owned company based in Houston, Texas, and is the parent of Hydraquip, Inc., Supreme Integrated Technology, Inc., Elite Controls, Inc. and GCC who collectively do business primarily in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Florida, Colorado, Arizona, Washington, Oregon & New Mexico.

Meet our February Employee Spotlight, Bethany Dupuis! Bethany is our Contracts Fulfillment Manager at Supreme Integrated Technology. She has been with us for over 10 years and recently celebrated a promotion from Contracts Administrator. Congratulations and thank you for all your hard work, Bethany! We sat down with Bethany to get to know her a little better and highlight her passions.

What is your role? Briefly describe what you do.

“I am a Contracts Fulfillment Manager. With a focus on Government contracts, I oversee customer order fulfillment from beginning to end. I am responsible for capturing contract requirements, costs, products, and component sales in our ERP system. I am also responsible for training Contracts Administrators, Logistics personnel, and Client Service Representatives as well as other duties.”

Who/what inspires you?

“Life. Waking up each morning is enough to inspire me to be the best version of myself.”

If you had to pick one strength you bring to the team, what would it be?

“One of my greatest strength is attention to detail. I’ve always been a detailed oriented person in both the workplace and in my life. This strength is beneficial to my job because I have to review contracts daily and make sure we capture all the requirements so that we can make good profit.”

What do you like to do in your free time?

“I love spending time with my family & friends. I also enjoy traveling, shopping, music festivals, summer days by the pool and cheering for the Saints (WHO DAT!)”

If I could learn how to do one thing, what would it be?

“I am currently interested in learning how to write in calligraphy. I love writing things in pretty handwriting so this would give me a new creative skill.”

Where were you born?

“I was born in Lafayette, Louisiana. I have lived in Louisiana my entire life.”

What’s the best thing about your job?

“I truly enjoy all aspects of my job; from the work I complete daily to the people I work besides. I feel that I am working with professionals that I can learn from and will push me to take on new and challenging opportunities. I am treated with respect and given daily encouragement. I am honored to be working for such a great company.”

What’s been one of your proudest moments at EOHI?

“Over the past 10 years, I have been proud to grow with the success of the company and I have recently been promoted to Manager.”

How do you define success?

“I believe success is defined by who you are and the person you aspire to be.”

Where is your favorite place that you’ve traveled?

Santorini Greece! It was so beautiful, and the food was amazing. The best place that I have traveled so far. I was able to tour all the different cities within the island as well as take a boat ride through the Mediterranean Sea and swim in the beautiful beaches.”