Professional Distributor - 14

Biggest of them all, part 2
The latest addition to Mac Tools distributor Pete Kern's
fleet brings his operation up to nine trucks.
by David Brierley, Managing Editor

hen we last checked in with Wisconsin-based
Mac Tools distributor Pete Kern (PD Tales from
the Road, April 2018), he already had five trucks
on the road and was looking to expand. Back then he was
running the entire operation himself - trying to keep track of
finances, training drivers, and running his own full-time route.
Fast forward to today, and Kern is up to nine units. That's
nine trucks, nine drivers, nine routes. These days, however,
Kern has a business manager to keep track of accounting
and to take care of the day-to-day tasks such as insurance,
payroll, and keeping Kern's team on "the straight-and-narrow."
Kern, who has been with Mac Tools for 12 years now,
says having nine trucks makes him the largest mobile tool
distributor - not just for Mac, but for any flag.
"I've made it to the top, right here in Stevens Point, Wisconsin," he says. "I wanted to be the biggest of them all - I
am that guy now."
With so many trucks on the road, Kern's territory has
grown to take up much of Central Wisconsin.
"I have a route in Marshfield, I have one in Wausau, I have
one in south Green Bay, De Pere, I have one in Kaukauna, I
have one in south Appleton, Neenah, Menasha, I have one in
Oshkosh," he says. "And I have [my] route, which is Stevens
Point, Waupaca, Plover, Fremont, Weyauwega, Amherst,
Rosholt ... I do all that area. And then I have a truck in Wisconsin Rapids. I have a full circle all the way around me."
The latest addition to Kern's fleet is a 26' 2017 Kenworth
T300 with a 9.1L Cummins engine.

"It was a couple of years old [when I bought it], but it only
had 35,000 miles on it," Kern says. "It was like new."
He says the truck was originally run under a different flag
by a tool dealer in New Jersey. The former owner retired from
that flag, moved to Florida to join another flag, and found the
26' Kenworth was too large for his new operation.
That worked out well for Kern, who purchased the truck
and had a driver bring it up to Wisconsin. Despite some
DPF troubles in Illinois, the truck made it to its new home
to be outfitted with a fresh vinyl wrap and filled with Mac
Tools product.
The new truck will be Kern's to drive for the time being,
but he would eventually like to find a new driver to take over
his route. With so many trucks in his operation, he needs to
hand his route over so he can concentrate on training and
shadowing his drivers, ensuring they're providing the best
possible service to their customers.
"My main reason [for wanting] to be off the truck is to go
with my other drivers," Kern says. "I want to see how they're
taking care of their customers; I want to talk to their customers, I want to know if they're doing it the right way - the way
I trained them to do it."
Even with an operation of nine trucks, Kern says he's still
not done growing. And, seeing how far he's come - from
five trucks to nine in less than two years - it's easy to believe.
"As long as there [are] routes open within an hour and a
half of my area, I'll be getting them," he says. "I'll never stop
until it's done. The sky's the limit."

To view more photos of
Kern's truck, visit:

VehicleServicePros.com/
21120871
Pete Kern

Stevens Point, WI
Population: 26,717

14 Professional Distributor I February 2020 I VehicleServicePros.com

http://www.VehicleServicePros.com/21120871 http://www.VehicleServicePros.com

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