Distributing the tools for future success

“We are not only providing training, we are creating a future for our customers. Anyone who does not train will be left in the dust. Anyone who doesn’t keep up, they’re gone, they’re dated,” says Cliff Hovis, owner of Hovis Auto and Truck Supply and one of the masterminds behind the Hovis Technical Training Center in Mercer, Pa.

And keeping techs in the know is no small feat. “We always say that technicians have to be smarter than doctors. Doctors have been working on the human body for centuries, which has remained virtually unchanged, while technicians are working on systems that are constantly changing,” Hovis says.

With 13 stores and a 100,000 square-foot distribution center, Hovis mainly services western Pennsylvania with twice-daily runs to each location, and the availability to serve customers directly at the DC.  

Also on site at the DC location is the Hovis Technical Training Center, a pilot idea for technician and shop owner training that has taken flight over the past 9 months with the help of manufacturer support and techs willing to give the Hovis training facility a try.

“I had the concept about 15-20 years ago,” Hovis says. But the idea only started to physically solidify in 2008, when the company purchased its current Mercer campus — a former sports facility and overnight camp. What is now the Hovis DC and management offices formerly housed an indoor deck hockey rink, soccer field and wrestling facilities. Camp signage and motivational quotes still adorn the walls, now serving as encouragement fodder for employees of the zone-organized DC.

But the company’s real pride rests in a building that previously housed dormitories — the Hovis Technical Training Center.  With 725 trained and counting since the November 2011 opening, the center offers automotive service and repair, body, paint and heavy-duty classes, taught by manufacturer-supplied experts.

Through manufacturer partnerships, Hovis has its training curriculum schedule mapped out through yearend. Manufacturers bought into the need for the training center immediately, as most realized they were missing out on opportunities with existing and potential customers. The center boasts Meritor, DuPont, AkzoNobel, Federal-Mogul, Chicago Pneumatic, Remy, Delphi and others among its team of trainers, and is also now acting as a test facility for DuPont Performance Coatings.

“One manufacturer trains daily with no overlap. The summer months are very paint-heavy, while fall and spring tend to focus more on automotive repair and service classes,” says Meredith Marburger, the training center’s marketing manager.

Once the training topics and material is developed, “we are very clear about what they will come out of training classes learning,” Hovis says. “Everyone has been burned on training. They’ve paid too much for not enough. Time is the most valuable commodity and we don’t want to waste it.”

Along with time away from the shop, cost can also be a concern, Marburger says. “In the past, technicians would have to travel to get the training they needed, paying potentially for airfare and overnight stays. But this is expensive and takes them away from the shops for days at a time.” The Hovis center uses a regional approach, “so people can drive in for the day and then go home at night,” she says.

Currently the only distributor with this type of program, Hovis doesn’t look to the center as a major revenue source, but instead a great conduit into customer relations and education.“The training center is not viewed as a profit center for Hovis. We charge for training based on the trainer’s fee, and that fee is passed through to the trainees,” Hovis says, making the process much more economical than in the past. “We cover our costs and build future customers. That’s our whole goal in this. It meets our expectations.”

To develop training topics and curriculum, “we go to the manufacturers first to see what training they have available. We survey customers to see what they want, and we reconcile the two. We want to have full classes,” says Marburger.

In the center, a training room holds up to 24 people, with a second room inside the DC able to host up to 80. Both are equipped for audio and visual presentations. “We teach theory in the classroom, then apply what we’ve learned in the shop on cars, where the trainees are comfortable,” she says.

“We learn the principle, practice in the shop and then review the principle again in the classroom. We find this to be the most effective method. We modify training times based on the category,” Hovis says.

And the training shop is no cut-rate operation, with the 5S-equipped work space including alignment machines, paint booths, lifts, carts equipped for taping, prep, sanding and finishing, and more. “The technicians get to see it all in action,” Marburger says. And practice themselves — Hovis uses rebuilds from their own junkyard to allow the techs to apply what they have learned.

“Everything we work with is for sale. We are a Chicago Pnuematic toolhouse, and use 3M and Norton sanding and finishing products, and we are able to sell a lot of parts once techs and the owners can see them in action,” she says.

The fully staged center reception area shows trainees what a reception space can and should look like, and also serves as a place to do front-end training, such as phone etiquette and skills, people interaction, appointment booking and customer relations.

Four flat screens televisions hang throughout the facility that serve as both informational and promotional tools. They feature digital advertisement displays, in place of hard signage, and broadcast scheduling and technical information for training attendees.

The training center relies on word-of-mouth, traditional advertising like paper fliers and direct  mail and social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to help boost awareness of the facility and training sign ups. “Salesman go into shops with iPads, which helps to really show what the facility looks like and how it is equipped. “Most people need to see it to believe it. Our training facility is nicer than most people’s shops,” Hovis says.

The distributor recently hosted an open house for customers to come and see the facility, and the company never slows in its efforts to build awareness and participation. “Any time we can be in front of the customer, we will talk about training. Any chance we get, we talk about it,” Hovis says.  The center is continuing to develop new training topics, and is currently working to offer online course sign up. But the techs have spoken, and the success of the center is evidence of their approval. “Overall, it has been great to get tech acceptance where people are willing to jump into the fire and train.”