Employee Spotlight – Matt Johnson

Employee Spotlight - Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson, SJF EngineerAfter 14+ years, we finally decided to feature Matt Johnson, our resident SJF Engineer, in the SJF Spotlight. Matt is our Lead Engineer at SJF. He is involved in various stages of the sales cycle and is often called in to assist customers during and after product implementation. He also works with all departments and can definitely be called the “Go to Guy” for SJF.

Family is a priority for him. In the summer, he does camping and family trips. In the winter you can find him back in his hockey skates while coaching his son. He’s also a football fan, although his loyalties don’t lie with the Minnesota Vikings but with the (gulp) Green Bay Packers. We’re working on forgiving him for that, however therapy may be required… 😉


Name: Matt Johnson

Title: Engineer

When did you start working at SJF? 2004

What do you like most about working at SJF? Every day is different. There are always new challenges.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work? Spending time with family camping, fishing and skating or playing hockey.

What’s your favorite day? Friday. I look forward to the weekend.

Biggest pet peeve? When people don’t listen well enough to retain information. Or people who complain about something but are not part of the solution.

Name something about you that people would be surprised to know: I had hair down the middle of my back in Jr. High School.

What question would you like to answer that you didn’t get asked: Do you like being in the Spotlight? No. I don’t.

Employee Spotlight – Ed Salonek

Ed Salonek, Controller & HR Manager

Ed Salonek, SJFToday in our Employee Spotlight is Ed Salonek, Chief Financial Officer and Human Resources Manager. Ed is a busy guy but always seems to have a smile on his face and something to joke about.

It’s not unusual to see him here in the office on a weekend or an evening and even then, he’s smiling. Having one full time position is enough for most people but Ed takes care of two departments, and important ones at that. I’m sure he wonders occasionally what he’s gotten himself into as “Ed the HR Manager,” but what keeps us on the straight and narrow is that we know he’s also “Ed the Controller,” who makes sure all of us
employees get paid. 🙂


Name: Ed Salonek

Title: Controller Chief Financial Officer and Human Resources Manager

When did you start working at SJF?: 2006

What do you like most about working at SJF? I enjoy the mixture of accounting and programming\customization with Epicor.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work? Camping, watching Wild hockey, hunting with Mocha

What’s your favorite day? Saturday

Biggest pet peeve? Lazy people.

Name something about you, that people would be surprised to know: I like to work, got it from my parents.

Employee Spotlight – Jason Deiter

Jason Deiter, Senior Sales Specialist

Jason Deiter, Senior Sales SpecialistToday in our Employee Spotlight is Jason Deiter, Senior Sales Specialist. Jason is our longest running Sales Specialist here at SJF, so it’s safe to say he knows the material handling business very well.

Jason is also a local celebrity (although he would strongly disagree with that statement and will probably ask for it to be removed). As a member of the local band Rize and as a solo musician, he’s in front of crowds singing his heart out and playing guitar on a regular basis. You would think that he would put on an impromptu show every now and then for the rest of the SJF employees but we’re still waiting for that day.


Jason Deiter, Senior Sales SpecialistName: Jason Deiter

Title: Senior Sales Specialist

When did you start working at SJF? In 1991, then took a 5 year break and came back to SJF in 1996.

What do you like most about working at SJF? Flexibility, opportunity and coworkers.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work? Singing, playing guitar, camping, motorcycling, school activities with kids.

What’s your favorite day? May 9th. It’s my birthday and I took it off for the first time this year. I like it so much that I have decided to make it a habit. Everybody should take their birthday off.

Biggest pet peeve? Dirty dishes in or around the sink.

Name something about you that people would be surprised to know: Though I fly, I am afraid to fly.

What question would you like to answer that you didn’t get asked? What is my favorite color? I have had 4 blue vehicles, 4 blue motorcycles and 3 blue guitars.

Employee Spotlight – Joe Bachel

Joe Bachel, Yard Supervisor/Mechanic

Today in our Employee Spotlight is Joe Bachel, SJF’s Yard Supervisor and Mechanic Extraordinaire. Joe is a man of few words, but lucky for us at SJF, he’s also full of unending experience and knowledge (and maybe something else 😉 ). He can fix anything!


Joe Bachel, Mr. Fixit

Name: Joe Bachel

Title: Yard Supervisor/Mechanic

When did you start working at SJF? In May of 1993

What do you like most about working at SJF? Never a dull moment.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work? Working on my “toys” at home.

What’s your favorite day? Friday

Biggest pet peeve? Having to re-do things.

Name something about you, that people would be surprised to know: Nothing, I am an open book.

Employee Spotlight – Vance Haugen

Vance HaugenWell, 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.

Employee Spotlight – Lori Bachel

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

Shawn HeaverHello, 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.