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’s 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.

A year in the Life of Material Handling Sales

Rhonda Remer

December 20th marked my 1 year anniversary in SJF fully commissioned sales.  I have to say – It was a year that flew by fast. I learned an enormous amount about our different product and service offerings and was introduced to the fast and furious world of fully commissioned sales.

At the end of the year, when all things were tallied, I’ll admit I was a bit deflated. Although my end of year grand total was nothing to sneeze at ($700K+), the monies earned weren’t where I was hoping they would be.  But to keep a little perspective, I still have a roof over my head and food in the fridge, so I decided to stay on course for year 2.

Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary

As luck would have it, in the very first month or 2014, I reached a personal sales goal of over $100K sold in one month.  This one winning month provided me hope, inspiration and a new drive to see what else I can accomplish in wild world of material handling sales.

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SJF Named to Supply Chain “Power 50” List

Supply Chain Power 50

Over at Supply Chain Opz, they just released their “Power 50” list.  This list represents the most outstanding supply chain blogs and their contents. This list is curated based on an algorithm using social shares (tweets, likes, google+ mentions, etc) to determine the best of the best Supply Chain Blogs on the web for 2014.

Google +, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

SJF is proud to be listed in such company as…

  • Penske
  • Bastian
  • Ryder
  • DC Velocity
  • and many more…

as one of the top influential blogs in the Supply Chain and Logistics industry.  Check out the rest of the list here.

New Upgrades Make a Safer More Efficient Workplace

New Crane system for SJF Shop

Hello again, readers!

Today I’d like to tell you about some improvements we have going on at SJF’s headquarters in Winsted, MN.  These updates are part of an initiative to make the shop safer and production easier on the employees.  First, SJF is installing a brand new crane-way.  This overhead structure will allow workers to more easily move rack, conveyor and carousel projects around the shop easily.

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Material Handling Sales Without a Net

Rhonda Remer

It’s been a few months since we’ve heard from our newest sales recruit – In this post, Rhonda Remer checks in with some insights on her 9 month anniversary in Material Handling Sales.

Nine months is the typical gestation time of a baby.  On my 9 month anniversary in Solution Sales, I’m happy to announce that I’ve been blessed with a little “Bundle of Joy.” No – I’m not talking about the birth of an infant, but rather something new to me called Repeat Customers!

Just the other day I was very excited to open my email one morning to see an email that said, “Remember me? We need 100 more decks!

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Summer Fishing Contest Update – August Results

Catch & Release-update
August's Winning Fish
August’s Winning Fish

The August results are in for the SJF Summer Fishing Contest.  With a 25-1/2″ Catfish, Lori Bachel wins this month’s prize!

It looks like we’ve got ourselves a contest after all!

Congratulations, Lori!

Three other entries for August were:

Sam Sterner with a 16″ Rainbow Trout

Brian Springer caught a 24″ Northern.

Photos of the other entries can be seen after the jump.

brian-august

16" Rainbow Trout

Summer Fishing Contest Update – July Results

Catch & Release-update
July's Winning Fish
July’s Winning Fish

The results are in for July.  Once again – Brian Springer takes first place with his 38-1/2″ King Salmon (approx 25 pounds).  What a beautiful fish – and congratulations again, Brian.

Hey, The Rest of the SJF Employees – Are you guys asleep?

Only Kidding…

We had some other entries this month as well, continue reading to see the photos.

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