A little more than a year ago the management team at Macpek began discussing the viability of building a mobile training trailer to serve its customers.
President Jeff Pouliot says early plans centered around a small, foldable trailer. But while that concept was still in development, two of Macpek’s employees approached Pouliot and said they had a vision for something bigger. Something grander. Something that would truly differentiate the Quebec-based distributor in its marketplace.
They talked Pouliot into listening, and then approving, their idea. And he’s glad they did.
Introduced to customers earlier this year and to fellow VIPAR Heavy Duty members this week during the buying group’s Annual Business Conference in Orlando, the Macpek mobile training trailer has become a crowned jewel of the company’s value-added services.
Built within a shipping container placed on a flatbed, Macpek’s trailer features training equipment for three different courses and seating for a small number of students. Eye catching from the outside and within, the fully immersive trailer is outfitted with electrical and mechanical training modules and hard parts that can be used to provide comprehensive product training on a customers’ system of choice.
Pouliot says the trailer has been a hit from day one. It has been on the road for two days of customer training per week, every week, since it was introduced, and is booked solid with customer trainings for the next year.
“We are surprised by the success of it,” he says. “We were not sure how it would be perceived.”
Pouliot says Macpek hired a former dealer service manager as its corporate trainer to travel with the truck and provide the training courses. His expertise has only strengthened the product, Pouliot says.
Looking ahead, Pouliot says Macpek plans to maintain its two classes per week schedule despite demand. He says offering more than that on a weekly basis would be difficult logistically and would limit the time their trainer would have to update and develop his curriculum.
And the quality of the training is very important. Pouliot says Macpek wants to provide relevant and valuable information to customers to help them better do their jobs.
“We care about the success of their business,” he says.
