The 23rd annual Trucks, Parts, Service Distributor of the Year award program is underway once again.
Graciously sponsored by Commercial Vehicle Solutions Network (CVSN), Cummins-Meritor, High Bar Brands, Interstate Billing Service and Karmak, this year's program features a trio of prior finalists and two first-time program honorees. As always, the Distributor of the Year program seeks to recognize the independent aftermarket's strongest, most innovative operations for their unending commitment to customer service and business success.
In leading up to the presentation of our next Distributor of the Year award winner on Jan. 21, 2025 at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week, TPS will be regularly shining our spotlight on our 2024 award finalists and what makes their companies so special.
Today we feature Vander Haag's. A finalist for the Distributor of the Year award for the third time, Vander Haag's was previously recognized in 2019 and 2022.
When was your business founded, and by whom?
John C. Vander Haag Sr. started Vander Haag’s in Sanborn, Iowa, in 1939 recycling old cars and selling parts from them. In 1955, John C Vander Haag Jr. returned from Korea and began dismantling later model cars and pick ups and reselling the parts.
Vander Haag’s started recycling medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the 1980s, and then in the 1990s we ceased selling automobile parts and began focusing on trucks. It was during that time that we brought on new and rebuilt parts, as well as service departments to our facilities. Over 85 years later Vander Haag’s is still family owned and lead by third generation, John M. Vander Haag.
How many locations do you have? (Please list the cities)
We have 11 Locations: Spencer, Des Moines, and Council Bluffs, Iowa; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Kansas City and St Louis, Mo.; Winamac and Indianapolis, Ind.; Louisville, Ky.; Columbus, Ohio; and Dallas.
How many employees do you have?
We have 360 team members
How does your business recruit new employees?
Referrals are often the best source of recruiting new employees. We put a lot of resources into making Vander Haag’s a place where everyone is proud to work, and that naturally leads to our team members referring their friends and family to come join our organization. Vander Haag’s has employed multiple generations and siblings as a result of employee referrals.
What is your company’s value proposition?
One of our biggest value propositions is the ability to offer customers multiple options when they need something for their truck. Our team is trained to offer our customers a new, rebuilt and used option that assist them in making a decision depending on their budget, time frame and the type of use that particular truck gets.
Do you offer any additional services to complement your parts offering?
Our ability to be a one stop shop covering all makes, all models for our customers is second to none. Our Service departments can install the part that our customer just purchased. Our customers are also able to come to our locations and purchase used trucks, new and used trailers, new and used truck equipment, or even sell their trucks and trailers that they want to get rid of.
Our state of the art website also offers all of these services. Customers can purchase any part that we offer through our cart, they can schedule service work, they can buy trucks and trailers, they can even sell us their truck or trailer, and we offer free freight on over 34,000 different parts.
How do you differentiate your business from your competitors?
Our People! We employ people that truly love what they do and they are very good at it, and this makes the customer experience positive no matter the department they are working with.
We try to make the buying experience as smooth as possible, and adaptable for every customer. Whether its by phone, in person visits, texting, website cart and chat, we offer multiple ways for our customers to communicate and purchase from us to fit their needs and schedule. We aren’t the biggest parts and service provider out there, but we strive every day to be the best.
Along with that, we offer every part imaginable from bumper to taillight for all makes and models, so we never have to tell a customer no, we don’t have that available. We have a custom-built associated parts system that ensures our customers receive all the parts needed to complete a job the first time, saving downtime for our customers to get them on the road quickly.
What is the biggest challenge facing your business in 2024?
Coming off the COVID years where everything was a full-on sprint, we have had to readjust to the new normal. Everything is different than what we have experienced before with the current economic challenges. Our customers are experiencing lower income and higher costs and that has forced us to think outside the box to make sure that we are still profitable while taking care of our customers and providing them with cost effective sustainable solutions for their business.
Why do you believe the heavy-duty aftermarket has nominated you for this award?
Vander Haag’s works with a lot of different suppliers and competitors each and every day to make sure our customers are taken care of at the highest level. This also enables us to foster and grow relationships with these different organizations to help better our industry. This is evident through our active involvement with multiple associations and groups that propel our industry forward.
Stay tuned, as in the weeks ahead we will continue our 2024 Distributor of the Year program with profiles of each finalist.