Sometimes, the best place to start is at the beginning.
Wetmore’s San Diego Friction Products, a first-time Trucks, Parts, Service Distributor of the Year finalist, started in 1924 as an auto parts supplier, gradually shifting to commercial as large corporations bought up smaller auto parts distributors. Today, they provide retail parts sales, brake shoe remanufacturing, steering gear remanufacturing, driveline repair, suspension repair, custom-made U bolts and flywheel resurfacing.
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That’s one version of the beginning. Another one starts with the company’s value proposition: We work harder. The “we” is San Diego Friction’s 60 employees at eight locations across California and Arizona.
“We believe in developing and fostering long-term relationships with our employees, empowering them to advance their careers,” says Chris Redondo, general manager. This includes company-supported activities such as outings to baseball games at Petco Park in San Diego, as well as benefits to get employees’ attention, such as profit sharing, health benefits and more.
All of which helps support a culture of internal career development. Many of San Diego Friction’s leaders rose within the company and the business has a defined succession plan to lead the business into the future. A veteran workforce also makes communication easier, which enhances operational effectiveness and customer experiences.
“Collaboration between the branches allows us creative ways to support the vision. We are always willing to go the extra mile to support the needs of individual locations,” Redondo says. “We truly want to know each of them by name and for them to know who we are.”
San Diego Friction then takes those empowered employees and gives them the opportunity to support the customer and the company’s suppliers in the same way.
“We are extremely focused on providing customer service, continuously learning and developing best practices to improve our business both efficiently and effectively. We bring a positive, high-energy personal touch to the markets we serve,” Redondo says.
San Diego Friction’s ideal customer is the owner-operator who relies on the company to get their truck moving. Redondo says his team relishes the challenge of older equipment that is more difficult to find parts for.
“We use our resources and come through with a solution,” Redondo says.
The high energy, paired with an emphasis on building true partnerships with the company’s suppliers, has translated into growth. San Diego Friction has expanded into four different markets in the past 10 years.
“We believe in the traditional brick-and-mortar by stocking inventory and growing into surrounding markets that need the flexibility we offer,” Redondo says. “We focus on our customers, not our competitors.”
San Diego Friction says its inventory covers 95% of today’s commercial truck. It also offers onsite training quarterly across its locations to better inform and support its customer base. The company reaches out to customers old and new through local trade publications and sales fliers, but it’s looking to the future.
“We utilize lots of technology in all departments, but this is an area we believe more investment is needed to sustain our growth,” Redondo says. This may include mobile e-commerce platforms that can identify parts from a picture, AI and technology surrounding the electrification of commercial trucking, especially in the company’s home state of California.
Redondo says the state emissions regulations are one of the company’s biggest challenges this year, along with attracting new talent. To find the right employees to feed the company’s growth, San Diego Friction says it works with local community colleges, online recruiters and word of mouth.
“Our employees are the most valuable asset,” Redondo says. Any industry recognition of the company is, necessarily, a recognition of the employees who work harder to build it every day, growing San Diego Friction’s customer base through improved service.
Not only do those employees help the company grow geographically, it’s also considering expanding its services. Redondo says the company is exploring the mobile repair business and also has goals of increasing market share for existing services, growing profits and hiring more employees.
“Our company was built on trust and commitment,” he says. “We rely on the relationships and not only focus on customer service but customer experience.”
The 2024 Distributor of the Year program is graciously sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Solutions Network (CVSN), Cummins, High Bar Brands, Interstate Billing Service and Procede Software. For more on our award program, go to our program website.
