Only eight years after opening, Stone Truck Parts has been named the ninth annual Truck Parts & Service Distributor of the Year. The North Carolina-based company was honored with the award Tuesday during the opening session of Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week 2011 at The Mirage in Las Vegas.
Led by Keith McLemore and Don Purcell, Stone Truck Parts was named this year’s winners out of a tough field. Other companies nominated for the award were Cook Brothers, Drive Train Industries, Pascale Service Corp. and Wheelco Truck and Trailer.
McLemore and Purcell opened Stone Truck Parts in 2003 when they saw market consolidation leave an opening for a regional parts distributor in the North Carolina area. As past employees at another distributor prior to opening Stone, McLemore and Purcell knew what it would take to gain a foothold in the Carolina market.
“We got back in the business with a goal of focusing on the North Carolina marketplace,” McLemore says. “We knew we had to have multiple locations and we did that pretty quickly so people would see that we had a good footprint and presence in North Carolina.”
McLemore feels that regional focus helps Stone Trucks Parts draw large numbers of local customers.
“They did not have to go through three or four levels of management to get something done,” he says.
The main goal for Stone Truck Parts is customer satisfaction. Purcell says the company takes great pride in pleasing its customers while providing a quality product and top-notch service.
“We believe a rule of thumb is 100 percent customer satisfaction,” Purcell says. “When I say that I mean you don’t substitute any products, clarification and speed of handling warranty, core management — all facets of what makes this business what it is.
“We put all those things together and we see 100 percent, but in reality we shoot for the high 90s in terms of customer satisfaction.”
