CLEVELAND — Eaton Corp. has been named 2005 Heavy Duty Supplier of the Year by NAPA Auto Parts. The award honors Eaton Hydraulics employees for excellence in supplying Weatherhead hose and fittings for truck and construction equipment to NAPA’s 65 distribution centers, which supply more than 6,000 NAPA stores in the U.S.
Eaton earned the top recognition in NAPA’s Heavy Duty Sales group for its achievements in nine important business areas: sales promotions, marketing plans, shipping, product quality, local sales support, in-field training, cataloging, communications and clinics/technical information.
In presenting the award, NAPA’s Heavy Duty General Manager Jay Lott said, “Eaton is truly a great company to work with and has done a tremendous job with sales programs and support. Eaton’s professional and knowledgeable field sales team does a great job responding to the NAPA Heavy Duty Sales team and our customers.”
Lott continued, “Our sales growth was very positive in 2005, with out-the-door sales up more than 12 percent. This was the result of Eaton partnering with us to develop a strategic plan for our sales force, and then making sure the plan was executed. Eaton showed the true power of teamwork, and for that, I say thank you.”
“Supporting a major customer and market leader, such as NAPA, requires extraordinary effort from the entire team,” said David Strohsack, Eaton’s sales manager for the NAPA account. “Keeping up with NAPA’s growth in 2005 and adapting to its retail sales requirements were major challenges.”
“Our Cleveland and Columbia City plants were monumental in helping us finish the year with over 97 percent on-time delivery to NAPA, which requires 48-hour turnaround on all orders,” Strohsack explained. “This shows that Eaton employees truly listen to the customer, value suggestions and go above and beyond to continuously improve.”
For more information about Eaton, visit: www.eaton.com .
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