THE HITE COMPANY’S COMMITMENT TO NAED’S ELEC- trical Products Education Course (EPEC) training program dates back to 1998, when the first Hite associate completed EPEC Bronze. Bryan Dob- son, one of the earliest EPEC graduates at the Altoona, Pennsylvania-based distributor, later served as an internal EPEC educator, guiding Hite employees through the cur- riculum. Now a branch manager, he wholeheartedly sup- ported the company’s 2015 “EPEC campaign,” an initiative encouraging all of the company’s counter and inside sales- people to complete EPEC. “Management really, really, really wanted us to com- plete EPEC,” said Shane Engel, an inside sales representa- tive who holds a four-year degree in business management and reports to Dobson. “Shane was one of the first to complete EPEC in 2015. He had some relatable experience prior to joining us, but this is his first job with an electrical distributor,” said Charissa Krumenacker, director of HR and training. As competition for customers and employees intensifies and Hite moves from selling products to a sophisticated solutions-selling approach, market differentiation is imper- ative. “Hite has always been a leader when it comes to solv- ing customer issues; they turn to us to find solutions,” Dobson explained. “We launched the EPEC campaign because we place a high value on our people and training,
BUSINESS / FROM THE TOP
A STANDOUT SYSTEM
With its EPEC initiative, the Hite Company achieves market differentiation to address
the challenge of increased competition for customers and employees. by Jan Niehaus
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Shane Engel (l) and Bryan Dobson
improved their product knowledge—
and confidence levels—with EPEC.
