|
I started with Viscosity in the fall of 1978 just out of school. My first job was Inventory Control Supervisor working for Rick Biagi. Rick hired me after just one interview. (As the bosses son he didn't have much choice.) Elayne Pack trained me for this position. I knew before my training was completed that inventory management was not the right job for me! I moved on to Operations Manager where I worked with all our fillpoints and suppliers to produce and ship the orders to the dealerships around the country. This was a key post from which to learn the fundamentals of the business.
In 1982 I moved into sales and spent five years on the road calling on the dealerships, doing customer oil meetings and building relationships that are now so important to our business. My father was right when he said, "I would never be able to run the business until I understood how the dealers operate theirs."
In 1985, at the time of the Case IH merger, my parents sold the business to Tenneco. The only condition of the deal was that a Hoch had to stay on with the Company. My dad left to play golf in Southern California and I'm still here. You now know who the smart one is.
My wife and I have three daughters, two dogs and two gerbils. What is left of my hair is almost all gray. I have always said that when running Viscosity was no longer a fun place to work, I would move on without regret. The opportunity to work every day with our employees, suppliers and most importantly our customers is just too good a deal to give up. So I'm still here, and looking forward to the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.
| 