I have a new venture, and that is to rebuild a reputation of a local truck dealer, and to recover lost relationships squandered by the previous owners. You see, I am starting over at a Springfield (Mass.) based dealership, and will be in charge of their Medium Duty Truck Lines. Working, for a family run company can either be rewarding, or just a grind. When I went back to work for a local Freightliner Dealer (Hartford) I thought I knew what I was getting myself into. I was so wrong and I quickly found out why I loathe family run operations (you see, I’ve worked in several such organizations…) and it has been mostly all about the family. So why am I jumping in at what is in all reality another family run truck dealer? I’ve worked with these guys before, and while it is essentially a family store (actually, three at last count), it is run quite differently. Ballard Truck Centers has been in business for over 20 years, and currently sells Mack Trucks – now owned by Volvo Trucks – and the brand I used to represent, UD Trucks. With their recent acquisition of Springfield Mack, Inc., they now cover a great deal of the Mass, RI and northern CT market. They also acquired the Mitsubishi-Fuso and Hino franchises, and they are about to open a UD Trucks franchise in the Springfield location. So what is my primary responsibility here? To get the word out that Springfield Mack is under new ownership, and that we will be your primary source of quality medium duty trucks for your business. Will I miss Freightliner? Only with regards to the Sprinter product. This will be my gig, and I can grow the business as I see fit, within budgetary reasons. Wish me luck! Images Credits: All from their respective manufacturers: Mack Trucks, Hino of America, Mitsubishi-Fuso America, UD Trucks NA.