A sign of a good leader is someone who finds people headed in the right direction and gets in front of them.
At least this is the way Wayne Maunula, co-owner of Auto Parts Central, sees it.
"I like to build the business and I really rely on management to run the day-to-day operations."
In essence, his managers are in charge of the details and he is in charge of overseeing the bigger picture.
He learned this management style from his uncle, Marvin Maunula, who owned On-Track, now NorTrax, with 22 locations across Canada. When one builds a company of 600 employees he cannot be hands-on, Wayne says. Marvin was also part owner of Central Canada Industries (CCI) and sold his shares to Wayne some six years back. Central Canada has Auto Parts Central as a separate business, and this year they won 2008 Jobber of the Year, a wholesale automotive part distributor award.
Years ago, wholesalers obtained the name "jobbers," and since then, the name stuck around to be adopted by the 2,000 distributors across Canada. This was Auto Parts' first kick at the national award and they were surprised to win it.
"Usually people don’t make it in their first year," he says. "They have to be nominated for several years."
There are 105 employees working with the company with an average number of 35 drivers.
Part of the company’s success is their loyal client base and their dedicated employees. Growth, benefits and recognition for a good day’s work go a long way.
A person can start as a driver, as Peter Lepage did, then receive promotions to the warehouse, the service counter and then to sales. Lepage now occupies the divisional manager’s role.
Training is essential as people work their way up through the ranks.
"At all times there is a learning process going on in our business."
The company reimburses employees who are eager to enhance their job standing through academic training and courses.
Maternity benefits are standard guidelines used from the government. The retirement package is a bit different. They have three per cent matched pension program with deferred profit sharing.
As well, the company has a comprehensive health care package with full prescription drug coverage, long and short term disability, dental, eye care and life insurance.
Salaries are competitive with service counter representatives ranging from $30K to $35K, Maunula says.
"I think that is competitive in the industry. In our industry we don’t get much turnaround."
A program is in place for extra perks for managers, however, because the forest industry has been hit so hard in the last few years, the parent company (CCI), which deals with hydraulics and couplings, has had to scale back on some of their frills.
"With Buchanan and local mills shutting down we have lost about $2 million in sales."
In spite of the economic crunch, Auto Parts Central has managed to provide yearly pay increases to their staff, says Beatrice Semenuk, a 14-year veteran worker who says the company is very family oriented.
Managers or key employees are invited on customer appreciation trips such as the weekend Minnesota retreat, or the Cancun adventure or even better, the golf getaway in Scotland.
"Instead of monetary rewards, we gave them the trips and time off," Maunula says.
The parent company has two locations with the head office located in Thunder Bay and the other in Winnipeg. Auto Parts Central has nine operations throughout Ontario and Manitoba.
Each branch caters to their own social events. Thunder Bay has a day-long barbecue and Christmas events where the staff is taken to some of Thunder Bay’s finest restaurants.
In the summertime, a charity golf tournament raises funds for the Thunder Bay Health Science Centre. This year, $44,000 was raised for the hospital and $6,000 for St. Joseph's Care Centre. They also contribute dollar-for-dollar to the United Way.
To ensure everyone is kept abreast of current events in other operations a newsletter, Central News, is provided to staff. In it an employee of the month is acknowledged as well as worker profiles and branch news and brighten your day jokes.
