Rebuilder Profile: Michigan Problem Solvers By Bob Thomas Most of us think of ourselves as parts rebuilders, but Marine Industrial Auto Electric, Inc., in Spring Lake, Mich. has a different perspective. They consider themselves problem solvers who spe- cialize in electrical problems. Located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, between Muskegon and Grand Haven, they service a population of 100,000 people within a 30 square mile area. Dan Sernick, 44, started his rebuild- ing business in Muskegon, but later moved to be more centrally located in his marketing area. His family had been in the rebuilding business since the 1940s, and six years ago he left a 25- year career in sales/marketing/quality control to open an electrical rebuilding shop. The shift from employee to employer was a smooth one for a man with a B.A. in marketing and an M.B.A. in business administration. Marine Industrial is obviously an organ- ized operation. “I believed there was a need for a premium quality product, service oriented remanufacturer in my geograph- ic area, thus I started Marine Industrial with those attributes in mind,’ Sernick said. “Although business in 2001 was soft at best, I feel good about the future. We will always be pressured by the mass- merchandiser’s low price, extended war- ranties and import units, but will continue to focus on premium quality and excellent customer service.” Chip Herring, also 44, has 10 years of rebuilding experience and serves as shop manager at Marine Industrial. ““We have one rebuilder and a tear-down/delivery man,” Herring said. “I try to keep things running smoothly and can fill in as a rebuilder where needed.” Herring utilizes the shop computer to obtain information on parts and to help solve problems. “There are some great tools available on the Internet, including EREN and manufacturer Web sites.” The workload at Marine Industrial is evenly distributed with each employee Chris, Chip, Dan and Calvin of Marine Industrial Auto Hectric. having specific duties. Everyone has their own area of responsibility and experience plays a big part in getting jobs out on time. Chris Pierce, 24, heads up the rebuild- ing team, handling all of the starters and some of the alternators as well. Although he has only three years of experience, he has been a fast learner. When not working Pierce enjoys hunting and racing. Calvin Hodges, 36, works in teardown and preparation, and also serves as delivery- man. He is new to the rebuilding business and starting out doing disassembly to learn the trade. Both Sernick and Herring attended the E+ Show at Indianapolis last year. “I had a great time,” Herring said, “‘and learned many things I thought I already knew.” In addition to reading the Electrical Rebuilder’s Exchange, they go over specific articles of importance with each employee. They also see that employees take advantage of seminars when available. Both are looking forward to the 2002 E+ Show and future training oppor- tunities. They said keeping up to date is a very important part of maintaining a level of quality. “One thing I would like to see from an industry source,” Sernick said, “would be performance data on competing/inter- changeable units. With heavy duty alter- nators in particular, it would be nice to have visual comparisons. This would help us provide the unit best suited for a cus- tomer’s application.” “About 30 percent of our sales are rebuilt units sold to the distribution mar- ket,’ Sernick said. “Another 40 percent go out to installers and 20 percent to fleets we service. We do sell some retail, but it only represents about 10 percent of our sales. Retail is divided between the full