In an industry hit hard by an economic downturn, Quick Attach Attachments Inc. is thriving. In fact, owner Todd Olson expects his company, which manufactures universal attachment tools for skid-steers and compact tractors, to maintain its rapid growth for the foreseeable future. Olson attributes the company's success to a faith-based commitment to customers and employees. He also credits being raised by entrepreneurial-minded parents, who owned several manufacturing companies. "You have to believe in yourself and step out in faith," he says when asked about the keys to success. "That being said, you also need a good game plan for what you want to accomplish, and follow that plan. "Most people make money the priority when they own a business," he continues. "But if people are in it for the money, they're missing the point. It's a much bigger picture than that … if you help people get what they want, they'll help you get what you want. As such, we treat our customers and our employees with a great deal of respect and integrity."
COMPANY HISTORY
Quick Attach was incorporated in 2002. But its roots go back to 1938, when it was a pioneer in the development of rotary and hydraulic snowblowers. The company was sold to Bobcat Company in 1999, then Olson bought it from Bobcat in 2002.
COMPANY MISSION/PHILOSOPHY
"Quick Attach is a business in ministry," Olson points out. "That means being a good corporate steward to our customers, employees, vendors and community. It also means producing a quality product with value, followed by excellent customer service, he observes. "If a customer has a problem with an attachment that we can't fix, it's not unheard of for us to send out a new attachment and pick up the old one, then diagnose the problem, fix it and sell the attachment as a used product. "At the end of the day, our customers need to generate revenue with our products - they can't afford to wait weeks or a month to get their equipment working."CUSTOMER BASE
"Our primary customers are excavators, farmers, contractors, rental yards - basically anyone who has a skid-steer or a compact tractor," Olson explains. "We sell all over the world. Thanks to the Internet, we've sold products to people in Canada, Russia, Mexico, Australia, India and South American countries." Olson says Quick Attach customers are one of the things he likes best about his job. "They're just fun people to deal with," he says. "Our customers make it all fun." "We consider Quick Attach their business, too," he adds. "We want to be their attachment specialist and help solve their problems."
BELLWHETHER PRODUCT
Quick Attach currently manufacturers 44 different attachment tools, ranging from snowblowers and sweepers to landscape rakes and augers to stump grinders and wood chippers. All are produced in various sizes, and new products are constantly under development and testing. "No one product does better than another," he explains. "We have a very diverse product line and sell a lot of everything." The attachments are designed to fit most modern skid-steers made today, which is critical because then customers aren't tied to one particular skid-steer manufacturer.BIGGEST CHALLENGE
Olson says the two biggest challenges facing Quick Attach are continuing its rapid growth and finding skilled employees. "Once we get employees, they don't leave us," he says. "We have employees who have been with the company for 30 or 35 years, and many have 20-plus years. We retain employees by offering the best benefit package and pay in the industry," he continues. "We also offer a lot of personal development training … when our customers call us, we want them to experience something different in the way business is conducted."
BRIGHT FUTURE AHEAD
"We absolutely are extremely optimistic," Olson says about the future of the company, which owns a manufacturing facility in northwestern Minnesota and a showroom, distribution center and corporate offices in Alexandria. "We have a lot on our plate. We've experienced 50 percent annual growth and expect that kind of growth to continue for at least the next three years. We're always adding new products and new markets."
SURVIVING IN A DOWNTURN
Olson says maintaining growth in the midst of an economic downturn is a matter of being committed to a certain mindset. "I know skid-steer sales are off, and attachment tools are off," he says. "But we're not being hammered. I choose to not participate in this downturn. It's a mindset; if you accept what the media says, you can get bogged down in it."
LISTENING TO CUSTOMERS
Obtaining feedback from customers has been critical to Quick Attach's success. Many times customers will point out the need for a new product or improvements for existing products, Olson points out. "We're highly attuned to our customers," he says. "We had one customer who actually gave me a design of one of our existing products with several improvements added. He said if we made those improvements, we'd sell a ton of attachments. And he was right."OLD-FASHIONED GROWTH PHILOSOPHY
Quick Attach has no plans to grow through acquisitions, as many other companies do. Instead, it prefers to concentrate on doing what it does best - developing new, high-value products based on customer needs, and providing top-notch customer service, Olson explains. "We're doing it the old-fashioned way," he says. "We come up with a concept, design it, test it, manufacture it and bring it to market. We earn one customer at a time."