Parts & Service
NFE Parts & Service
We like to focus a lot of our marketing efforts on our new truck sales, but parts sales and service are a major part of what we do. We take a lot of pride in building what we feel are the best service trucks on the job, but keeping those trucks running well for years is just as important to us. We wanted to take a little time today to focus on our Parts and Service offerings and some of the folks that keep those departments running.
Service
Lately, our Service Department has been extremely busy, and our Service Manager, Kendall Christopher, and his service techs have been working hard to keep our customers up and running both here at our Chattanooga facility and on the road for field-service calls. Kendall joined the NFE team almost three years ago and has over 20 years of experience in truck equipment installations and service. We count ourselves lucky to have Kendall's personality and experience on our team. What Kendall enjoys most about his job here is "helping customers and making them happy," and we feel he does an exceptional job of that. If you need to discuss service work, call Kendall at (423)622-7528 or email him at shop@nicholsfleet.com .
Parts
Between ordering and supplying parts for new builds and service jobs alike, our Parts Department stays pretty busy as well. The guys in our Parts Department have a combined 70+ years working in parts and related operations, and we rely on their experience every day to keep all facets NFE moving.
Roger Franks handles most of our incoming parts calls and is more than likely the guy you'll speak with when you call in for parts help. Roger has has been working in parts since 1973 and has been with us since 2012. When Tim Whitmill retired after 20 years with NFE, Roger assumed control of the call-in parts duties and has done extremely well for us in that role. "I most enjoy figuring out what the customer needs to solve his issue, and being able to supply that need (especially if no one else has been able to)." If you have a parts need, give Roger a call at (423)622-7528 or email roger@nicholsfleet.com .
The rest of our Parts team work extremely hard behind the scenes to keep this place running. They're ordering the necessary parts for upcoming new installs, pulling kits for new builds in advance of each job starting, responding to parts requests on the fly when jobs are in process, working with the Service Department to get parts pulled or ordered for repair jobs, as well as dealing with warranty claims and working with suppliers. It's no wonder that our Parts Department has more than doubled in size in the last few years.
John Droke, the youngest member of the Parts Department and our only resident Michigander, came to NFE after several years working in trucking logistics. John is in charge of New Installation Purchasing and is the man ordering bodies, cranes, and all related parts for our new installations. Given the lengthy lead times that are a part of our daily life, John has to stay on top of what's coming and when it's coming for many different jobs at a time. It's a lot go keep tabs on, but John does a great job of staying organized and on top of things. When Roger gets busy on the phone, John will also handle a lot of incoming parts calls for us as well. John enjoys the challenge of "finding uncommon parts for customers that couldn't find them elsewhere. It's a good feeling knowing you played a part getting someone back to work in a service truck the next day when he/she is relying on you." John can be reached at (423)622-7528 or at john.droke@nicholsfleet.com
After several years away from NFE, Don Close rejoined our team this year and is overseeing much of the "new build" operations. Don enjoys working with our shop technicians and making sure that when when a job hits our floor, it's ready to be built-- build kits are assembled and questions our technicians might have are answered well in advance of a job hitting the shop floor. It's a crucial job and one that is key to keeping our shop cranking out trucks. In his free time, Don is a tireless community servant who is heavily involved in the Boy Scouts and was recently recognized for his many years of selfless dedication to his community.
After many years working in warehousing and logistics, David White joined us almost two years ago and appears to love his job ALMOST as much as he loves the Alabama Crimson Tide....almost. Being new to the truck equipment world, David has a done a great job learning the lingo and has enjoyed the challenges of our unique industry: "Being able to ship and receive parts that I have never even heard of before now is a new learning experience for me....My short time in parts has really been eye opening. If you told me a year ago I would know what JIC crimp-on fitting needed to be installed on what pressure hose I would have called you crazy. I owe all the credit of the tutelage of Roger and the Shop Techs for really accepting me as part of the team and educating me along the way. There is always some new issue that needs to be troubleshot, but we all come together to find the best and fastest solution..."
We don't focus enough on these guys, but our Parts and Service crew are a huge part of what we do and essential in keeping us doing it. If you are in need of parts for your equipment or need to schedule service for it, please contact us and we'll do our best to get you up and running as quickly as we can. We're lucky to have this crew working with us every day.
