Aspen Equipment Company

Trusight Inc., an employer’s association representing 1,150-member companies across Minnesota, awarded Aspen Equipment Company the highest honor of first place for its integrated well-being and safety program. Aspen Equipment partnered with occupational medicine provider, Twin Cities Occupational Health and Rehabilitation (TCOHR), to implement an ergonomics program designed to prevent injuries and reduce the impact of physical labor on their workforce. Functional Job Descriptions were developed to clarify the physical demands of specific positions to ensure new employees are physically fit to perform the work required on the job ­— and to accommodate any restrictions needed when a worker is hired with known limitations.

According to Aspen Equipment president, Steve Sill, “Our goal is that the well-being program will benefit employees not only at work, but in the quality of life they enjoy outside of work too.” Sharon Hengel, human resources manager at Aspen Equipment, agrees, “Knowing that many jobs require workers to maintain awkward static postures, perform repetitive tasks involving shoulders, arms and wrists, and the frequent use of vibration and impact tools, our first idea was to implement a stretching program. It quickly grew into much more, improving employees’ lives and even those of their families. Going forward, we plan to expand these same principles into office areas, knowing that desk jobs also have impact on quality of life from being sedentary much of the day.”

A unique feature of this program is that although it’s strongly supported by the management of Aspen Equipment, this is an employee-driven program. According to Jim Sebesta, vice president of business development for TCOHR, “The partnership between Aspen Equipment and TCOHR seeks to address four key areas: 1) prevent work related injuries; 2) decrease employee aches and pains while on and off the job; 3) improve operations within the workplace from an ergonomic standpoint and; 4) establish cultural changes related to management vs. employee buy-in, to a culture of wellness participation. TCOHR is proud of our ongoing relationship with Aspen Equipment and congratulates Aspen’s management team in receiving the Trusight Award.”

Sill concludes, “I am proud of this program because it provides employees with a resource to become responsible for their own safety and well-being. It’s always been my feeling that taking care of employees is critical in taking care of business.”

For more information contact:
Becky Marini, Marketing Manager
(952) 888-2525

11-27-2012

Hennepin County recognized Aspen Equipment Company for promoting worksite wellness at an award ceremony on June 21, 2012 at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center, Minn. For the fourth year in a row, recognition was given to Aspen Equipment for being an employer who makes employee health a priority. Aspen Equipment’s creative and effective wellness policies and programs which encourage healthy lifestyle choices were also commended. According to Sharon Hengel, HR director at Aspen Equipment, “We are tieing wellness and workplace safety together, realizing that they are interrelated. Our 100 employees contribute to the culture of Aspen Equipment where we actively promote safety and well-being through fitness challenges, healthy food choices and events such as Aspen’s spring Health Fair.”

Hengel continues, “In the first three years of our program, we set up the foundational aspects of our wellness program including biometric screenings, health assessments, health coaching and wellness challenges — which continue to be the core of our program. This past year, we focused on enhancing our hiring process. Aspen Equipment also enlisted the help of our occupational medicine provider to work with a physical therapist to observe and measure physical requirements of our labor workforce and look for opportunities for improvement.”

Company president Steve Sill’s full support has allowed Aspen Equipment to create a wellness infrastructure and environment which inspire employees’ healthy choices. According to Sill, “We value our employees. They are our greatest asset so it makes sense to offer them healthy lifestyle programs that promote longevity and reduce stress. The results have been positive, all the way down to the bottom line, where reduced health care costs for our employees and the company have been realized in premium contribution credits. In fact, while many companies are cutting back on employee benefits, these savings help Aspen Equipment add more programs and provide a comprehensive benefit package for employees who average 13 years of employment.”

For more information contact:
Becky Marini, Marketing Manager
(952) 888-2525

6-22-2012

Aspen Equipment Company announced that it has promoted rental coordinator Craig Swanson to project manager. Swanson received a bachelor of arts in Management from Gustavus Adolphus College. Prior to his employment with Aspen Equipment, Mr. Swanson was employed as an agriculture equipment sales account manager for RDO Equipment Company in Aberdeen, S.D.

Todd Foster, vice president of sales operations for Aspen Equipment Company said, “Craig Swanson’s willingness to learn, technical aptitude and positive attitude are a perfect fit for the project manager position. In his new role, Swanson will define a project’s objectives and oversee quality control through completion to deliver equipment to Aspen customers which is on time and on budget.”

For more information contact:
Becky Marini, Marketing Manager
(952) 888-2525

5-3-2012

Aspen Equipment is pleased to announce that it has become a dealer for the Palfinger line of cranes for the states of Iowa and Nebraska. Aspen will offer the line including sales, service and parts from facilities in Des Moines and Omaha. Expect a fully trained support staff to assist customers with their Palfinger crane repairs throughout the branches.

Aspen Equipment believes the agreement made with Palfinger shows the continued commitment to its customers of providing the top selling products with excellent service and parts support. Steve Sill, president of Aspen Equipment said, “The addition of Palfinger cranes fills out our desire to represent the finest offerings in the full spectrum of cranes from crawlers, all-terrain and rough terrain with Manitowoc and Grove through boom trucks and knuckle booms with National and Palfinger. The Palfinger line brings Aspen’s customers another excellent option for truck upfitting, and we’re proud to represent such a phenomenal line.”

For more information contact:
Becky Marini, Marketing Manager
(952) 888-2525

11-7-2011