The Rhode Island Independent Contractors and Associates (RIICA) held its most recent association meeting at Milton CAT’s Milford, Mass., location.
Most association members made their way to Milton CAT by bus, traveling together from Rhode Island as a group. In total, there were 42 guests that arrived at the 100 Quarry Drive location at mid-afternoon on March 26.
After an official welcome and refreshments, the first item on the packed agenda was watching the new Milton CAT video, a quick way to get an overview of the company’s commitment to its customers’ success across a wide range of industries and fields.
“I had no idea you were in so many different markets,” was a comment heard more than once.
Milton CAT President Chris Milton joined the group to extend his own personal welcome, expressing his appreciation for his guests taking time to visit the Milford location, and committed to continue raising the bar for product quality and support. Knowing the value of personal relationships, event host Eric Griffin made sure to take the time to introduce to the RIICA group the members of the Milton CAT team that supports the state of Rhode Island. The guests were then divided into small groups, each one led by a specially trained “ambassador,” to take a tour of the facilities.
Visitors had an additional reason for paying close attention to the words of their “ambassadors.” Prior to beginning the tour, there was a quiz distributed to all the guests; it had 15 questions, some of them challenging. Griffin’s promise of good prizes to the best answers kept ears perked throughout the tour.
The tour included scheduled “stops” at areas of the service and parts departments that were of particular interest to the group — CAT Certified Rebuilds; emissions compliance work; the Milton CAT Service Solutions Center; the beginning, the middle and the end of a part order.
Some RIICA members were actually having their own machines being serviced at the time, or, were interested in other aspects that were not included in the official tour plan, and ambassadors were happy to oblige. In one case, two guests had questions regarding body work and paint jobs; in another, they wanted an explanation of the reason for having their machine washed up before it could be accepted inside the service area.
And finally, there were guests who wanted their personal message conveyed to Milton CAT. A good example was Milton Skurka of D&D Construction of West Warrick, R.I., who told about being in a tough situation as a young company that was quickly and personally turned around by Milton CAT Equipment Sales Representative Pete D’Agostino, who took matters under hand and helped turn that account into pretty much an “all-Cat” excavation company 20 years later.
The last item on the agenda was a Product Fair, an opportunity for guests to talk one-on-one with Milton CAT experts on equipment, technology or services. Some examples were emissions retrofits; QuickEvac, an on-board, automated oil change system, the comprehensive Web site safety.cat.com and hydraulic cylinder repair stations.
During dinner, the quiz entries were judged and winners were announced. Griffin, with the help of Joshua Perry and Zachary Larsson of D’Libro Excavating, distributed an assortment of prizes to the contest winners.
“We are thankful to Milton CAT for hosting our meeting,” said Association President Steven Gianlorenzo of Gianlorenzo & Sons, adding, “A great dinner, well planned tour and presentations, and the opportunity to meet face-to-face with so many people — those were all very special treats!”
The group departed well past 7 p.m. — several of them with their hotly contested gifts securely tucked under their arms. CEG
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