Truck Dealer Of The Year 2003
Jack McDevitt Jr.
"You've really got to love this business. There are more lucrative ways to make a living out there, but do people really enjoy it as much as we do?"
President/CEO
McDevitt Trucks, Manchester, N.H.
Mack, Volvo, Peterbilt, Sterling, Western Star, Isuzu
McDevitt Trucks is a family business. Along with Jack Jr., there's Jack Sr., three of Jack's brothers and his son. It's in their blood — Jack's grandfather was in the trucking business in the 1920s, and they have the restored 1923 AC Mack he used.
About four years ago, the family decided to sell off some of its diversified businesses, such as car and pickup truck dealerships and a marine diesel engine business, in order to concentrate on their core business — sales and service of heavy duty trucks.
Every business was seeing pressure to grow, McDevitt explains. "We decided the best thing to do was to define our core business — in other words, what do you want to do when you grow up? We all decided our first love has always been heavy duty trucks."
It ended up being a case of perfect timing. Using the proceeds from selling off the non-core businesses, the company paid down debt and was able to expand into new franchises, brands and locations during a period when much of the industry was in turmoil. Today, McDevitt has five full-service dealerships in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, selling six different nameplates.
The five locations, despite handling different nameplates, are all treated as one company, with one inventory, one central switchboard (with real people answering the phone.) "It has definitely increased the quality of the service we're providing our customers. We get answers to our customers much more quickly."
By promoting the McDevitt business rather than the nameplates, he says, the McDevitt Trucks "brand" is being positioned and promoted as the single source for all the heavy duty truck needs of virtually any customer, supported by a staff of experienced sales, parts and service personnel.
"Our customers want somebody to be there at the end of the day. They want to know someone's going to take care of them."
McDevitt has been a finalist for the ATD Truck Dealer of the Year award three times. The dealership has been honored many times by Mack Trucks when it was Manchester Mack, and McDevitt is currently chairman of the Mack Dealer Advisory Council in an unprecedented second term. In his community, McDevitt has been an active volunteer firefighter for more than 35 years, and has worked in New Hampshire to overhaul and improve truck weight limits and related safety regulations.
Dealer of the Year continued...
