Ever Onward Podcast

How to Scale Without Losing Your People: Leadership, Technology & Culture at Western States Equipment | Ever Onward - Ep. 104

• Ahlquist. • Season 1 • Episode 104

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How do you scale across five states and 23 locations without losing the culture that made you successful in the first place?

In this episode of Ever Onward, we sit down with Kelly Olson, President and COO of Western States Equipment, to unpack how a legacy Caterpillar dealer has grown into a 1,200-person organization while building a workplace people actually want to stay in.

Kelly shares her journey from Montana-raised CPA to leading one of the largest equipment dealers in the region—and why the leadership principle “manage processes, lead people” shapes everything from hiring and coaching to customer experience. We dig into the Western States Leadership Academy, how shared language and intentional development turn strategy into execution, and why culture—not perks—is the real retention strategy.

We also explore how heavy equipment has become a technology business. From sensor-driven machines and predictive diagnostics to platforms like VisionLink and MineStar—and Caterpillar’s partnership with Nvidia—Kelly explains how data, AI, and smarter job sites are helping customers bid tighter, work safer, and stay productive.

Beyond the job site, Kelly breaks down Western States’ investment in people and community: technician career pathways, a nine-month Technician Academy, CTE partnerships, Dozer Day, and a clear commitment to responsible mining, workforce development, and local impact through Western Cares.

If you care about leadership that scales, technology that actually improves work, or building a career without a traditional four-year path, this conversation delivers.

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SPEAKER_00:

Today on the Ever Onward Podcast, we have Kelly Olsen, the president and COO of Western States Equipment. She is an unbelievable community leader and leads Western States here. She is responsible for overseeing all of their leadership and strategy of the operations of the company. Western States is a caterpillar dealer and is headquartered in Meridian, but covers five states with 1,200 employees. She is an unbelievable leader. We're excited to have her on. She's also a big community supporter of all things here in the Treasure Valley. Kelly Olson. Kelly Olson, thank you so much for coming on.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00:

So we really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, thank you.

SPEAKER_00:

But thanks for being here.

SPEAKER_01:

I am very excited to be here. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00:

I always start by just telling us a little bit about you, especially when I don't know you that well. But you've been at Western States a long time.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Yeah. So I've been with Western States for over 21 years now. Wow.

SPEAKER_00:

Where'd you where'd you grow up?

SPEAKER_01:

I grew up in Great Falls, Montana. Oh wow. Yeah. I grew up there.

SPEAKER_00:

It's a beautiful spot.

SPEAKER_01:

It is absolutely beautiful. And then um moved from Great Falls to Bozeman to go to school.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So I'm a Montana State grad. Go Bobcats.

SPEAKER_00:

And they play the they play the Broncos tomorrow.

SPEAKER_01:

I will be there. Yeah. So will I on the floor? I'm in a supporting both. So will I.

SPEAKER_00:

Should be fun. Yeah. Yeah, it should be fun. That's great.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So and then when I went to school, I actually went to school to get my accounting degree. Uh became a CPA. That's what I thought I'd always do. That was my passion. Um, and I don't know why. A lot of people at the time thought it was kind of that was a little odd, but um loved accounting. Uh and I went through the recruiting process when I was in Bozeman. And Albertson's headquarters here in Boise actually um did some recruiting in Bozeman at the time. So I uh I interviewed with Albertsons. They had a program there called the Accounting Management Development Program. I don't know if they still have it or not. Um it was a great program um right out of college. And so my options were from Montana to move to Boise, Idaho, or move to uh Silicon Valley in California. So I was like, oh, this isn't this isn't easy to so easy. So I um accepted the position with Ops.

SPEAKER_00:

Isn't it funny sometimes you think back to your life and how different that one move could have been and what you ended up doing? And yeah, yeah, it's interesting. Good choice. I'm glad you chose Boise.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. That was back in 2000 and then uh worked at Albertsons for about five years and got great experience, just a great, great company um to grow up in, learn all different aspects of the business, particularly in the accounting fields. Um, met a lot of great people. Um I still run into people where like uh you you hear where they worked at Albertsons. I'm like, yeah, I worked there back then too. And so uh just a great family uh environment there, learned a lot. And then I moved right to Western States, been there for 21 years.

SPEAKER_00:

That's great.

SPEAKER_01:

So yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And you've been the you've been the president and COO since 2019, is that right?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

And you're big. I mean, one of the things I you do a lot of stuff in the community, and Western States has a lot of things in the community. I think you got incredible presence and reputation here. Um, but I just didn't realize how big your organization is.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

It's big.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Yeah, we um we're kind of we're very quiet about some of this stuff. Yeah, and and not not for not intentionally. We just we roll up our sleeves and we work hard and we make sure that we're serving customers and and producing results. So um so it's not intentional, but yeah, we we are uh um we were growing um big time, um continuing to add locations, but we have 23 stores in five states headquartered here in uh Meridian, Idaho. Wow. And over 1,200 employees that serve um in those 23 locations in five states.

SPEAKER_00:

So we've that's that's a big company.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. About five years ago we had probably it was just roughly 900 employees. Now we're over 1,200 um with the growth that we've experienced.

SPEAKER_00:

So and I imagine with this part it partly being a western, western United States, and all Pontana, Western states, but Western United States phenomenon. There's just so many, so much growth where people are coming here, whether it be Montana or Idaho. Yeah. What do you what are the states you're in?

SPEAKER_01:

We are in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming. Um, just mostly Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, and then all of Idaho.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And and uh I'm a longtime customer. We were talking about that on the way in. We appreciate your business. The other thing that's gonna the other thing that's gonna be interesting to talk about is as you scale and get so big, how do you like maintaining corporate culture? And I mean, that's not easy. Yeah, that's the hard work, right? Yeah, especially where employees and talent are the commodity in today's business, right? How do you keep people and maintain them? Yeah, you're absolutely teach us.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Oh, it is. I don't, I definitely don't have all the answers. We we we we try very hard though, um, to be very intentional about our culture at Western States. And so it is um when we've uh when I started 21 years ago, probably maybe 480 employees. You could walk down the hallways, you knew everybody's name, you could walk through the shops, know all the technicians, um, customers, even, right? Like you they walk in, and now we're so big, and there's new customers every day, new businesses being started. Um, it's a little bit more difficult. So we try very hard to keep that small town feeling and this big city culture that we've got, this big company that we got. And um, so we do it lots of different ways, lots of different ways. Uh I think um, you know, being very intentional and hiring to our core values. So our core values at Western States is very important. I think it's the cornerstone for our culture, and we we take that very seriously. So it's not just I just I don't need someone with just a skill set and a certain um capability of doing a job that produces results, right? Um we want to do it within the core values of what we hold true at Western states, and and so that's very important. Um, and we take that very seriously. We talk about it all the time, safety being the first and foremost, but um all the way down to teamwork, accountability, integrity. We've added a new one with innovation, um, just making sure that we're hiring and and keeping that mindset of innovation in front of mind because it's I think not just for us as a dealership, but any business, I think it's it's very important to to hire people and to cultivate that mindset that change is okay. We're not, it's okay. We're growing and we have to adapt to the change.

SPEAKER_00:

Awesome stuff. And um, I mean I I learned early on, like you know, words on the wall, values, mission statement, vision statements, all that are important. But if they're not in the hearts and minds of the leadership that cultivate that every day, they might as well be any word, right? Yeah. But it's when it really resonates with your employees that they're like, hey, no, we get this. This is this is where we're these are guiding principles, essentially, right? So that's that's cool. Yes. Um what are what have been some of your tricks as you that's a lot of growth? That's a lot of growth. And I think um scaling for business owners is always hard. Um, like you said, when it's when it's a few of you and you get to rub shoulders and you know people and they know you.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, but as you scale, I I think the leader, that next tier down of leadership, fostering that and growing that, what do you do with some with some of your leaders to help them improve their their own abilities and talents and buy-in?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, absolutely. It's is a key piece because we um you can have all the strategy, you can have the words on the wall, you can you can talk about it all day long. And the whole goal of having a strategy is to execute, right? And to produce results. So that means that you have to communicate effectively and grow that leadership so that you can enable, delegate, and and get the results that are needed. So um we take leadership training very important at Western States. It's um we have our own in-house, we call it uh the Western States Leadership Academy, actually. We've had it in place for for many years. It's it's taken different phases and different cycles. Um, we've just refreshed it a couple of years ago. And so we actually we call it an academy. Um, there's about five or six different um sessions. Um, we have it uh scaled so we meet our leaders where they're at on their leadership journey. So starting with aspiring leaders, like I'm thinking I might want to do this job. This this supervisor job just pulled up, and maybe I'm I'm interested in looking at that. But do I really want to get into leadership? So we start, we start um leaders in that space just to kind of understand what that means and what that looks like at Western states. Um, I have a very particular view on what I think leadership is and and making sure that we're all speaking the same language and um, what is it to you? What is leadership to me? Yeah, um very very simply, I think um you manage processes and you lead people. And leading people is it's it's caring, it's having courage to um to give feedback, it is um modeling the way, it's inspiring people, creating that vision where you want to take the company, where you want to take your department, where you want to take your team, um, and getting that inspiration out so people want to follow you. Not you're not telling people what to do. Yeah. You don't say this is your job, just go do it. You want to inspire people to want to come along on that journey with you. So um, and just um having all the tools and a tool belt to make that happen, I think, is is very important. So um, but the culture that we create and the the leadership style that we want is that we want to take care of everybody. We want to take care of our employees, we want to take care of customers, um, making sure that we're all working together to make sure that that ultimate desire of, hey, we're winning, our customers are winning, and that's rewarding. Because at the end of the day, um, you want to go home and you want to feel like you produced a good result, like you you contributed it to something bigger than um maybe just you know clicking a few boxes and generating a couple invoices or a couple quotes for a customer, right? You want to feel like you've you're part of a bigger purpose.

SPEAKER_00:

So um, I love everything everything you said is like textbook, right? People follow people, not policies or processes. I love that. And and I think the secret sauce with bigger companies is if you can get buy-in to hey, I'm part of something bigger to myself and I like it.

SPEAKER_02:

Yep.

SPEAKER_00:

It makes me feel fulfilled. That's the that if you don't do that, then it's a job. Yeah, right?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Once it's a job, then you people get poached, right? For another job.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh yeah. And then you're just chasing the dollar. And um, and that's very important for us. So then and just knowing that you work, you know, we when we're at work, we're we see each other at work more than sometimes you see your own family. By the time you get home, you get you have dinner, you you know, all the stuff that you had to do when you get home, then you're you're asleep.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So it's important that we have that culture and that type of inspiration within the walls at Western States.

SPEAKER_00:

One of the things we say here is um we want you to love your family, we want you to be happy and find like the abundant life in all aspects of your life. And but we want this to feel like your family. Like we don't we want you to like, oh, I'm going to work and it kind of feels like home. When you're home, it feels like home.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And if it doesn't, then it's not gonna probably last very long, right?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, it's important too, because what we found too is going through probably the last four or five years through the pandemic, right? The um being being have a sense of belonging to something, yeah. Um, I think is very important.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

And um, and that's in large part some for a lot of people, that's your work family, right? And and knowing that you're part of something that's you got a teammate that might be going through something the same as you, and just having having people around you that are similar in mindset.

SPEAKER_00:

In some ways, uh you think of the interesting to talk to you about this because in the world we live in, there's a lot of transition. There's there's not people that kind of stick one place for a really, really long time. It's very much more common to hear people that oh, I did this and then I did that and I'm doing this. And I think where I can I come from a very blue-collar background, uh, copper mine workers, right? Yeah. And so my my my my dad, both grandpas, great-grandpas all worked at Cannicott Copper, and it was very family-oriented. I mean, I remember growing up as a kid going to the the picnics and the work parties, and the I mean, there was a sense of pride and really ownership in a big company, but that was and there was a lot of stability with that, right? Too. And so I think in today's world where you where we like having people that know how to work like have the social skills to work, have the work ethic to work, and can and are smart enough to especially talk technology changing. I mean, I'm thinking of your business and the people I've interacted over at your shop. Yeah, you want them there long. You want this to be a marriage, right? Yeah. I I've talked to Lisa Growe about this a little bit at Idaho Power, but but that's I mean, that's what you want is these these people that say, no, I'm a lifer kind of a deal, right?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah. That's I got asked a question a couple weeks ago. Um, it was at one of our leadership academy sessions. Um, we had a class that was graduating. So I I came and spoke and they got to ask questions in there. The question was if there was no, if you didn't without fear or politics or and an unlimited budget, what would be your wish and desire for Western states? And I that one got me thinking for a little bit, but it was exactly what you're talking about. So if you think um whatever that would look like to have zero percent turnover, like right, you're hiring the right people, nobody wants to leave. And then you looked at it, and there was actually a metric that had um measuring the the hire to retire. Like you want to measure, I want to see retirements at 100%. Like you come work for Western states in every business, you you would hope that this would be the case. But you come and work at Western states, and you retire from Western states. You get that long career, you get you know, that would be the desire, right?

SPEAKER_00:

It's kind of a unique mentality nowadays. It is. It kind of is. I just I'm just thinking of different industries I've been in, and and it's interesting because we track our employees how long they've been with us. And I've got some guys now that are up to 18 years. That's great. Yeah, a long time.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And even like just this week, Brad Smith, our architect, just celebrated seven years, and I've watched his kids kind of grow. And I and I think I'm getting old enough now where I'm like, wouldn't that be awesome? If like with the you know, you just grow kind of old together, and this is the thing that we figure out. Um versus I and I come from healthcare with and it's ironic that I'm asking you this question because I switch from medicine to to this, but but like within healthcare, um, I there's a lot of turnover. There is a I I think back to nurses and clerks and my my people there. And like I went and visited someone in the ER uh about a month ago downtown, and that's where I live my life. I mean, I spent 18 years there, and I did night shifts and I knew everybody. And I haven't been gone that long. And when I went in there, it was on a weekend, and I knew Liz, the unit clerk, she came up and gave me a hug, and there was nobody else, not one person in the entire department that was still there.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

That in that day, right? I'm sure there's some people, but on that shift, because I was gonna go around and say hi, and even all the doctors were new. And so I'm thinking, it kind of made me sad because I'm like, there's and I laughed too, but it's nice to be part of these industries and family, like work families. It made me appreciate what I'm getting to is it made me appreciate my current company thinking, I'm glad that I have this group that we're kind of all doing this to, you know, and then the next generation's coming up. And that's what we're working a little bit on our company right now is I can't work 60 hours a week forever.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So how do we groom the next group that comes along and kind of figures this out and then you've transferred that knowledge and and understanding to, and they can kind of take it. And that's very rewarding, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

We um I mean you're still really young and you're not thinking about that yet.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, no, no, no. I am absolutely. And I think the um one of the cool parts, like we have an employee, we uh we celebrate all the milestone anniversaries as well, um, across our all our stores. We have an employee that's been with us for over 46 years. 46 years, and um and then we and a lot, like 25, 35, 40. Um, and so when we celebrate that, but when you think about it, um that that type of sustainability and that and that uh mindset of just saying, hey, I'm gonna, I'm with this company, and that modeling the way for the younger generation that comes in, like you don't have to jump jobs every four or five years just to stay relevant. You can stay within a company. You have full control of that in your own training and development and in and that curiosity factor to advance your own career, I think is very important. So um, and we have multi-generations. We've got um we are privately owned. Yeah, and we are working on um introducing the next generation to the the family-owned business as well. But we got even within that, we have like a regional manager, and his son works for us, and and you're starting to see grandkids start and come work at Western States as well. So that's that's pretty rewarding to see.

SPEAKER_00:

That's awesome. Um I want to talk a little bit about customer service, which is a big deal for you guys.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And we were talking a little bit as you were coming in. Like I I naively asked, Do you even have any competition? Because I've come to you and I'm like, why would you go anywhere else? But uh, that's me. Thank you, Tom. But uh but um but that is the great differentiator, right? In your business is customer service. And I and I want to, and there's a I don't I don't say this to everyone because I like I I go to DB a lot and I always tell Mark Schmidt, I'm like, no one knows who I am, and they that they know you, but I telling you, your your people are great. They're all great. And I same thing with you. I think about every time I've come in for service or someone come, it's been always fantastic. Like that is phenomenal. There's nowhere to put like you know, five star on everything, but how do you maintain customer service? That's not an easy thing to do.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, well, I think first and foremost, it starts with everybody understanding it's a people business, right? This is um it's it's about relationships and understanding there, yes, we work on machines, we sell machines, but there's always a person, there's a business, there's a customer, um, there's something beyond that. That's what we're trying to do is to get that machine out or on a job site so that customer can make their customer happy. Um and so always understanding that it's not just, I'm not just turning a wrench here and solving this particular problem, it's the end the end game, right?

SPEAKER_02:

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01:

So understanding, and I think that drives some customer empathy to put ourselves in the the shoes of customers and whether or not you're um mining in the middle of Idaho or digging a landscape bed for the contractor down the street, it's it's all important. Uh, and knowing that we got to do our very best to make sure that we get that equipment healthy again uh is very important. So, and I think that um we spend a lot of time, especially recently in the last few years, on um what does customer service mean these days? You know, I I walk into a lot of retail establishments and I'll purchase something and check out and I'll tell the person, the cashier, thank you. And I they just say, Yep. And you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00:

Like so you that this is where it's gonna get like the grand train on my old guy thing. I it drives me nuts. Yeah, it drives me nuts.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and so we we have a lot of conversations, like that customer walking in uh and coming to the counter to buy parts, or the customer coming in, needing the service on their equipment, buying the machine, getting the rental, whatever the case is, uh that customer pays your paycheck, pays my paycheck. So, you know, it's the that mindset that, hey, we're here to serve. Um you're making eye contact, smiling, um, establishing a relationship.

SPEAKER_00:

Like, but but if but uh honestly in today's world, like I don't wanna again I'm sounding super old because I am, but I think with technology and I I see it. Like I've got kids that range from thirty to twenty now, and like I I see how the older ones grew up and the younger ones grew up and like they're great, but but I don't I don't know that they had the same demands on the social interactions and ability to have so many of them that that the the prior generation did. So I think it's going to be more important. In fact I tell I tell kids all the time when I give a talk, hey, if you can just be nice and smile and learn how to shake someone's hand and look them in the eyes and be pleasant and try to be a a pleaser in your work, you're going to kick butt because so many people don't.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

You will you will come to the top just doing those basic things. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And how rewarding is that then you you have you have more of a sense of a pride in what you accomplished because you made just made someone happy. Right. So it's yeah it's a it's a big topic and it's it's always a moving thing. But that's and we have a great partnership with Caterpillar. So when we talk about customer service and the skills and the training development and the um all the knowledge that it takes to to support this equipment and every all of our customers in their pursuit for whatever jobs they're working on. Tremendous partnership with Caterpillar on the on top notch training and development. So we take that very seriously we've got programs to make sure that we're keeping our skills up to date particularly when it pertains to technology. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Let's talk about technology. That's where I was going to go next I love it. It's you know what's crazy to me is I had I had an old you guys did service on a lot I had an old skidster and and and the other thing about what you do it's just brilliant. Take the biggest project ever and you see all that big yellow iron out there that's you but all the way down to the small farmer like that's like you it's the range right it's the family farm all the way up to the biggest equipment you've ever could have mean believe it's how big of the equipment is right absolutely but as a as a small farmer I had this old Skidster you know always breaking down but it was great. I mean it probably was 27 years old when I sold it and upgraded to the new one with you guys. But my gosh when I got the new one and they were by the way it was they're expensive now.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

It's like a partnership. You're like doing a long term thing right?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

But the technology is crazy. Yeah. It's so good.

SPEAKER_02:

Yep.

SPEAKER_00:

And it's got to be improving productivity of people in the field. Like talk a little bit about how you've seen that in your career just how these machines have changed.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh yeah. Like 21 years ago um I I'm when I started at Western States my first job uh my title was finance manager. So I got to help our sales team so I went from accounting mind you working in Cubicle doing uh financial stuff to working as a finance manager directly with our sales team totally outside my comfort zone but the most rewarding job I've ever had fit that's when I figured out that accounting I loved accounting but um I love interacting with people more and in that job I got to see I got to learn the equipment I got to operate the equipment I got to work with the sales team I got to work with customers to solve their financing problems. And then I I really started to appreciate okay I think at that time probably I don't know 80% of the equipment line that we sold actually cost more than my first home. So I put it in that regard and I was like okay that this is a big deal. Like our customers make substantial investments in this equipment and we need to treat it accordingly right so um and that was 21 years ago and it has with technology with the the enhancements on equipment it's gotten a in the price of inputs all the supply chain stuff you that it's across the board but um it has gotten a little bit more expensive.

SPEAKER_00:

And one of the the biggest differentiators I do believe is the technology and the the capabilities of the technology on the equipment and um and it's not just the technology of what the machine can do but the data that it generates and then you you take that data into different systems Vision Link, Mindstar, whatever it might be, and um you start looking at the data a little bit differently as a business owner idle time, fuel burn, et cetera because this is so I was just thinking I was doing the math so if my last skid store was like 27 years old it was still six years old when you started right so it was like pretty pretty basic like but did the job and like literally probably didn't need to replace it if I didn't want to it lasted that long. But the new one like to your point it is so linked in for the customer and I don't use this but but when I did my little orientation like you can track everything like I thought man if I was if I was like granite excavation which we use a lot Josh Davis right? Yeah I mean that's got to be like candy to him like being able to have reports and dashboards of idle time and usage and and and all that for maintenance and everything else there is.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh yeah absolutely and it all kind of does it for you. Yep from the the product health perspective so if it's you know it's got the store and fault codes you can see it right away you can get it um taken care of right away um down to the operator level on how well the operator is using using the equipment and um some coaching opportunities if you needed to uh it's it is absolutely amazing uh in in every day you know contractors and miners um farmers everybody has to have a sharper pencil every single day when they're bidding jobs and the use of the data in the technology if you can if you can inch out even a hundred bucks in a a cost then um you're that much headed uh ahead of your competitors on far as getting jobs and bids going forward so but the data and the software um absolutely a game changer yeah so there's that part and then then just the like I'm no expert but like just the ability to actually use equipment in a different way is because of the self-leveling and all the stuff that it does.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

It it's really cool. Yeah that that it's it's like a great example of how technology is changing. What what what's happening next with you as far as I don't know the answer to this, but like is AI or technology that next is there stuff already coming in in equipment?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah yeah so um a large yeah AI for sure and um and I actually as I'm sitting talking on this podcast I don't know when this is going to get broadcast but there are a lot of cool things that'll be um watched with Caterpillar going forward and um to use AI and the the benefits of AI not not just sitting behind a laptop and a computer right um but in sitting in the cab of a machine at the on the surface um with your screen in front of you as you're operating the equipment a lot of new things um coming and um so very excited so and Caterpillar just announced probably about a month ago a partnership with Nvidia um to continue that uh and so a large portion of that that'll be uh some of it'll be launched at CONEXPO in Las Vegas here in in the first week of March.

SPEAKER_00:

So very exciting but um some cool things to come yeah that's that's that's super awesome and I think you know I think uh there's a lot of fear with technology and and AI and then I I go down I'm like a conspiracy theorist half the time so I go down like this AI rabbit hole of what it's gonna do to our world and society. But if I can sleep past that the the the productivity thing you're still gonna need people they're gonna be trained differently they're gonna oversee differently but it's gonna like we shouldn't be afraid of that on this side of it. Yeah that's now what it's gonna do to our society and like relationship and everything else I think we do need to be worried about. But do you have you it just AI scare you?

SPEAKER_01:

No it yeah absolutely it's it's one of the reasons that I mentioned earlier that we adopted innovation as a core value at Western states and it's not in the the regards of the big AI changes and it's going to change our world it's like this it's more looking at it from um little events and getting rid of I sp I might spend two hours a day printing out this paper, paperwork, filling it out and sending it over here whatever the case is little mundane things. It doesn't take a lot of thinking or analytical skills um we can replace that and really put our employees skill sets to work so absolutely is not to replace human beings it's to to drive out some of the unnecessary work.

SPEAKER_00:

And it and it it should improve job satisfaction if you get you to more of the more of the skills you like doing the people skills, right? It should, if if done right.

SPEAKER_01:

And one of the things that that I see with AI too is um it builds that curiosity factor that I think is is is so important. And I'm not saying it's gone away by any means, but it helps drive that curiosity like oh that's that was interesting. I just prompted it to to do X, Y, and Z and that's what what it gave me. Well what if it did this?

SPEAKER_00:

And so I think that that's that curiosity factor, especially in the the younger generation just keeping them I had a fascinating guy on my podcast a couple months ago and his he he was a surveyor and then he has he has totally kind of just quit his day job and now he runs an organization that just promotes innovation technology in like that world. Yeah and he blew my mind. That's cool. And his point was for the younger kids that are looking for jobs like it it may not be what you thought it was going to be like going into surveying but it's better. And and that was his whole pitch like you think about like the the intellectual stimulation of what you used to do and now 3D modeling of these buildings and how you're doing all this stuff. Anyway it was really cool because I'm like oh wow that is true like and and it gets our kids lines of sight into really cool things. And maybe you can speak to that a little bit we're pretty passionate about keeping kids in Idaho for Idaho jobs. And one of the initiatives we have is uh teens to trades and then we have this tools for teens things we're doing and I know you're very involved in the community too but like talk about um the and I really like that about Idaho because you have these Idaho kids Idaho heritage Idaho jobs and and if they can look at something at Western states with technology and that's why I love that it's one of your values now I think it helps recruit them and retain them until they retire, right? Yeah yeah it all goes together.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh absolutely and um we do that multiple ways I think uh I mean we get involved very very heavily in the community um we just uh participated in Dozer Days that was um uh hosted out at the DTEC facility off of Victory Road um how was that it was so it was it was great the the turnout was amazing but the it's like a like a carnival for younger kids that love equipment and um the hands-on experience so they get to get in the all the equipment operate it and just build that excitement um there's something like there's something in the DNA of like a kid right yeah and I just don't left like my grandkids like there is something early on like get me in a tractor yeah get me in something let me move a boom yeah that just is and it's very different you can have all the toys in the world but to be in an actual piece of equipment you hear that thing start up you're turning the steering wheel very very different so um or joysticks whatever it might be so the um so we we do things like that with the the younger youth uh when we talk about high schools we're very involved in the the D tech programs throughout the our territory do you do you think the kids are are gravitating as much as ever to that and it it's gotta be exciting right what are you seeing down in the down on the trenches? We see a trend that way is it as fast as I'd like to see it no but it's it's still trending towards increasing more to the CTE programs.

SPEAKER_00:

Do you know what I love about it? If you go back 20 years ago you know 15 years ago that there was this initiative like you know the go on rate and they wanted 60% but but it was very self-defeating for kids that didn't want to do traditional two or four year degrees. It was it just was and I know it wasn't their intention because if you looked at their criteria go on meant anywhere for a certificate or whatever but I think when you were out talking to kids they're like well I'm not going on so I'm a loser right yeah and I think that has been washed away now I I I do think that's gone now and I think that people are getting it like no I can go to a trade I can I can and launch I think is a big deal. I think they've messaged it right and I you know the the kids that I talk to in the Valley about this they get it. They're like no I want a job that pays me and allows me to have a a livable wage with a company that I love doing and I don't have to go get a four year humanities degree or whatever. I can this is better for me and I get it. They know the dollars and cents and I think they see these jobs that line of sight to a to a job and a career is is I just think a lot of really good work's been done.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah and we have um I think that that you know that for a lot of younger gener well anybody right you that they love to work with their hands they like to see immediate results they like to fix a problem and so the technician trade within um the heavy equipment world is a perfect avenue in what it was 40 years ago like you were talking about earlier and where it is today the safety factor is like none other we very very safe um you can walk through one of our shops and it's quiet right if you're in one of our shops you're like you look around and it's like wow there's all kinds of equipment it doesn't sound that you don't hear the pounding anymore just with all the tools and the the upgraded um facilities all the different things it's um it's different and then you got more um troubleshooting tools than ever before so it's very much a problem solving um uh uh trade now and so I think that that's that's always bringing awareness to that um we also invested uh about five years ago in our own in-house technician academy we call it we have one here in Meridian one up north in the Spokane area and we accept 12 students in each location so 24 students and they it's a nine month program so six months where they just get um it's in the labs in the in the classroom learning everything that they need to know to become an apprentice level technician and um so there's six months in class and then three months um interning they get to pick the location that they want to intern at uh they get a mentor um someone that they can learn from someone that has a lot of experience within our organization and then at nine months they they graduate and um they they're offered jobs um they're not we don't hold them to Western states I I look at it like my kids I don't want to lock them in and say we'll put you through this program and then you have to stay for five years or you have to pay me back. Nope we don't do that.

SPEAKER_00:

Well what's your percentage of kids that stay with you?

SPEAKER_01:

We I just got this is about um just it was about 87%. Yep. So and it's been in place for um five years and that's so cool.

SPEAKER_00:

So you're basically creating your own apprenticeships to get kids interested and then they stay yep.

SPEAKER_01:

I'll bet you if you look at that stat oh you probably have it but the the retention's probably super high too yeah yeah we um yeah we're we're pretty proud of that and and more so just that you can and there are two year degrees absolutely we support all that we um sponsor a lot of it and and get involved a lot throughout the five states that we're in but there are certain individuals that don't want a two year degree. Yeah I just like teach me what I need to know teach me the math that I need to know to be able to do this job. Teach me the English skills that I need to write a service report um submit a warranty claim whatever the case may be and um and then put me to work.

SPEAKER_00:

I want to make money and you know the first time I was turned on at the onto that idea it's gotta be it's gotta be back I was on some boards early in like 2005 and everyone was worried about talent pipeline for all jobs in the Treasury Valley because we haven't a lot of kids just kind of leave and how are we going to keep them here and there was a lot of this discussion. And I was with a a friend who owned a big software company big software company and at at the then this flash forward a little bit we were trying to get the Boise State computer science into our new building downtown at City Center Plaza and we thought oh they can they can increase their degrees that they're if they kick out a hundred kids a year that's a good thing right so I went and met with him it's a longer story but I went and met with him and I'm like hey would this be good can you help us sponsor this and he looked at me he's like what are you talking about he's like you don't get it and I'm like no why and he's like I I go straight to the high schools I grab these kids I train them with what they need to be trained for. They're accelerated into exactly what I'm gonna have them do in the workplace. I know what they need better than anybody and they're gonna start making money. And I'm like well don't they leave something by and he's like it's like you need to come along into what and it was like so what you're talking about here there are there are certain kids so sure there are some that want to go become a computer computer science engineer and there's some that'll need two year degrees and that doesn't at all diminish the value of two and four year degrees but it just provides this beautiful pathway that you get right to it for kids that are ready for it. Yep. And I'm like okay I just learned something here.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah absolutely and meeting everybody where they're at on their own journey. So um the program that we have can easily be turned into a two year program working with ISU or whatever the the institute might be if they want to get their a a two year degree in business business management.

SPEAKER_00:

You're creating a career pathway and they can merge in wherever they like I love it. What are uh I mean I'm just thinking about your business and what what's your most expensive piece of equipment you sell?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh geez um like roughly uh the the biggest a piece of equipment that we sell and usually the bigger the equipment the more expensive it is so we'll correlate it that way um we're actually it's we have one being assembled right now as we speak um got I just got pictures uh this morning on an update it's a 6060 hydraulic hydraulic shovel um basically in the mines okay um massive I wish I could show you a picture and maybe I'll show you a picture afterwards um you can see just even look it up for us what is it called a 6060 hydraulic shovel 6060 hydraulic shovel yeah and um you set a truck next to the bucket and it is amazing to see it's there you go.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh my gosh. Yeah so the you can that's a massive truck that's next to it. Yeah massive yeah I don't see the the model on there but yeah the um that's a 7937 a 793 yeah the um yeah so it's it's um we'll call it a big digger okay um for simplicity but that's 67 tons yeah 67 yeah and then that so you when you we as we were assembling this um potential I just read that wrong that's the payload in the buck yeah the bucket is 67 tons yeah well so you get um you you think about that and it's it's hard to see on the the screen like that but you it was 27 truckloads for the parts um to be assembled to do to produce that one machine are you seeing more mining with with kind of the precious mill material stuff and the sovereignty of that and trying to bring that back and re-rebring that back in the United States are you seeing a big pickup yeah and very excited about that and I and I let's if I even if I set western states aside right and I just think of you know building our communities for a better tomorrow um the state Idaho the economy of Idaho absolutely thrilled to see the progress that we've made in the last few years in the mining space and and what Governor Little has done to help that um and the the current administration I think that that's absolutely necessary.

SPEAKER_01:

And that you know you think about all the places that we source minerals and critical minerals um around the world um the reason it's exciting me is that it's uh we can do it safer the the mining of today yeah so different than the mining 50 years ago and it's it's hard for to build that awareness um and so I think there's a lot of great organizations like the Idaho Mining Association that helps try to build that awareness that what we what everybody see has seen in the pictures and and things that happened 50 years ago is not what happens today. It's safe it's clean they reclamate as they mine all the different things and and bringing that back into the states I think is absolutely um a great place for the US talk mining you're speaking my heritage chairman that's that's what that's what we did.

SPEAKER_00:

And I and I look I still got great pictures of my ancestors and but you're right it was dangerous. Yeah and it's not anymore and it's technology and it it it's security it's national security for our our our country that's so good what's happening. And I think all the environmental stuff too there's so much negativity of sure that's the way it was done back then but there's you know I don't know I think we've made a lot of progress. We've made a ton of progress yeah well this hey this went by way way way too fast. We appreciate you so much coming on uh before you leave though one One of the other hallmarks that of you and your leadership is just your community service. Talk a little bit about your role in our community and what the community means to you and and Western states.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. I think our purpose statement actually, if you uh at the highest level of our strategy is building our communities for a better tomorrow. So we strongly believe that our equipment and the services we provide help enable that. Um but we take that to another level too when you think about we are so privileged to serve the communities that we get the privilege to serve in. And um and we are a successful business. We've got great people driving great results, and so we want we always want to give back and be make things better in all cases. So we do, we um we're very intentional on that. It's one of the pillars of our, we call it our balance scorecard, and we call it Western Cares in particular, where we where we um give back to the communities in the form of um we have a VTO program, a volunteer time off program within Westin Western states. Um so we do that. We have um all kinds of different mechanisms that we're able to do that. Me personally, I try to stay um uh connected with the community in the in the way to make sure that you know, a business like Western States, there's there's a lot of things that we can do to help smaller businesses or promote causes of other different if it's like I mentioned the Idaho Mining Association, these great things that our state um has the ability to do. Um, and Western States has the the ability and the the the scalability to be able to help that. Um that's what we want to be a part of. So yeah, I'm very intentional on getting involved, and not just in Boise and Meridian, but throughout our territory. Um we get very involved.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, thank you for the example you set and all you do, and um really appreciate you being here today. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, thanks for having me.