By Todd Davis, NTEA President
Phenix Truck Bodies & Van Equipment (Pomona, California)
This article was published in the March 2018 edition of NTEA News
I am excited for the opportunity to serve as 54th NTEA president. The last six years as a Trustee have been an incredible journey, and I consider it a privilege to take this next step. Many thanks to the Association membership and the Board for entrusting me with this unique honor. Additionally, I want to extend my thanks to the many NTEA Board members who have served before me and created the strong foundation that exists today. In the coming year, this Board will continue to keep its focus on helping member companies deepen their knowledge, grow their businesses and increase profitability.
Let me introduce my company, and, more importantly, what I have been doing the last 25 years. Phenix Truck Bodies and Van Equipment has been manufacturing specialty work trucks for Southern California municipalities, utilities, fire departments and the U.S. government since 1978. In addition to our custom-built, high-content solutions, a decade ago, we expanded our offerings to include multiple work truck body types and configurations (non-Phenix manufactured), van equipment, and multiple accessory products from our industry’s top manufacturers.
Phenix is not unlike many other member companies. We work tirelessly to increase our relevance within continuously evolving channels and channel partners, partnering with end users, OEM franchised dealers and fleet management companies on all phases of equipment acquisition. Our vehicle design team works with all channel partners to establish specific body design parameters, emphasizing essential systems and equipment integration (air, electrical and hydraulic); our engineering team creates drawings and detailed specifications; production and installation teams maintain engagement throughout the production process; and after-sale service provides ongoing support. Like most member companies, market evolution continues to force Phenix to remain both flexible and broad-based in our solution offerings; some days we’re a distributor that manufactures, and other days we’re a manufacturer that distributes.
Upon earning my Bachelor of Science degree from California State University, Long Beach, I joined the sales and marketing team at Cooper Industries. A few years later, at 26, I transitioned to Phenix with two business partners (a pair of brothers who’ve been my friends since middle school). Their father was our founder. When I started, it was the three of us, one office administrator and six in the shop. I was brought on to head sales and marketing efforts; in fact, I was the sales and marketing department. Twenty-five years later, we’ve transformed this small business to one with more than 100 employees and 100,000 square feet of production and installation facility space on 10 Southern California acres. There have been many challenges along the way, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey.
Phenix has been an NTEA member since 1991. For the first 15 years of my career, I had only experienced NTEA through the eyes of a trade show attendee and occasional technical services user. Ten years ago, I started to understand NTEA’s value proposition for members was changing; it was becoming much more. I was provided an opportunity to step in as a Distributor Trustee in March 2012. I was appointed to fulfill the remaining term of a vacated Board position. In 2013, I was elected to serve a full three-year term and subsequently selected as part of the Executive Committee. There’s no doubt I have grown personally and professionally during my time with the Association. Being part of a group of industry peers, each bringing their own experiences and ideas from all company types and all regions of the country, all focused on executing NTEA’s mission, has been challenging, enlightening and very rewarding.
During my term as NTEA president, we will seek to advance the Association’s vision of becoming recognized as the undisputed resource and advocate for the North American work truck industry on a global scale. Workforce development will continue to be a prominent theme; we will put more tools in place to address the worker retention issue for all member companies. Right now, it seems most of us are looking for ways to find and keep employees at all levels, from the shop floor to our sales teams. This Board will identify, create and share successful strategies detailing how each of us can establish an environment that encourages young, talented, capable people to join our industry and stay engaged for the long-term.
In addition, relevant data will remain a top priority. From personal experience, I know data-based decision-making has become increasingly critical to our business. Beyond the many data offerings NTEA has already made available, in the next several months, we will be launching some unique and innovative tools to help you stay ahead of the ever-changing demands on your business.
As I take on the role of 2018–2019 NTEA president, I’m deeply grateful for your support. Having invested the majority of my career in this great industry, I have tremendous admiration for all of the contributions made by NTEA member companies. In this new role, I will channel my energy toward strengthening Association resources to assist you — not only today but well into the future.
View video of Todd Davis in Pomona, California, as he introduces himself as the next NTEA president.