Page 308 - Peterson 85 Years and Going Strong

Caterpillar training classroom in San Leandro, California in 1942
Through the years, training has come in many forms, including the following:
• factory training in Peoria and at the original Davis Street plant in San Leandro
• operator training for customers
• classes taught by Peterson’s first trainer, Joe Bloom, a former Cat trainer (1970–90)
• machine-specific training by Peterson’s Training Dept., led by Mace Gjerman (1999– present)
• hands-on product familiarization classes for non-technical employees (1980s–present)
• mentoring between the old guard mechanics and the next generation
• sales pitch presentation training through
Peterson Edge
• Peterson’s S.T.E.P. program (Service Technician Enrichment Program)
Training was quite often piecemeal, based on indi- vidual department needs. This was especially true between 2003 and 2011 when Peterson split into three separate entities—Tractor, Power, and Ma- chinery—all under the banner of Peterson Hold- ing Co. Each division had its own president with its own agenda, budget, and ideas on training. “We had a very fragmented approach back then because each company was doing their own thing,” says
Duane Sr., “which isn’t a bad thing, but we weren’t helping each other. Sometimes there were duplica- tions, and there were definitely gaps in our train- ing. It just wasn’t a coordinated effort. We needed to bring it all together under one roof and manage it as a single organization.”
That’s when the concept of Peterson University started to take shape. The timing, however, was less than ideal. In 2008, the whole country was in the throes of the worst recession in recent memory. Budgets were tight. Manpower was stretched thin. Uncertainty ruled the day. And then Caterpillar came knocking on the door. “Caterpillar wanted a regional training center on the West Coast for electric power generation, and they wanted Peter- son to do it,” explains Mace Gjerman, Peterson’s training manager. “Since we are one of the larg- est EPG dealers in the world, we were the logical choice.” It was also one of those offers you don’t turn down. The potential benefits were just too huge.
306 | PETERSON: 85 YEARS AND GOING STRONG
Behind the scenes, however, a different narrative was playing out. Eric Martin and Tom Bagwell (then PPSI president and PPSI marketing man- ager, respectively) had both had their eyes on the building next door for quite some time. “We were bursting at the seams,” recalls Bagwell. “Power was still growing through the recession, so we convert- ed our conference room into cubicles. And we still didn’t have enough room.” At the time, Bagwell