Employee Spotlight on Mike Eck
This month’s employee spotlight is on Lakeland Engineering Equipment Company’s Operations Manager and Inside Sales Manager, Mike Eck. Mike plays a vital role in Lakeland’s overall success by ensuring that all employees have the tools they need to best serve the needs of our customers.
Mike has been with Lakeland for 14-years, “I enjoy the wide variety of things I get to work on – customer service, building maintenance, AP, AR, training employees, shipping, receiving and more. No two days are ever the same which makes it interesting.”
From opening and closing the office to managing customer and supplier relationships and overseeing the inside sales team, Mike champions the behind the scenes work that allows our company to operate efficiently.
Collaboration is Key to Lakeland’s Success
As the Inside Sales Manager Mike acknowledges that their team plays an important role in Lakeland’s sales pipeline and overall success. “Our inside sales team is often the main point of contact for a lot of our customers and the first contact for any problems they need help with,” said Mike. “Our goal is to provide the best possible customer service and help solve problems so our outside team can focus more of their efforts on growing the business and delivering in-person support.”
Mike often works alongside the outside and inside sales team to help our customers find the right solution. “We had a customer that needed a Micro Switch but their current supplier was out of stock and could not get them for several weeks,” said Mike. “Lakeland did not have the switch in stock but we had the components in stock to make the switch. So we put the parts together and shipped the switches the same day. This was 10 years ago and the customer has been ordering these switches from us ever since.” This is just one example of Mike’s commitment to going above and beyond to make the difference for the customer.
Lakeland often collaborates with our suppliers to help find solutions and share their product and application expertise. “I worked with Todd Spinner (Account Manager) and our suppliers GE and Cutler Hammer to configure an enclosed starter for a customer’s air compressors,” explained Mike. “The GE unit the customer had been purchasing was obsolete, so we had a new part number designed. To ensure the part was delivered in the time the customer needed, Lakeland’s warehouse team, along with our rep Hazel at GE, assembled the parts for the customer. After a couple of years, Lakeland went through the process of designing a new enclosed starter, this time with the help of Cutler Hammer.” Mike often streamlines communication between the moving parts of Lakeland’s business to wow the customer.
Traveling with Family
Outside of work, Mike enjoys spending time with his wife and two sons. Their favorite family activity is traveling – specifically, exploring and hiking new National Parks. In fact, this year alone Mike and his family have visited eight National Parks. They snorkeled next to Fort Jefferson at Dry Tortugas National Park, took an airboat tour at Everglades National Park to see alligators, and explored the islands of Biscayne National Park on their trip to Florida in March. Over Memorial Day weekend, they survived 100 degree heat and a thunderstorm while camping in Badlands National Park. In July, they road tripped out west, stopping to hike with buffalo in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, on their way to see moose, mountain goats and hike through the mountains of Glacier National Park. On the way home, they of course made a stop at Yellowstone National Park. Then, this Thanksgiving while visiting family in St. Louis, Mike and family visited the newest National Park, Gateway Arch National Park.
Lakelands is proud to have a team of dedicated and talented individuals that make the difference for our customers each day. To learn more about Lakeland Engineering Equipment Company, contact us today.