3 Industry Veterans Offer Perspective on Their Careers

While speaking with Brenda Templeton, Pete Baker and LJ Lawton, it was clear these Patrick Industries employees had one thing in common despite taking different roads in the RV industry: their relationships with people have been the highlights of their careers.

Here is RV PRO’s conversation with three industry stalwarts at a company that prides itself on having hundreds of employees who have stayed with their brands for decades.

RV PRO: Tell me how long you’ve worked at Patrick, and what was your role when you started out and what do you do now?

Brenda: I’ve been here a little over 28 years now. I started in accounting in 1995. I did accounts receivable and accounts payable. And then we started to grow and by 2000, I moved into order entry. By 2003 I landed in customer service, and it’s been the best fit for me. I like the interaction with the customers. I like building relationships with people, and I really like to solve problems [and] try to help where I can.

Pete: I started at North American Moulding (NAM) in 2004 and stayed on the team when Patrick bought NAM nine years ago. When I started, we had 17 employees and now there are 200-plus now. [Prior] I worked in management for newspapers, Grand Rapids and some other places.

LJ: I’ve always been in sales, always had account responsibility … And so far here in ’24, I’ve become our company’s product manager. I don’t have any accounts anymore. My job description is basically help the guys. So, whether it’s sales opportunities, sales problems, I get involved in all those things and just support the sales team.

I was kind of raised to do this job. My father was an industrial chemical salesman, and all lessons were always about how to treat people. So, I had a lot of that my whole life. I’ve always been in sales; I love sales.

RV PRO: What do you think you’ve gained since coming into Patrick?

Pete: When Patrick bought us, one of the reasons they bought us [is] we had a brand and the brand was strong. After Patrick bought us, I thought they’d probably just bring some corporate people in. And I remember [them] saying, no, we want you to run it and we want to keep it like it is and we want to continue to grow. So, it’s been a blessing in many ways because we’ve gotten a lot of capital investments. We have a lot of automation here, and that’s cool they’ve allowed us to do those things When people see you growing and when people see capital investments coming in and we just put in a sixth laminator — we’re starting it up next week — those things are happening, and people see that, and they see that their future feels stronger.

LJ: From working all those years, basically 33 years, for the Smiths at Alpha Systems — they really cared about their employees. At the time of the sale to Patrick, I can’t count how many people had worked there for over 20 years, me being one of them as well … [We were] treated right — people like to go to work at places like that. And then since Patrick has purchased us, meeting a lot of the key people in the company and going to certain programs and seminars that they’ve had, I have the same feeling that I had working for a small, family-owned company that grew into a giant company. I feel I’m important. I feel people care about me and my family’s well-being, and I feel very fortunate.

RV PRO: What have been some of the best parts of your experience at this company?

Brenda: I think it really is a team. It feels like one big family. And none of us could really succeed and satisfy a customer without all the rest of us … We all back each other up all the time. If I’m needed somewhere else, I go somewhere else. And by the same token, all my teammates do exactly the same.

RV PRO: How do you feel about the training or the personal and career development opportunities you’ve been given?

Brenda: When we first came to Patrick, there’s the customer first training and that gets refreshed from time to time. Then we have leadership training … that happens periodically. That’s always really helpful and really insightful. And most important, probably, is just the mentors that we’ve had along the way. People that we can always go to and figure out what the best path for us is.

Pete: I’ve had lots of training over the years because I’ve been a manager since I was 27. So, it’s one of those deals where when I came into Patrick, they had certain things they wanted to do certain ways — every company is a little different. And so, it was teaching me about how they viewed things.

My background with people has been lots of training over the years, including Patrick. And it’s all been good — the interaction with a lot of the people here that have been with Patrick since we came. As I said, they want us to continue to be our brand and run it. They’ve been very supportive of any time I’ve called or needed anything.

RV PRO: What do you think it is about the culture at Patrick that makes it different?

Brenda: I think that all our leaders here let us know pretty much every day how much they appreciate us and what a difference we make. That goes a long way [toward] making you want to stay somewhere if you really feel like you’re appreciated and needed. I know that at any time, I could call on one of our leaders, one of our officers, or whatever to get advice or to talk about something.

Pete: At Patrick, we value people. Even the way we handle complaints, we talk about our culture and about our brand … and bottom line, we are going to take care of people. I go out and talk to people, send them emails, follow up. We just don’t leave anything hanging. We always try to resolve any issues and get back to the customer with what we did. The concept of quality and service is critically important.

LJ: If you’re experienced, [and you] know what you’re doing, [they] just let you do your job. There’s no micromanaging because we’re part of this big company now.

RV PRO: When you look back over your years in the RV industry, what will you remember most?

Pete: If somebody was asking you when you retire, what will you remember? It’ll be the people. Some of them I hired at Elkhart when I started and they’re still here. They know me well enough to give me a hard time or something when I go through the plant. That’s cool … The relationships have been great.

LJ: I would say after all these years, and I mean this sincerely, the thing I never saw coming when I was a younger man was how some of these guys, customers — one in particular — [would become] one of my best friends. Through doing business, you get to know these people and you really like some of them. I have 30-year relationships with some of these guys … and that’s probably been the most gratifying thing for me — the people I’ve [met] and the relationships that I’ve made over the years. I’ll probably look back on that as being the most gratifying thing.

And I’ll say, watching the Smiths grow Alpha Systems as they did and how they treat it was really impressive. When I came on, there were six people working at Alpha when I joined the team in 1989. I think now it might be [up] to 300 or something.

Brenda: I feel like Patrick has always encouraged me to do what I need to do to take care of my family. And that means if I need to take off when I had small children to take them to an appointment or a doctor or go to their school for some particular event, they said go, that’s important. Currently, my mom is elderly and I have to take off sometimes to take her to appointments, and it’s the same. They’re like, do what you need to do to take care of your family because that’s important and balance is important.

Besides that, I’m going to mostly remember the people here because there’s a lot of people who’ve been here almost as long as I have. And coworkers are friends to celebrate life’s good moments [with] and to lean on in the hard times … the people are the most important. And being here with people that you care about and people that care about me, that’s what makes it all worthwhile.

Company Values

• Balance — “We work to build a healthy work environment that encourages excellence, happiness and peace in both our work and our home life.”
• Excellence — “We strive to meet the highest possible standards of achievement in our work and relationships.”
• Trust — “We do what we say we will do every time — and communicate with all stakeholders if a commitment evolves.”
• Teamwork — “We challenge, encourage, equip, empower and inspire the individuals we work with.”
• Empowerment — “We give our team members the information, tools and trust they need to grow as leaders and achieve results.”
• Respect — “We treat our teammates and partners with the utmost honor and dignity.”

Source: patrickind.com

Growing at Patrick Industries

According to the Patrick Industries’ website, the company prides itself on being “committed to providing continued growth opportunities for those who excel in their position.” This includes professional development opportunities, “whether this is through building capabilities, taking on stretch roles or participating in the tuition reimbursement program.”

Future team members are cultivated at Patrick through the IMPACT leadership development program for recent college graduates. The one-year program in Elkhart allows college graduates to experience different facets of Patrick, gain exposure to different business units and learn through a hands-on assignment, partnering with a mentor, and receiving training “designed to prepare you to succeed while delivering results with day-to-day responsibilities.”

For more information, visit patrickind.com/careers.

Patrick Industries by the Numbers

1959: The year Patrick, a component solutions provider of products and building materials for RV, marine, powersports and manufactured housing markets, was founded in Elkhart, Indiana.

850+ brands

250+ manufacturing and distribution facilities in 23 states

10,000 team members