BRIAN HOLLEMANS EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

Our August Employee Spotlight is a hard-working parts driver who is always happy to help. Congrats and Thank You are in order to Brian Hollemans!

Brian has always been a GM man. Prior to working at Berger, he worked at a GM factory for 30 years. It wasn’t until his nephew, Gavin, who worked in the Berger warehouse at the time, mentioned a temporary job at their family Christmas party. Berger was in need of a fill-in parts delivery driver for 6 weeks. Little did Brian know that his 6-week job would turn into a 15-year second career with the Berger fam! He plans to hold off his retirement until 2025 so that he can celebrate alongside Berger’s 100-year anniversary. 

As a parts driver, Brian gets to work early to make sure he’s ready to start the day. Although his truck is usually preloaded the night before, he thumbs through his invoices for his first run to see if anything needs to be picked up before he begins his morning route. Brian is responsible for heading out to the lakeshore for Berger’s West Grand Haven run twice a day, stopping by all of the shops that have ordered parts along the way. He enjoys working with the shops on his route because he feels like he gets to know his customers and their preferences better. He went on to say, “I enjoy my job very much”.

While Brian has always been a Parts Driver, he has experienced a lot of changes and growth over the years, especially since we had just broken ground on our Parts Warehouse in 2008, the same year Brian started! With more parts comes more responsibility (and more orders, more shops, and more business). Brian said that the biggest change in his job over the years has been from splitting up routes due to growing business. When he first started he would run the Grand Haven and Muskegon Route, now he currently runs the West Grand Haven run twice a day. This has led to shortened routes for drivers so that they are able to deliver more frequently to shops, as well as shorter wait times for our customers. 

The team here at Berger is Brian’s favorite part of the job. They help each other with whatever they can, whether it be loading a truck or helping locate a part, the team is accurate and organized and always has Brian’s back. He also went on to say that their friendliness helps to make the day go by smoothly. 

When asked if he had any advice for anyone interested in working in the Berger Parts Department he said, “It’s a great place to work”. He also wanted to remind people to be flexible, and not to be in too much of a hurry because that’s when mistakes happen. It’s important to go with the flow. 

Brian wanted to give a shout-out to a couple of people from his department. First, to Justin, our Parts Logistics Manager, for being understanding and always helping when needed. “He’s one heck of a worker and boss”. Justin isn’t afraid to get in there and help load a truck or whatever needs handled at the time. He also wanted to give a shout-out to Mckenzie for helping to keep the “wheels on the tracks” throughout all of their deliveries. Brian also wanted to shout out the Dealership Parts Team for always being helpful and always being a pleasure to work with. He went on to say that they know their jobs incredibly well and are always understanding.

When Brian isn’t delivering parts to customers he likes to spend his free time gardening and planting flowers. In the winter you can find him downhill skiing with his sister and a few friends. 

Please join us in congratulating Brian, our August Employee Spotlight! And thank you for keeping it always better at Berger!

Brian Hollemans