Haul-All president to be honoured at the Faculty of Management's annual scholarship dinner

caroline.zentner — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 17:32:51 +0000

Designing a bear-proof garbage receptacle was Dennis Neufeldt’s first major project when he joined the family business in 1976.

A recent graduate of the industrial engineering program at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto, he was looking for his first career position.

“None of the options out east excited me too much. I figured there were good opportunities here, and with my connection to the community, returning to Lethbridge felt right,” says Neufeldt.

Known for his innovative ideas and commitment to community, Dennis Neufeldt provides an excellent role model for students.

He, with his cousins Kevin and Dave, became the third generation to work at what was then Neufeldt Industries, a company started by Neufeldt’s grandfather John in 1931 in an old cowshed in Coaldale. The business has thrived and grown into two divisions, Haul-All Equipment Systems servicing the waste management industry, and Sure Flame Products offering gas and diesel-fired heaters for the construction industry. Products are now shipped across Canada, into the United States, the Caribbean and beyond.

From its humble beginnings as John J. Neufeldt and Sons Blacksmithing, the family-owned company has always supported the community, including the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. Due to his success in business and for his long-standing commitment to the U of L and the community, the Faculty of Management has chosen Neufeldt as the honouree of this year’s Management Scholarship Dinner. Proceeds from the dinner will go toward a scholarship in the honouree’s name and will be given annually to a deserving Faculty of Management student.

“We are proud to honour Dennis at our annual scholarship dinner,” says Faculty of Management Dean, Dr. Robert Ellis. “The Neufeldt family has built a successful business that is committed to innovation, ethics and professionalism and provides an excellent role model for our students.”

Neufeldt, who has attended many of the annual scholarship dinners, never expected to be the centre of attention himself.

“I must say I was very surprised when I was told. Being at those dinners for many years, I never thought that I would be in a position to be the honouree,” he says.

The bear-proof container that Neufeldt designed back in the 1970s is still being built today, although the famous receptacle is now one of many innovative products that make up the company’s integrated approach to waste management, including collection vehicles and transfer stations. The road to becoming a provider of integrated waste management products was full of twists and turns but innovation was always the driving force.

Throughout its history, the company has been adept at developing specialized products. Neufeldt’s grandfather repaired farm implements like ditchers used in irrigation. The company flattened steel wheels from unused equipment and made them into plowshares.

“One of their big products was a land leveler to taper the land so that the water wouldn’t pool when you were irrigating. It was all flood irrigating at that time so they built these big levelers, some of them were 65 feet long,” says Neufeldt.

They also built truck boxes and eventually garbage trucks. In the early 1980s, waste management products, including collection vehicles, waste and recycling containers, and regional transfer stations, replaced the farm equipment side of the business. The iconic Hid-A-Bag waste receptacle is a familiar sight in parks across North America. A special container was developed for the 2010 Winter Olympics. A penchant for niche applications is not limited to the Haul-All division. Sure Flame Products recently designed a heater that is being used in California at a pistachio nut business that supplies about 80 per cent of the North American market.

“If you ate a pistachio this year, chances are it was dried by one of our 1.5 million BTU heaters,” says Neufeldt.

Loyal employees have been key to the success of Haul-All. The company has provided Faculty of Management students with co-op work placements, with three former co-op students taking permanent positions. Haul-All plans to continue providing opportunities for co-op students in the future. The company is very proud of the fact that many of its employees have been with them for a long time and five were recently recognized for 25 years of service. Treating employees well has been one of the foundational values for Haul-All.

Along with absorbing lessons about business from his father and uncle, Neufeldt made sure he stayed on top of trends in the industry by reading journals, attending trade shows and keeping tabs on the competition. Now semi-retired, Neufeldt enjoys ping-pong, hockey, hiking, cycling and riding his motorcycle.

Neufeldt’s advice to young entrepreneurs is to get a broad base of knowledge and experience, focus their talents where they can be most effective, and surround themselves with others whose skills are complementary to their own.

This year’s scholarship dinner is being held on April 16. The event typically sells out quickly so tickets should be reserved as soon as possible. Tickets, at $125 each or $1,000 for a table of eight, can be purchased online at uleth.ca/management/scholarship-dinner-2015.

Keeping co-op active

trevor.kenney — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:29:55 +0000

If you stay with a company long enough, you just may end up running it. Kelly Philipp, the vice-president and CFO of Haul-All Equipment Ltd., can testify to that.

He began with the company during a co-op placement when he was enrolled at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, before his graduation in 1997.

Philipp, who is originally from Prince George, B.C., says he took an early interest in collection vehicles and, as it turned out, they were the same models he now helps produce.

"As a kid I was totally fascinated with this style of garbage truck," he says of Haul-All's unique equipment. "From there it's just sort of clicked."

Philipp, a marketing major, didn't join the co-op program initially, but rather was convinced by a professor to enroll. Now, he says, it's hard to think of not being involved with co-op.

"It's interesting to look back on it today. I got involved with the co-op program, not because I saw the benefits of co-op, but because people in co-op took a real interest in the students. I can't imagine you'd get that in every institution. In my opinion, the U of L is unique in that regard," he says.

Kelly Philipp's positive co-op experience set his career path in motion.

"It was a successful placement because the company had a need to redo its marketing and to promote its products internationally. So that was a good fit for me. It was a really good mentorship that I'll never forget."

Following his co-op, Philipp left Haul-All in order to pursue his MBA, but kept in touch with his superiors there. He ended up being hired as the head of finance five years ago.

Haul-All Equipment Ltd. has two divisions: Haul-All Equipment Systems, which provides containers, collection vehicles and transfer stations; and Sureflame Products, a construction heater manufacturer. As the VP, Philipp oversees the Equipment Systems division but is also the head of accounting and finance on the corporate side.

While working in the marketing and business side, he has travelled all over the world in order to help market the company. Then, following a restructuring of the entire accounting department two years ago, he began incorporating co-op students.

"It is a permanent, rotating, eight-month position where we can reach out to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and pull from the student body to help provide meaningful work experience within the context of corporate accounting," Philipp says.

"We approach it more as a learning experience and try to take on more of a mentorship role. We see it as not just a job for the student, and I believe it's been a really positive experience. It's also been a big benefit for us as an employer."

Philipp says he is trying to create as much of a local angle as possible, as most accounting co-op students have to go to Calgary to find work.

"I really wanted to create something that would give back to the co-op program and provide similar opportunities for students," he says. "I wanted to give back to the community and one way to give back is to support the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ."

For more about the Faculty of Management at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, visit this link.

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Haul-All president to be honoured at the Faculty of Management's annual scholarship dinner

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Keeping co-op active

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