In the past few weeks, two important events have happened in Larry Rambeaux’s life—first, he was promoted to managing the sales team, and second, he completed his 26th year working for Purkeys! That’s quite the track record, especially considering that Purkeys was founded 28 years ago.
Larry’s connection to Purkeys came through a friend. Larry says, “I’d been working as a technician at a local Ford Dealership for two years, but had recently put in my two-week notice. I was going home after my last day of work, and stopped in at Purkeys to see a buddy. Bruce was there and offered me a chance to work for him—I never even filled out an application.”
From that point, Larry has grown and changed with the company, filling whatever role he has been needed in at the time—starting as a tear-down technician, and going right up to his newly assigned position as the sales manager.
“I’m overwhelmed and incredibly excited rolled into one,” Larry says of his promotion, “It’s very exciting to have the chance to lead our sales efforts. We have a great team that works very well together, and we have the best products on the market to help fleets protect and maintain their batteries.”
“There is no magic answer,” Larry continues, “Each day can bring new challenges, but Purkeys is a family-oriented company—not because it’s a slogan, but because it’s the right way to do things—and I can get guidance from others, we can try new things, fail occasionally, and learn what to do next time. And that’s okay.”
Larry says the hardest part of having been at Purkeys for so long is the continual change.
“We’ve grown so much,” Larry says, “My career here started when our primary business was starters and alternators, and there were only 8 employees. My role in the company has had to grow right along with it.”
Larry doesn’t feel like the change is a bad thing, however.
“I love that the world is a changing place,” Larry continues, “and that technology is moving faster than ever. It challenges us to always be one step ahead and provide better and better products to our customers.”
Purkeys is dedicated to being a good partner to all of their customers, a fact that Larry emphasizes by saying, “Everyone says they focus on serving their customers, but at Purkeys, we have it as a core principle. It’s part of who we are, and that’s part of what makes Purkeys so great.”
Larry concludes, “I’m proud I’ve found a company where I love coming to work every day—a company that appreciates me and has given me opportunities to grow. There aren’t many people I know that can say they have been at a company as long as I have and still enjoy it.”