“Gassed up and ready to go”, one of our long-standing mottos stayed tried, true, and relevant for our employees. Tates Rents has been one of Idaho’s biggest equipment rental providers for over 75 years. From a scaffolding company to an industry leader in equipment rental that you see today, Tates growth and traction has been nothing short of spectacular. To no one’s surprise, a company doesn’t reach new heights without extraordinary, dedicated people. We interviewed the Employee of the Month for January of 2023, Greg Thornton, who has been with Tates for over a decade.
As we continue to dive further into our employee-owned status, we emphasize the importance of our work quality and how that affects our bottom line. Looking to Greg for insight, he stated the ESOP is a driving factor to do work the right way, even when it’s a smaller project, “Just knowing that it helps build your retirement, the better we do the better you retire in the long run. It helps me keep a cool head knowing if I get something finished in the right manner it should be a long time before I see it again”.
Starting in 2010, Greg was on the wash pad where most new hires start. Within a short period of time, he was already training new employees and quickly started learning more about the equipment around him. Through his dedication and experience, coming both through Tates and previous experience, he now works at the hub with a group of skilled and motivated mechanics. Though he was educated and had the drive to search for knowledge, Greg stated mentorship played a role for him in the form of patience. He said that it was important to have people willing to answer what may feel like a dumb question. “Having that level of communication helped more than anything else to grow as a professional in this field.”
Currently, Greg’s primary role is in repairs for Tates equipment. However, he still does repairs for a couple of our long-standing customers when needed. “Outside of my repairs on our equipment, there are some customers I continue to do work for, and if you look up their accounts, they are probably the oldest customer accounts we have that are still renting”. Making and maintaining these connections is critical to our business and Tates takes great pride in our long-standing relationships, as well as in building new relationships. Greg has a great mentality, one we see very specific to Tates, and the employee-owned mindset that separates us.