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News
Setting Sights on More International Business
Recent article in The State Journal
Posted: 6/8/2010
Clark Trucks Grows, Sets Sights on More International Business
Posted Thursday, October 23, 2008 ; 06:00 AM
Clark Truck Parts Inc. in Poca has expanded its military truck refurbishing business to serve international markets.
Story by Paul Darst
Email | Bio | Other Stories by Paul Darst
POCA -- A few years ago, a man from Kenya walked through the doors of Clark Truck Parts Inc. in Putnam County.
He wanted to buy nine of the military trucks Clark refurbishes for use at his plywood factory in Africa. That order was for $700,000, said Eric Clark, president.
"I thought if this one guy would fly here from Nairobi for an order that size, how many others are out there who would spend more."
That was just the beginning of Clark's foray into the international market. Today, Clark is the largest company in the world that refurbishes U.S. military trucks. It sells the vehicles to American allies around the world. This past summer, Clark entered into a new partnership that will expand their global operations, he said.
Logistics Division
Clark joined forces with Triana Energy of Charleston, Clark said. The result was the formation of Clark International, of which Clark Truck Parts is a division. A new Logistics Division will focus on managing refurbishing projects overseas, Clark said.
"We'll go in a country and do government work," he said. "We have a proposal from the Lebanon Air Force to work on their tracked equipment. We'll provide tactical oversight, manage the parts flow and the training. It's State Department-funded work."
An organization called TACOM is the actual customer for the project, Clark said. Through TACOM, which is a component of the U.S. Army, Clark can work with any U.S. ally.
Lebanon is working on the Logisitcs Division proposal now, he said. It should be completed within 90 to 120 days.
Clark's father, Jack, started the company in 1960. It originally was in Charleston, but he moved the company in 1991 to Black Betsy Road near Poca. Clark joined his father in the business in the early 1990s and bought out his shares about two years ago.
When the company started, it served the tri-state area, but Clark has worked to earn an international reputation, he said. He is hopeful that reputation will help the new division grow.
Two weeks ago, Clark hosted a delegation of military personnel from Chile, he said. The Chileans signed a contract for Clark to refurbish trucks for their army -- the first work Clark has done for that South American nation. And they are potential customers for logistics services as well.
"The very generals and majors that are here (representing Chile) are in the market for logistics, too," Clark said.
Expansion in Bancroft
And the growth is not limited to the new Logistics Division, Clark said. The company now is constructing a 24,000-square-foot warehouse on the north side of the property along state Route 62, he said. It already has ramped up production at the facility.
"The most production we had was 140 trucks a year four years ago," Clark said. "Now we have 1,300 backlogged."
Clark is making $2 million in improvements to the property, which will allow the company to refurbish 40 to 50 trucks per month, he said. About three years ago, the business could handle 12 to 15 per month.
And it works on just about any type of wheeled U.S. military vehicles, Clark said. Clark refurbishes 2 1/2-ton "deuce-and-a-half" trucks, 5-ton trucks, heavy duty Oshkosh trucks and Humvees.
The company employed 28 not too long ago, he said. Today, 70 people work there.
To help him keep the rapid growth in perspective, Clark remembers Ephesians 3:20: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us."
"Seeing all that's taken place here, I can ask things and imagine with the best of them," Clark said.
Because so much of Clark's business is international, the company's Web site is a big attraction for customers and potential customers, he said. And it has attracted a lot of attention.
Three years ago, the company had $3 million in sales, Clark said. It now has surpassed the $10 million mark and still has about three years more of work already line up, he said.
Globetrotting
Because so much of the company's well-being depends on its reputation, Clark spends a lot of time traveling overseas during certain times of the year, he said. He now is training other employees at the office to do much of the work he once handled himself.
"I'm training others to handle international letters of credit, export documents, customs and ocean shipping," he said. "I see myself as a broker."
That means he needs to visit customers in person. Clark has sold trucks to customers in Morocco, Kuwait, Yemen, Lebanon and other countries, he said. There are some places he has refused to travel, however. Not long ago, he was invited to take a trip to Pakistan. He would have stayed in the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad -- the same hotel that was the target of a terrorist bombing a few weeks ago.
Although international travel can be dangerous, Clark does have to sometimes go where angels fear to tread.
As a result, the company "has an unbelievable reputation in the Middle East," Clark said.
But not all of Clark's business involves foreign militaries, he said. The heavy-duty, 6-by-6 military trucks the company refurbishes also are popular in the oil and gas business and other industries, he said.
Clark also has donated a number of trucks to various organizations, he said. One such organization uses the trucks to drill for water in parts of Africa. The company also donated trucks to help with the recovery after Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters.
Copyright 2009 West Virginia Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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