Great People, Culture and Custom Solutions: Securing the Delivery of America’s Products to Families and Businesses Across the Country
Since our founding in 2006, Platte River Equity ("Platte River") has been committed to the companies that drive the American economy – the so-called Engines of America. These are the businesses we embrace; the ones who operate behind the scenes, receiving less public recognition than they deserve given their invaluable contributions to the country's growth. As a positive force, the Engines of America drive change, adoption, and profitability, but they also work to achieve a delicate balance between competitive advantages and the interests of the investor, the executive, the manager, and the employee. Industry, communities, and families that cohabitate in this special place in America represent the change that has driven the most successful country in history.
We are unwaveringly dedicated to partnering with companies that are delivering exceptional value while upholding the highest standards of quality, safety, and growth. Across many industries, many sectors, and many stories we find success lies in our center, our heart, and our hope for the future.
Over the next several months, Platte River will embark on an initiative with our portfolio company leaders (past and present) to discuss what it means to create – through business building, innovation and entrepreneurship – enterprises that serve as the Engine of America.
Belt Power is a tight knit, customer-oriented company that gets things done. We fabricate, install and provide custom conveyor belt solutions on which food, building supplies, consumer goods and pharmaceutical products are all transported.
Many of our customers are household names that have unique needs when it comes to the belts they use in a variety of manufacturing and distribution processes. This customization requires a high level of craftsmanship – a sophisticated and technological process in what we create. What makes our company special, though, is our culture. Our company is filled with people who are willing and love to help each other. Our employees care deeply about the customer, which we have found to be our most important attribute. If we need to come in late at night to fabricate or install a belt on a holiday, we do. With the decline of skilled labor in our country, our ability to not only produce the belts but install them for our customers with great frequency is something other companies don't do.
As a testament to this customer-first approach, we have grown rapidly over the past number of years. Last year alone we added 400 customers and several branches in new geographies. We operate as far west as Seattle and Phoenix, and we cover much of the Midwest, Gulf, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. As a further indication of our company values, much of our growth results from word-of-mouth referrals and recommendations from our customers and suppliers.
There are challenges to the work we do, one of which is finding the human capital that can not only fabricate our belts but do so with the personal characteristics that fit our culture. To help mitigate the problem – and excite young people about our work – we visit technical schools and educate students about the work we are doing. We aren't a traditional distributor or manufacturer; rather, we are more of a problem-solving organization, which means the work we do varies daily.
Our work happens at the local level, allowing us to respond to our customers more quickly than our competitors and better understand their specific needs. Ultimately, it all comes back to the fact that the people we hire, the culture we have, and our customer-first approach are what help us find success.
Belt Power is an Engine of America because we focus on the essence of what it means to be in business: taking care of our customers, our employees and products that we create and deliver.
- Don Heitmeier, CEO of Belt Power
