Q&A with ‘Z’
07.22.20
Many know you’re the son of company founder Francis Zrostlik. What positions have you held at Stellar? How have they helped you in your leadership of the company?
When I joined Stellar Industries, Inc. in 1992, I joined as Vice President of Sales. I continued in this position until 1999 when I was appointed President of the company. For a number of years, I continued with my sales management duties while leading the company as President.
In the early 2000s, a true Sales Manager was brought on board to allow me to focus on leading the entire company, not just the sales effort.
What were your goals for Stellar when you became president? How have those changed over the years?
My primary goals when assuming the position of President of Stellar Industries were to grow the sales of the company, broaden the products offered by the company, and to keep Stellar fiscally solvent.
As a startup, the first decade of our existence was tough going. The environment at Stellar and our fiscal stability changed for good when I learned how to stop letting the company run me and instead focused on running the company.
When it comes to customer service, what is your philosophy?
The end users of our products took their time to research and compare Stellar products against our competition. Based on this research, they made a decision to purchase our product. We are obligated to reinforce this decision by providing them the most job-appropriate and dependable equipment available.
When issues arise, we focus on responding quickly and professionally to get our customer back up and running as quickly as possible.
What key aspects of Stellar do you feel set Stellar apart from the competition? How do you plan on keeping those factors a priority in a changing economy and world?
As an employee-owned company, we are in charge of our own destiny. We don’t have a larger corporate parent or financial investor we need to ask permission from to do something out of the ordinary for our customers.
By listening closely to the obstacles our customers encounter to get their work done most efficiently, we are able to constantly improve our products and reinforce that Stellar is the right partner for their essential work truck needs.
As the world around us continues to change and as new technology becomes available to us, Stellar Industries will continue to apply this knowledge and provide our customer base with the best possible products for their fleet.
Where would you like to see Stellar, in relation to the work truck industry, in the next years?
Stellar has become an industry leader in the work truck markets we serve. I envision that Stellar will continue this leadership as we expand our existing product lines for these current markets and expand into new markets with exciting future products and services.
How do you think the work truck industry will be affected in the next year, five years, 10 years?
Work trucks will continue to be an essential part of our lives here in North America. As more local and federal emissions mandates come into effect, the traditional work truck must change as well.
Companies like Stellar Industries that are planning, designing, and building products and services for these future vehicles will become closer partners with fleet administrators. As history has taught us, those that do not keep up with these changes will be left behind.
Just as we have done in the past, Stellar Industries will continue to lead and shape the direction in which work trucks are designed and built to capture maximum efficiency and dependability for our customers.
For more on partnership with Stellar Industries, reach out any time.