Grow With Us: The People of Felling, Dillon Dean, Sales Coordinator

Felling Trailers has been proudly manufacturing trailers for over 45 years. Join us as we take a look back and see how much our company, along with our employees, has grown. Many of you may already know the story of how Felling Trailers started as a small fabrication shop in downtown Sauk Centre in 1974. Continuing to add to this story, we invite you to read our “Grow with Us Series – 29.” Here you will meet the people of Felling; we will share a bit about the people who have played a part in what our company is today and where we will be tomorrow. Some of the people you will meet have been with us for many years, some decades, and others are starting their careers. To continue our series, we want you to meet Dillon Dean, Sales Coordinator Felling Trailers, Inc., Sauk Centre.

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On-the-job training

Dillon joined the Felling Trailers’ team in the spring of 2016 and is celebrating seven years with the company this April. Dillon started his career with Felling Trailers as part of the Paint & Blast Team. Before his time with Felling, Dillon worked as a lineman. “After high school (2011), I went straight to work as a lineman (powerlines). I traveled a lot for work so, once my daughter was born, I started here at Felling to be closer to home and my family. I had no experience in painting before I started. Everything I know, I learned here at Felling.” said Dillon. Felling provides training no matter the position that an employee is hired for. The level of training varies depending on the department along with the level of inexperience/experience. “Quite a few of our painters have no experience when they start. It’s on-the-job training. We pair new hires with senior painters in the booth. Depending on how long it takes a person to catch on, they will shadow the senior painter for 1-2 weeks. We have a lot of painters with many years of experience and knowledge and willingness to share that knowledge and teach others,” said Bob Toews, Paint Supervisor Sauk Centre. “

As part of the paint department team, Dillon was responsible for preparing and maintaining the paint system and equipment, along with the pre-paint preparation of trailers and parts before being painted. Felling trailers are touted as having one of the best paint jobs in the industry, thanks in part to our highly skilled Paint Team. The Paint Team preps trailers and parts by steel grit, blasting them to remove rust and contaminants; next, they apply primer and paint. Once painted, the trailers/parts are moved to the Drying room, where the paint cures and decals are applied. Dillon worked in the Paint & Blast department for two years.

In 2018, Dillon applied for the position of Parts & Service Associate. Once part of the Parts & Service, Dillon was responsible for assisting customers with trailer parts sales via email, phone calls, the online parts web store (Store.Felling.com), and walk-in customers. On the service side, he prepared estimates for repairs and coordinated the service and repair of trailers. He held this position for two years, then in 2020, he transitioned to Parts & Service Coordinator. “I enjoy taking on new challenges and responsibilities, so as new opportunities became available, I wanted to take advantage of them,” said Dillon. In 2022, Dillon did just that. The Sales Coordinator position became available, so he applied and holds this position yet today.

The Sales Coordinator is responsible for providing sales support to the sales team. Each day is a mix of tasks, including order submission, custom option pricing, working with the scheduling department on questions, and fielding inquiries from dealers and customers in a timely fashion. “I like being the Sales Coordinator. I can’t really dial in one single thing that I like best. I love working with almost every department here at Felling. Not a lot of positions are able to do that. I really enjoy the problem-solving aspects of my job. Having ten salespeople to assist brings different challenges to my desk every day,” said Dillon.

I really do love working for Felling Trailers. The opportunity for growth is huge as well. Can’t see myself working anywhere else!” – Dillon Dean

When asked why Dillon chose Felling to be where he worked, he said, “It’s my hometown. The biggest thing that keeps me here is how friendly everyone is. Owners are wonderful people that treat everyone like family. I really do love working for Felling Trailers. The opportunity for growth is huge as well. Can’t see myself working anywhere else!”

Since Dillon joined the Felling Trailers team nearly 7-years ago, he has seen and been a part of much of the company’s growth. “I have seen building 2 (Fabrication Facility & Warehouse) get built along with the new office and paint facility by the old racetrack. I was also part of growing and expanding the parts department to what it is today,” said Dillon. We are glad to have Dillon as part of our team. Thank you, Dillon!

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