Empire Southwest, LLC
Empire Southwest is a family owned business founded in 1950 as Empire Machinery, an Eastern Oregon Caterpillar and John Deere dealership. When founder Jack Whiteman was awarded Caterpillar’s Arizona territory in 1959, the company relocated and began building partnerships with Arizona’s construction and mining industries that endure today. In the decades that followed, Arizona’s booming economy and a culture based on integrity and customer service fueled steady growth for Empire. A willingness to diversify and respond to customer needs led the company to establish additional support services, and eventually there were five divisions operating under the corporate name Empire Southwest: Machinery, Power Systems, Hydraulic Service, Precision Machining and Transport.
Company details
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- Business Type:
- Distributor
- Industry Type:
- Agriculture
- Market Focus:
- Regionally (various states or provinces)
About Us
John O. Whiteman succeeded his father as CEO in the mid-1990s. Under John’s leadership, Empire focused on customer service, encouraged community involvement among its employees, established the official Corporate Values and celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Third-generation Chairman and CEO Jeffrey S. Whiteman took the company reins in early 2002. He led the company through the economic uncertainties following 9/11, instituted the 6 Sigma process improvement model, and looked for new ways to support customer businesses. He formed an alliance with Trimble technology dealer Sitech Southwest, expanded the company’s agriculture focus, launched a truck and trailer dealership, and directed the creation of a renewable energies group.
Empire now ranks among the top Caterpillar dealers in the world. The company has more than 1600 employees in a territory that includes the state of Arizona, southeastern California and portions of northern Mexico. Employees share a comprehensive benefits package, family friendly leadership, and pride at being part of one of the Southwest’s most respected companies.
Core Values:
Empire Southwest is committed to treating customers, employees and everyone we deal with in a fair and ethical manner. That commitment is reflected in the Empire Values — the cornerstone for every decision made on behalf of the company. Safety: Empire employees know that a safe work environment is essential to the health and well-being of everyone. At Empire, “Safety First” is more than a slogan. It is a personal commitment to preventing unsafe conditions of any kind, and a pledge to employ safe practices every day in the work place. For more detailed information about our core value of safety please click here. Integrity: is about adherence to a code or principle. In our case, that principle is honesty — honesty in our word, in our message and in our deeds. The strong customer, supplier and employee relationships we’ve developed and value so highly are based on our long-standing integrity as a company. Respect: Empire people believe in enhancing and building self-esteem and self-worth, in showing care and consideration for others. Teamwork: At Empire, we work as a team, not as a collection of individuals. We see ourselves as “stakeholders” involved in achieving a common goal. This sense of teamwork is an integral part of what makes Empire an enjoyable, energized, upbeat and satisfying company to work for and with. Excellence: We have a reputation for excellence — in the services we provide, the products we sell, in the way we do things. We look for ways to continually improve our individual and collective performance. Empire people are never satisfied with “good enough.” Stewardship: is about “adding to” rather than “taking from.” It’s about enhancing the assets entrusted us; human, intellectual and capital. It’s about taking care of our people, protecting the environment and giving something of value back to the communities in which we live and work. Astonishment: is going the extra mile to satisfy a customer, doing the unexpected, exceeding his expectations. Empire people do this because they enjoy doing it. It makes us a special kind of company to do business with and keeps our customers loyal and highly satisfied. - See more at: http://www.empire-cat.com/Company/About_Empire_Southwest.aspx#sthash.T88kDS4a.dpuf