Jeff Zwick, a key player in the growth of Ewing’s brand and sales presence in the Southwest, handed off the baton as Phoenix regional manager to J.R. Richards to become national key accounts manager of Ewing’s new key accounts sales division.
Ewing officials formed the key account sales division to better target the sales and operational needs of multi-territorial landscape and irrigation companies.
“In order to reach our projected sales numbers, we developed a sales division devoted entirely to global contractors,” says Zwick, who will continue to serve as Regional Manager over Tucson, Ariz. and New Mexico, as well as Residential and Commercial Sales Manager for the Arizona and New Mexico territories, in his new post. “These mega contractors are an untapped market for us.”
Establishing strong relationships with nationwide customers will also aid in laying the foundation for expansion into new territories, Zwick says.
Zwick has been instrumental in Ewing’s growth in the Southwest over the past 7 years. When Ewing acquired Simpson Sprinkler Centers in 2001, Douglas York, president of Ewing Irrigation, appointed Zwick—who at the time was territorial manager of Phoenix/Las Vegas for Simpson—as Southwest sales manager, before naming him regional manager of Arizona, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas, one year later.
Richards, a long-time Ewing employee and former manager of Ewing’s Mesa location, took the helm as Phoenix Regional Manager in December, and is eager to build and maintain mutually-beneficial relationships with each customer.
Having worked in the distribution channel in the Phoenix landscaping market since 1998, Richards has a firm grasp of the past, present and future ambitions of the market.
He started out in the Green Industry as a Branch Manager with Simpson Sprinkler Centers after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in history education from Northern Arizona University. Like Zwick, Richards, too, came on board with the Simpson acquisition, transitioning to Branch Manager of Ewing’s East Mesa location before taking over management of Ewing’s Mesa branch.
In his four years at the Mesa facility, Richards doubled sales, upping gross revenue from $2.5 million to just shy of $5 million.
Overseeing the sales and operations of 15 Phoenix locations and one Prescott Valley branch, Richards will focus on increasing the frequency of branch level customer events such as educational seminars, barbeques and vendor product days, maximizing customer satisfaction, and maintaining the “team feel” among branches in Phoenix.
