Quality equipment sales and service celebrates 25 years: Ray Belanger started his business with $976, and now has gross sales of $9 million.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa
• Position: Alaska Business Monthly's BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

When Ray Belanger first started his mobile auto and truck repair business in 1981, he did it with the thought that customer service should always be his No. 1 priority. Now, 25 years later, Belanger's commitment to building relationships as the cornerstone of building his business has enabled Quality Equipment Sales and Service to grow into a successful company.

"I started the business in 1981 with $976 in my pocket," said Belanger, whose company had gross sales of $9 million in 2004. "I believe the whole key to my success is that I want to make my customers happy--I've based my whole business on that. I often put myself in my customers' shoes, and I won't sell them what they can't use--even if they want it."

Approximately 80 percent of Quality Equipment's business is repeat customers, with about 60 percent of his business coming from the state and municipalities, and 40 percent from individual contractors. "Though we have four major competitors in the market, what sets us apart is the customer service," said Belanger. "People tell me that they buy products from us, even though they're more expensive, because they know that we'll take care of them."

Statewide Reach

Though the company serves all of Alaska, it remains based out of Anchorage, where Belanger bought his first building in 1985. In 1987, he decided to begin selling snow removal equipment in addition to running the auto repair shop, with this business later expanding to provide highway maintenance equipment and school and transit buses, among other products.

In 1989, Belanger and a number of his employees went to work in Valdez during the oil spill, where for four months they were responsible for maintaining the barges and equipment used to steam clean the beaches. "Our gross sales at that time went from $1 million to $7 million overnight," Belanger laughed. "In 1990, they went back down to $1 million, and we started over. But that job was a big boost for business."

Two years later, the company began serving as the distributor for Thomas Built Buses, and soon began adding even more product lines. In 1996, Belanger decided to merge his repair business, Belanger's Automotive Repair, and his sales business, J&R Enterprises, into one entity, which became Quality Equipment Sales and Service.

"In 2002, we sold 386 school buses to the Anchorage and Wasilla school districts, which was another big boost for the company," said Belanger. "Then in 2003, we landed a huge contract with Denali...