Company history?

[goldnrod24]

I was at a boat show this weekend and one dealer bragged that he was the 2nd Bennington dealer ever established. He bragged, "Mr. Call contacted me directly." It got me to thinking that I really don't know the company history. I recognized the name, as Jason Call is Director of Sales, but I never stopped to consider the connection. I assume that the Call family is the founder, but that's purely speculation.

So moderators, what can you tell us about the formation of Bennington Marine? Curious minds inquire.

 

[Geoffrey & Brenda]

I was looking through the member list, and i see there are 5 admins on the list. I read in one post that you admins would rather just monitor the site. Well, personally i would rather you where active participants here, after all, this site is about Bennington boats as well as their owners. Besides, who would know more about them than you folks? So, lets see some more of you admins on here!

 

[Retired Team Member1]

I was at a boat show this weekend and one dealer bragged that he was the 2nd Bennington dealer ever established. He bragged, "Mr. Call contacted me directly." It got me to thinking that I really don't know the company history. I recognized the name, as Jason Call is Director of Sales, but I never stopped to consider the connection. I assume that the Call family is the founder, but that's purely speculation.

So moderators, what can you tell us about the formation of Bennington Marine? Curious minds inquire.

 

[Retired Team Member1]

Bennington's company history is really cool (at least to those of us who work here!) In 1997, Bennington was started by Richard (Dick) Strefling, Steve Vogel (our President and CEO) and Patrick Call (Our VP of Sales-Michigan) as a privately-held company. We wrote a company vision statement that still holds true today: to be good people to do business with; to improve the quality of life of our employees, suppliers, dealers and customers; to build a quality product and to always be good listeners. People ask where the name Bennington came from? Dick Strefling owned several companies, including a nice wood products division with the name Bennington. We liked that name and though it had a "quality" ring to it!

By following our vision, we quickly realized we were on to something special. Dealers and customers seemed to love our boats! Just 5 years after launching Bennington, we were honored and surprised when we won the first of four JD Power awards for product quality and customer satisfaction. Now, Bennington holds one of the highest market share ranks in the country and has held this position for many years. We are a quiet company that leads an industry in quality and innovation.

Today, Bennington is employee-owned and we are lucky to have strong direction from two of our founders, Steve Vogel and Pat Call. We are debt-free, hold a strong market place position, and have nearly 50,000 satisfied owners. We have an extremely loyal customer base and some of our owners have owned 3 or more Benningtons since 1997. We are truly an American success story, blessed in every way.

 

[TOON'D OUT]

Bennington's company history is really cool (at least to those of us who work here!) In 1997, Bennington was started by Richard (Dick) Strefling, Steve Vogel (our President and CEO) and Patrick Call (Our VP of Sales-Michigan) as a privately-held company. We wrote a company vision statement that still holds true today: to be good people to do business with; to improve the quality of life of our employees, suppliers, dealers and customers; to build a quality product and to always be good listeners. People ask where the name Bennington came from? Dick Strefling owned several companies, including a nice wood products division with the name Bennington. We liked that name and though it had a "quality" ring to it!

By following our vision, we quickly realized we were on to something special. Dealers and customers seemed to love our boats! Just 5 years after launching Bennington, we were honored and surprised when we won the first of four JD Power awards for product quality and customer satisfaction. Now, Bennington holds one of the highest market share ranks in the country and has held this position for many years. We are a quiet company that leads an industry in quality and innovation.

Today, Bennington is employee-owned and we are lucky to have strong direction from two of our founders, Steve Vogel and Pat Call. We are debt-free, hold a strong market place position, and have nearly 50,000 satisfied owners. We have an extremely loyal customer base and some of our owners have owned 3 or more Benningtons since 1997. We are truly an American success story, blessed in every way.

Well said.

I really like the quaility that Bennington put into my 20' SLi. The Yamaha 70 purrrrrs and is a seamless match. After doing much reading and research I decided on Bennington because I wanted a high quaility, well built, "every pontoon boat is a show pontoon boat".

High quaility and a 5 year warranty says it all. I believe with proper care and maintenance our boat will last us for many years.

Please keep up the great work.

 

[PaBoating]

I was at a boat show this weekend and one dealer bragged that he was the 2nd Bennington dealer ever established. He bragged, "Mr. Call contacted me directly." It got me to thinking that I really don't know the company history. I recognized the name, as Jason Call is Director of Sales, but I never stopped to consider the connection. I assume that the Call family is the founder, but that's purely speculation.

So moderators, what can you tell us about the formation of Bennington Marine? Curious minds inquire.

I was the 12th dealer with Bennington back in 1997 and my life is better because of it. It doesn’t matter if you’re assembling a Bennington, delivering a Bennington, selling a Bennington, or owning a Bennington...it’s not just a boat, it’s a passion. It’s a passion to be part of something that everyone along the way takes EXTREME PRIDE in! The day I no longer sell Bennington’s will be the same day I leave the marine industry.

D

 

[goldnrod24]

I was the 12th dealer with Bennington back in 1997 and my life is better because of it. It doesn’t matter if you’re assembling a Bennington, delivering a Bennington, selling a Bennington, or owning a Bennington...it’s not just a boat, it’s a passion. It’s a passion to be part of something that everyone along the way takes EXTREME PRIDE in! The day I no longer sell Bennington’s will be the same day I leave the marine industry.

D

Good Sir! You've done some real digging to find and resurrect this topic. It was one of the first I made here and prior to my becoming a mod. IIRC, the group was just getting underway in January 2011, the month after I bought my first Bennington.

We have always known that we had dealers as members here and it's nice to see your enthusiasm for the job. Welcome aboard.