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.
