From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal 12/22/06

George Plehn, a factory worker at Generac Power Systems Inc., was shocked to come home from work and find a $31,000 Christmas gift in the mail.

It was a check from Robert and Patricia Kern.

Robert Kern, recently retired, was the founder of Generac, a Waukesha County company that makes residential, commercial and industrial power generators.

This week, the Kerns mailed checks to employees that easily added up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The total amount remains a mystery because the Kerns aren't talking about it, but employees said some people got nearly $50,000.

"My jaw dropped when I saw" the check in the mail, said Plehn, a 19-year Generac employee.

"This was a huge amount of money for something that wasn't really necessary," he said Thursday.

The privately held company has more than 1,500 employees. Robert Kern, 81, recently sold his share of the ownership and stepped down as chairman to focus on philanthropy.

The Kerns have a charitable foundation valued at tens of millions of dollars. But the Christmas gifts came from the couple rather than the foundation or the company.

"I don't know if it was for all of the employees, and the gifts are not all the same. But some people were really shocked by the amounts," said Stephanie Borowski, a Generac human resources executive.

Jeff Dries has worked at the company for nine years and said he got a check for about $10,000.

"People had gone home for lunch and checked their mail like they normally do," Dries said. "They just got broadsided" by the checks.

Dries said he and his wife plan to use their gift as a down payment on a house.

"I know it's going to change a lot of people's lives," he said of the gifts.

Gordon Seefeldt, a Generac truck driver, received one of the checks. He has worked at the company for 17 years and has met Robert Kern.

The checks surprised a lot of people, but Kern is a generous man, Seefeldt said.

"He has always maintained that the longtime faithful employees have been responsible for his success," Seefeldt added.

One former employee said he was disappointed that he didn't receive a check.

"I was with Generac for nine years, left a week and a half before this happened, and they didn't give me anything," said Jeremy Schwarz.

"If this is a reward for service or outstanding commitment, then I think they need to take another look at this," he said.

Some of the checks weren't huge, especially for new employees.

Brian Thompson, who has worked at Generac for only six weeks, received $500. He saw Robert Kern only once, in the hallway, and has never met him.

"I would have been OK with not getting anything," Thompson said.

A district sales manager, Thompson said he has been impressed with the company's generosity in areas such as charitable giving.

"A lot of companies do a really good job of promoting themselves and building up their image. But this is more than that. It's not fake," Thompson said.

Checks in the mail
Generac workers got checks for varying amounts from company founder Robert Kern and his wife, Patricia.

One worker with 19 years'

experience got $31,000.







Now that is awesome!!!!
and no I dont work there.

 

Very nice sentiment; however, the money had to come from somewhere. Perhaps I paid more than I needed to for my whole-house generator?

Why can't companies just maintain a reasonable profit?

 

I have met this guy on more then one occassion, he made his money the old fashioned way , by alot of hard work, treating people right, He is not the only company to reward good old fashioned hard work and loyality.

BTW The generator market is one of markets that are very competive in pricing, but you also get what you pay for as well. I sell good quality equipment.

 

People make the company, what a great christmas surprise.

Where does MultiQuip stand in the quality department?

 

I wonder how that works as far as I know Briggs and Stratton own the company unless they don't have total control over it.

 

My 6,000 watt MQ is powered by a 11 hp Honda, all copper windings
in the generator, idle down or no load maintained rpm's, a construction contractor machine.
I used it once to run the Miller 251 Mig machine at app 35% of the welders output, ran great considering welder is electronic controlled.
WhenI was looking for a generator I had no brand name in in mind, just any generator without a B&S engine. Had a freebie 3,000 watt Coleman powered by B&S, that thing was a noisey gas guzzling machine hence freebie to the UPS driver.