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48 • June 13, 2016 • Powersports Business AFTERMARKET www.PowersportsBusiness.com everything done." Josefson joined Spectro full time in 2011, spending time working both in the factory and in sales. In the summer of 2014, Miller decided he would retire, and the family had a choice to make about the direction the business would take next. Josefson and his father Thomas sat down and discussed the future of Spectro. Thomas pointed out that he could step up as president, but he had been in his VP role, run- ning purchasing, manufacturing and the ware- house for nearly 30 years and was comfortable staying there. Also, knowing his own retire- ment will likely come within the next decade, he wanted more stability for the company. Josefson recalled, "He said, 'I'll support you 100 percent on the back end. I'll give you all the information you need. I'll be there to help guide you, but let's look at the long-term viability of the company and really focus on having one figurehead and one direction instead of having a changeover [again in 10 years].'" It was decided that Chris and Mike Josef- son would join the company full time as well because Miller had covered so many aspects of the business that one person alone could not replace him. "When my uncle left, that was a huge void to fill. Anyone who knew David knows what kind of a man he is, and he is somebody that has more talents than most people knew," Josefson said. "From a mechanical sense, he's one of the most brilliant men I've ever known. Part of the things that's kind of helped us finan- cially, in terms of staying afloat, is we kept a lot of our own machines running, and a lot of that was David. He had that keen mechanical sense to make sure things worked right and kept the business going. So when he left, it wasn't like one guy left; it was like three or four had gone." While Alex Josefson has taken over as pres- ident, Chris is responsible for quality con- trol and warehouse management, while Mike focuses on plant operations. "Chris, my middle brother, is very qual- ity control-centric. He's very focused on making sure that anything sent out of our building is of the highest possible quality," Josefson said. "My youngest brother Michael is extremely smart and has that mechanical sense, like my uncle has, so he's really taking over keeping the operations up and running and working to make our production line even more efficient." NEW TO THE JOB Though Josefson was more than familiar with Spectro before being promoted to president, he was only 26 years old when he took over, so he knew he had a lot to learn. "I feel I need to prove myself even more. I look at it, and say I'm 26 — at that point — what do I know? I'm not foolish enough to think I know it all," he said. Before even accepting the position, Josefson talked to several longtime employees to see if they'd support him in his new role. "I went to guys like [sales manager] Ken Ciocci and Pat Arsen, who's our treasurer, and John Dunne, who's in sales as well — people who have been with us for close to 30 years — and said, 'Hey, will you work with me? Can we work together? Can we move forward? Can I count on you to support me and to help out because obviously you've got more time in this building than I have on this earth.' That is the experience that I need, so we've had this type of relationship where we work together, and for me to have those advisors to really help me along, has been phenomenal," Josefson explained. He refers to Spectro's staff as co-workers, not his employees, as the group that only totals 20 is a close-knit team, and even those not part of the Wehman lineage are treated like family. "We've always strived, just like we sup- port the whole industry, we try to support our people. So we're very fair to our employees; we have a very low turnover rate. A lot of our staff has been there for 10-, 20-, 30-plus years, and that doesn't happen," Josefson said. "We're all in it together; it's a group effort. I've got co-workers that quite literally used to change my diapers. It's a really surreal experience, but if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be here. If I did not have that support, I do not believe I would've taken the responsibility of running the company." Josefson has also reached out to others in the industry to increase his knowledge base and better manage Spectro. "The very first task I did was to call each and every one of our distributors that we've worked with and explained what happened — David retiring and me taking over — and basically tell them we're moving forward," he said. "Those relationships have also been really important because they help me with a lot of information." Peers from other similar-sized powers- ports companies have also offered insight on things such as marketing, events and other aspects of the business. Josefson pointed to SPECTRO CONTINUED FROM PAGE 47 See Spectro, Page 51 The Josefson brothers and some of their co-workers recently rode their bikes into work at Spectro's head- quarters in Brookfield, Connecticut.