2025_JanFebCJ - 4

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Reflection, Motivation & Consistency
I WANT TO START BY THANKING the
NARSA/IDEA community for trusting me to
serve as President for the next two years. It
is truly an honor.
A little about me: I am the third-generation
President of Roppel Industries and the
Co-Founder of 4R Fasteners. Roppel
Industries was founded in 1947 by my
grandfather and his brother as a small
radiator shop. Over the years, my father,
Tom, and his cousin, Kevin, expanded the
business into multiple distribution locations
across the Midwest and several automotive
repair centers. After Kevin's retirement,
Tom decided to close the repair side of
the business and focused on growing the
distribution centers.
Today, my brothers, Ryan and Colin, and I
run the family business, which now includes
15 locations, four of which are industrial
radiator and heat exchange repair facilities.
I grew up working in the business and
officially joined the company in 2007 after
graduating from the University of Kentucky.
Over the years, I have held various roles,
including warehouse worker, phone
room representative, General Manager of
Radiator Shops, Vice President of Sales, and
now President.
We saw a need in the radiator industry
for a dependable, high-quality, and fairly
priced fastener supplier. After trying several
companies, we decided to acquire a local
business and adapt it to meet the needs of
our own radiator shops and other NARSA
member shops. This led to the formation of
4R Fasteners in 2024.
As we wrap up 2024 and enter 2025, we all
seem to reflect on the previous year. What
did we do well, what did we do wrong,
how can we improve, etc. But, with the
way things are so fast paced these days,
we don't seem to do enough reflection. It
seems like when the 1st comes, we have
already forgotten about the past year's
accomplishments and are already moving
on with what can we do this year? As a
society we have become accustomed to
instant gratification; we need everything
now, with no waiting. I would strongly
suggest taking some time to reflect on the
past year, showing gratitude where it is
needed and learning from mistakes. Yes,
the new year is a new start, but it is always
good to look back and learn from the past.
As everyone plans for the new year, I
always seem to somewhat struggle with
motivation. It seems that for small business
owners our busiest time of the year is at the
end. We are wrapping up the previous year,
planning for the next, all on top of personal
holiday things, from hosting parties to gifts
for the family, and so on. So, when the first
of the year hits, we are tired; we need to
find our motivation to get the year going.
This year for me has felt harder than most.
2024 wasn't an easy year for me or our
company. I started as the President of our
company, and that brings its own set of new
challenges. We got hit hard in the early part
of the year with unexpected challenges.
Three of our top sales reps left. They all
left for reasons out of our control: one
was a death, one joined a customer in an
executive position, and one left to maximize
his final years before retirement.
We had just hired a new VP of Sales and
were very excited about where that was
going to take us. We had a strategic plan
in place, but then we hit those unforeseen
obstacles. I know everyone knows that
hiring a salesperson in our industry isn't
easy. It takes the right person, and then
it takes time to learn the process. No
matter how talented the person is, in our
experience, we have seen it always takes
9-12 months for them to truly get into the
2 | THE COOLING JOURNAL | January/February 2025
Corey Roppel
NARSA/IDEA President 2025-2026
croppel@roppelrad.com
groove and learn the industry, after which
they will continue to grow for years to
come. I am still learning something new
every day about radiators, heat exchangers,
emissions, and so on. That is what is so cool
about this industry, every day we see new
opportunities.
So, having to train three new sales reps and
a VP of Sales on top of an election year that
seemed to slow business for us in certain
divisions made 2024 a very challenging
year. This, in turn, made getting motivated
for 2025 a challenge.
To get motivated, I looked to the past
and did some research to find that, in my
opinion, " motivation " was the wrong way
to look at it. Motivation is short-term and as
a business leader, short term thinking isn't
really where we play ball. For example, at
the start of every year, I am motivated by
my New Year's resolutions to drink a couple
less cocktails, hit the gym, read more, and
eat better. However, this lasts a very short
amount of time. What I find to be more
helpful is small, consistent goals or actions. I
have a morning routine: I read a few pages,
go to the gym a few times a week, or do

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