Since 1952, Harris-Crane has been in the marketplace to offer superior agriculture solutions to its valued customers, suppliers, and transportation partners. The groundwork that built our organization derives from three (3) key core values, not to be loosely represented or interpreted in any way. 

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 The first core value and rope that binds our company together is the “Team Player” quality. We operate daily between both offices in an open bullpen setting which allows all employees to communicate freely and have a voice in all daily tasks. We promote a “do whatever it takes” attitude to satisfy the needs of our end users and work together to create a culture of harmony, growth, and integrity. Since the early 1950’s when David Harris and John Crane partnered up together, the business model began and now revolves around a customer- supplier chain. Without every link in that chain pulling its weight, the model does not work. Mr. Harris once said in a conference meeting: “It is as important to service people as it is to sell to them, and the sale is never complete until the delivery is made.” Still, some 70 years later we operate by these simple principles to best serve our customers, suppliers, and transportation partners.  

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The second core value, “Relationship Building,” exemplifies our success. At Harris-Crane, we do not see ourselves as commodity salespeople; we see ourselves as offering a high value service to the marketplace, through the experience we create with all of our clients. We sell the highest quality relationships and services. We feel, at the end of the day, our communication and loyalty will attract and retain the future growth of our organization. In our culture, customer service, reliability, and quality are of the utmost importance when building and maintaining relationships. We will outwork our competitors to be the very best in the market. Two ladies who lead the way as relationship builders at Harris-Crane, Karyn Ayers (Harris-Crane 1996 – retirement 2021), and Patti Leigh Fletcher (Harris-Crane 1989 – retirement 2022), exemplified what it meant to be model employees. Their top three qualities that live on today are 1) a customer 1st attitude; 2) a tenacious ability to go above and beyond the required work; and 3) a magnificent attention to detail. If we continue to emphasize these qualities among our employees, we will continue to grow and build long term relationships. Both ladies lead by example, and lead by serving those around them. 

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Concluding with our third and final core value, is the “Problem Solver” mindset. We encourage our people to broaden their imagination to solve a problem. John Crane sure did this in 1989 around the time Hurricane Hugo made its way up through Charlotte, NC. Mr. Crane, after days with no power to operate the business, broke a window at Bissell Companies located nearby, and run an extension cord to get the office back up and operating. He did so with no permission other than a letter he wrote directly to Bissell Companies after the fact. Mr. Crane figured any business who relies on and supports loyal customers would understand. That is exactly the response he got back from H.C. Bissell in a letter that thanked him for his time writing the letter, and also the confidence to serve others through taking outside-the-box action. We should always look at every possible solution until we solve our problem. Failure, by analogy is a good thing. F.A.I.L. stands for” First Attempt In Learning” in our organization. We never quit, and we always strive to find a better way. Success comes before work only in the dictionary, and we hire and train our people to be accountable for their actions and responses. Placing blame on others should not be our mindset: rather, we must own our problems along with our solutions. Lead by example and commit to being the very best at what we do as an organization.  

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In conclusion, a workplace that encourages integrity, honesty, trust, and transparency is what we all should be striving for on a daily basis.  We want to create a positive and inclusive culture that fosters open, honest, and meaningful relationships.  We want to find ways for everyone to feel they belong to something great...something bigger than themselves.  Identifying our Core Values is a positive step in that direction because when we invest in each other, we learn as a team, and WE WIN.