On September 1st, 2017 a landmark anniversary was celebrated at Harbor. On this day Mike Erickson celebrated 50 years with the company. Mike reflected on his time with Harbor by sharing his thoughts about how the company has changed and evolved over the last 50 years.

From when you started at Harbor, until now, how has the company evolved and changed?

I will do my best to recap what has changed and the importance of what has not changed over my fifty-year career.  What is most obvious is the sheer scale of our growth, the geographic reach, number of employees, number of customers, size of our facilities, etc.  What is more important and deeply rewarding to observe are the advancements made in our organizational structure and the process of enhancing the talents of our employees at every level.  What has not changed is our company culture of giving our customers the best possible service in our industry, made able by empowering our employees to use their strengths and passion for success, to do there very best.  We have truly been blessed with opportunities and have the best people and processes needed to be on top of our game.

What are some of your favorite memories of Harbor over the last 50 years?

The first image to come to me after reading this question, were the names and faces of all the incredible people that I have had the pleasure of working with over my career.  Employees, customers, vendors, service providers, and regulators as well, all contributing to my individual development and the success of our company.

The list of special memories is amazing, so I’ll try and keep it simple.  When still in high school, I was lucky have worked alongside my Grandfather, Father, Uncle, and two Brothers – a lot of family for a small business.  And we certainly were not shy about challenging each other to work harder and smarter, often becoming a lively competition – Grandfather usually played the role of referee.

We had a tremendous growth opportunity in the late seventies and early eighties due to the expansion on the C-Store format, this being both unbelievably challenging and rewarding for our small company.  To facilitate this growth, we had to construct a freezer which we did in the after hours and build from scratch our first computer system – the first go live was scary and amazing!   During this time, we laid out plans to build a new facility on Port of Olympia property in Tumwater and when the big move happened on a weekend in September 1985 we were our way.

I will never forget our first trade show in 1987, this a move to propel us into the big leagues.  Team Harbor and our vendor partners did a marvelous job of getting things set and ready to go that morning, when Ron Black looked at me and said, “what if no one shows up”?  As it turned out, we had a great customer turnout, sold a ton, and didn’t have to eat all the samples ourselves.

Developing a vision for the future is a key element in the long term strategic planning process, and like the two previous generations of owners it was my turn to map the next chapter.  Justin and Scott were rapidly moving up the leadership latter so I thought it an appropriate time to pull them aside and ask them how they viewed the family business and what the future might look like.  The response overwhelmed me, not completely expecting their reply to be packed with so much energy, emotion, and gratitude for having the opportunity to chart the future of our company as fourth generation leaders.

What are the different roles you have worked since starting at Harbor?

I have always viewed our business as the family farm, starting with a hand full of employees and limited resources it was necessary for each of us to be able to multitask and be a jack of all trades.  Over time and with rapid growth we settled into tasks that matched our passion, occasionally promoted by default because a necessary detail was not being effectively executed or was lacking completely. I started at 13, like most family members with a broom in hand and several buckets that I could use to transport hot water to our building from the freight terminal next door, really, no hot water on site until 1972 – that year I learned plumbing. We could make 5 cents a case for running the cigarette tax stamping machine so that was the next logical move, along printing order guides, and if time allowed stocking freight. I think my brothers and I were all driving by 16 or earlier and when properly licensed, were picking orders and doing local deliveries.  As an adult, my first roles were centered around warehouse operations and facilities management, then expanding into sales, and sales management, product replenishment and category management. During latter phase of my career I filled the roles of Sales & Marketing Dir., Categories Manager, and Board Chairman.

What is something you have learned over the last 50 years of working at Harbor?

I have learned that it is possible for ordinary people to do extraordinary things because I witness this every day.  Our success is deeply rooted in the individual talents of our employees, only by tapping into this resource can an organization achieve what we have over our 93 year history.

In your opinion, what is the most important quality to have to be involved with a company for 50 years?

Perseverance, but it must be accompanied with a long-range vision and proper planning.

What do you attribute to the success of Harbor?

We have been blessed with the opportunity to serve the needs our customers for 94 years and have never lost sight of our purpose.  In the process, we hope that we have been able to enrich the lives of everyone that has been associated with our family business and the communities that we serve.  For four generations, our leadership has communicated our core values to our employees that deliver on this promise to our customers every day.