Morbark, LLC, announced that longtime industrial sales representative Larry Burkholder retired after nearly 57 years with the company.
While Burkholder’s contributions have been mainly with the sales team, he served in a wide range of roles within Morbark over the course of his career, from accounting to marketing. Even when he joined Morbark on October 7, 1962, as a bookkeeper, he had a hand in sales, acting as a sales assistant to Ralph Morey, the brother of company founder Norval Morey. He also held the positions of marketing manager, manager of Recycling Systems Inc., a division of Morbark; and vice president and general manager of Morbark of the Lake States, Inc., a franchised dealer based in Tomahawk, Wisconsin.
Burkholder excelled at sales at Morbark, helping his sales region earn the highest annual revenue for the company most frequently and acting as a major force behind the company at one time achieving a 90 percent market share for industrial equipment in Florida. He assisted customers in capitalizing on business opportunities and shepherding others through federal and state grant processes to purchase millions of dollars of Morbark equipment. Some of the customers he established are among Morbark’s largest to this day.
Burkholder actively participated in the industry and community throughout his career, having served as president of the National Wood Energy Association during its formative years in the 1980s; on the boards or as a member of several industry associations, including the American Loggers Council, Michigan Forest Products Committee, Forest Resources Association; and as Chairman of the Isabella County Republican Party.
Published in the August 2019 Edition