45 Years of a Family Business: A Holiday Fireside with Gary Coval

Holiday drinks and appetizers, and a fireside with Gary Coval of CEP Sales on 45 years of growing a family business and who runs it next. OWN MEMBERS GET IN FREE. AT CHECKOUT, ENTER THE EMAIL ADDRESS TIED TO YOUR OWN MEMBERSHIP AS THE PROMO CODE. We started the year with our first event at the American Legion in Carmel. We’re closing it out the same way, at the American Legion in Zionsville. Join us Thursday, December 10th for our holiday social. Grab a drink, catch up with people you’ve met at past OWN nights, and meet a few you haven’t. You don’t need to be a member to come. If this is your first OWN night, you’re in the right place. The fireside CEP Sales has been a family business on Oak Street in Zionsville for 45 years. Wayne and Barbara Kroemer founded it in 1981, and over its first decade two sons, two sons-in-law and two daughters came into the business. Gary Coval, Wayne’s son-in-law, joined after ten years at Marathon Oil, has been a partner since 1994, and is its President today. The second generation bought the company from the founders, and a third generation is already selling for it, Gary’s own son-in-law included. CEP represents manufacturers of custom engineered parts, the castings, stampings and machined and molded pieces that end up inside other companies’ products, and sells for them across much of the country. Zionsville is Gary’s hometown, and this is OWN’s first night there. A rep firm is a business where the whole asset is relationships. You sell in two directions at once, to the customer and to the manufacturers who trust you with their line, and a new hire takes years to earn either one. At 5:30 Gary sits down with us for about 40 minutes. The subject is how a family business gets to 45 years and three generations: how one generation of partners hands it to the next, how CEP built a sales team over the last decade that is half family and half hired from outside, why the owners lock themselves in a room every couple of years to plan the years ahead, and why he thinks every family business needs a plan for who runs it next, written down long before anyone needs it. He plans to bring a few of his team to say how the road ahead looks from where they sit. Then it’s your questions. About Gary Coval, President, CEP Sales, Inc. Gary Coval is President of CEP Sales, which he owns alongside his wife, Ellen. CEP Sales is a manufacturers’ representative firm connecting OEMs with a network of 25+ foundries and machining partners, as well as related metal products. Based in the Zionsville, Indiana home office, Gary oversees Strategic Accounts across all CEP territories and leads the company’s seven-person inside and outside sales teams. Gary joined CEP in 1994, initially covering Western Indiana, Illinois, and the surrounding regions. Before CEP, he spent 10 years with Marathon Oil Company in Ohio and Indiana, holding roles in sales, training, and scheduling. He is a 1984 graduate of Purdue University with a degree in Business and Marketing. A Zionsville native, Gary still lives in his hometown, close to their four grandchildren. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with the grandkids, golfing, church groups, and working outdoors. Built for business owners People who own or run a business, or are working toward it: owner-operators, family businesses, people who bought something they now run, and people building something new. If you sell to owners for a living, come as an OWN member. We keep these nights owner-heavy on purpose, because that’s what lets people talk openly. Schedule 4:30. Doors open, drinks and appetizers. 5:30. The fireside with Gary Coval, about 40 minutes, then questions. 6:15 to 7:30. More time to catch up. Hosted at the Zionsville American Legion (Post 79), 9950 E 600 S. Your ticket General admission is $17.85 ($15 plus Eventbrite’s fee) and covers two drinks and appetizers. Members attend free with the promo code above. Membership is $50 through December 31 and goes to $100 on January 1. Join before the 10th and this night is on us: hub.ownindiana.org/membership About OWN Indiana OWN Indiana is a community for the people who own, run and buy Indiana businesses. This year we’ve hosted nights from Carmel to Syracuse to Fort Wayne, most of them built around one owner telling their story. Between nights, members trade notes and introductions in our online community. Operator Notes, our free newsletter, lands every other Tuesday with Indiana programs, deadlines and what other owners are doing. OWN is run by business owners, for business owners. Learn more at ownindiana.org. Not getting Operator Notes yet? Subscribe free at hub.ownindiana.org/subscribe.