DUECO, Inc. a final-stage installer of Terex Utilities and Hi-Ranger bucket trucks, digger derricks, cranes, stringing and tension equipment, and utility trailers, announced the retirement of Ron Koosman, Vice President and long time leader of DUECO’s Western Region, effective May 31.

Koosman served as Western Division Sales Manager at DUECO starting in 1993, when DUECO became the distributor for Terex Utilities in a five state area including Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Eastern Nebraska. He supported the Telelect product line of digger derricks beginning in 1966, when he started as an Installation Mechanic, and progressed to Service Mechanic, Service Manager, and Area Sales Manager for Northwest Telelect, then Product Manager for Road Machinery & Supplies, which purchased Northwest Telelect in 1979. He served as Order Entry Manager and Western Region Sales Manager for Telelect when RMS sold the group to Simon in 1982. In all, Koosman has served Telelect product line customers for 47 years.

Judie Taylor, President of DUECO, Inc., commented, “We give our sincerest thanks to Ron for all his dedication, hard work, and efforts to build a successful business for DUECO over the past 20 years in our Western Region. We wish Ron all the best in his retirement years ahead.”

With Koosman’s departure, Jim Kraschinsky, Vice President of Sales, will be responsible for sales management, supervising the Western Territory Managers and will also work directly on key customer care plans for larger accounts.

Rick Heathcote, VP of Operations, will be responsible for overall Branch Management, including production and service operations and sales coordination. Rick will report to Marikris O’Grady, Executive Vice President at DUECO

Kenny Vlasman, Service Manager, will continue to be responsible for the overall regional service management for the Watertown & Shakopee branch service operations, reporting to Judie Taylor, President, with a dotted line to Rick Heathcote.

The company looks forward to a smooth transition with this strong leadership team.