Meet Our Leaders

Terry Neece

Operations Manager Dayton

What is your background and career path at Heidelberg? (Year started at HDC, major milestones)
I started at Heidelberg September 23, 1998 (22 years ago) as a beer puller/order processor while in a work/study program. I made a lot of friends and fell in love with the people and business very quickly. During my time working for Heidelberg there wasn’t much I wouldn’t do, I thrived to be the best I could be all the time. I would run my route for the day, go out and help other drivers and work in the garage helping the mechanic Dennis Kitchen. It wasn’t unusual to arrive in at morning when it was dark and go home at night in the dark.
Positions I held with Heidelberg before becoming Dayton Operations Manager:

• 1998-1999 Order Processor
• 1999-2000 Draft Supervisor/Checker
• 2000-2003 Box Truck Delivery Driver (Wine Driver)
• 2003-2007 Semi Delivery Driver (Draft Beer Driver)
• 2007-2011 Night Wine Warehouse Manager
• 2011-2012 Wine Warehouse Manager
• 2012-2015 Wine Operations Manger
• 2015-Present Operations Manager

What are your job responsibilities and priorities?
My job responsibilities have no limits, if it pertains to Heidelberg in Dayton or the entire Heidelberg family I take responsibility. We have a large family across the Ohio and Kentucky, and we all take care of each other. That is one of the many reasons we’re the best at what we do! My priority is to live our core values every day and make the best of every situation and to help to carry on that attitude with my team.

Any recent accomplishments or notable projects from you/your team?
We recently did a massive reroute in August that provided us the following efficiencies:

• Delivering all products on one truck!
• A conservative weekly stop count reduction of 15%.
• Static Route reduction of four routes (52 to 48 routes).
• Reduced the number of Monday routes from 28 to only nine routes!
  We continue to work on building a team of teams: increased transparency, communication, teamwork and just flat out living our core values to the fullest!

Who do you interact with on a regular basis – suppliers, retailers, management, HDC “wheel” teams?
I interact with all levels of our HDC team on a daily basis. We have open communication with each other and all work very well together (administration, sales, ops, management, etc.) Between phone calls, text, emails and an application called Slack we stay very well in tune. We had an issue at one of our large chain stores and our driver posted an SOS that they were refusing their entire wine order due to some miscommunication. I called the driver to get some insight and decided to drive to the store to help out. Working with the driver, our sales team and being quick to react, we were able to get the order accepted and everyone happy. That’s just one example of how we work together as a team to win for our customer’s each and every day with great teamwork!

What alcohol beverage trends are you seeing?
The obvious is the seltzer category, which has been and continues to be on fire, but we are seeing growth across all categories, which is great! People are drinking more now than ever! Happy, sad, or bored it doesn’t matter, our beverages are the best out there!

How has the business and/or company changed since you joined Heidelberg?
With just our Dayton operation, this company has grown in so many ways. Our facility went from five buildings spread out down one street in north Dayton totaling roughly 220,000 square feet to a massive 820,000 square foot facility in Moraine, south of downtown Dayton, setting us up for the future and massive growth and efficiencies. The way we operate from pulling product to delivering has drastically changed in a positive way. We went from pulling product to a conveyor to picking product directly to the pallet that will be delivered directly to the retailer.

How do you like to spend time when you’re away from work (family/hobbies)?
I like to spend my time away from work with my wife (Lauren) and kids. I have nine-year old twin boys (Evan and Liam) and a 22 year-old daughter (Teri Lynn). I like the outdoors, off-roading, fishing and just relaxing and enjoying life.