Hazleton Area Business Citizen March 2014 - Page 9

Promoting a free market in the Greater Hazleton Area

What are some of the positive aspects of
being in business?
Dave DeLessio: I still enjoy the challenges. I don’t
enjoy the governmental challenges and the regulation
challenges, but the challenges of being in business I still
enjoy. It’s still mainly family at General Vending and part
of it is pride. My dad started this company a long time
ago and put his heart and soul into it. I think this was his
eighth child! We’ve tried to stay ahead of the curve with
technology and that’s helped. Right now I’m looking at
a new software system which will allow me to look at
all my machines, at all my facilities from my desk top! I
will be able to look at the machines at ABC facility and
say, “yeah, you know what, the truck doesn’t have to go
there today because there’s still plenty of product!”
HABC: What improvements and advancements in the vending industry have you been
able to take advantage of?
Dave DeLessio: There are ways to increase efficiencies. We actually had six routes and were able to
cut them back to five. We’ve expanded tremendously
in the past ten years and we are still doing it on five
routes. The software that I’m looking at now will allow
me to reduce the amount of travel on my routes by
20%, which, to me, removes one truck off the road. If
I can get one more truck off the road that’s a potential $50,000 investment that I’m not going to have to
make! The down side is that you end up having to lose
a person, unfortunately, and that’s not the point of doing it. I just need to increase my efficiency.
HABC: So the competitiveness in business
which is driving you to become more efficient
and leaner translates into a more competitive and leaner labor market.
Dave DeLessio: It’s a matter of survival. You want
and need to survive.
HABC

March 1, 2014

7