Sunflower Rental has been in business since 1951 and currently has three locations, two in Kansas at Lawrence and at its Topeka headquarters, and another in Blue Springs, MO. Company Vice President Stacey Wendland manages the Lawrence store where the University of Kansas is located. Brother Rick and sister Nicole work in the headquarters location.
“Our location in Topeka is 30 miles west of Lawrence and Blue Springs is an hour and a half drive east. Both stores are general rental whose primary customers are smaller contractors and homeowners. Lawrence is a bit different with business divided 75/25 between general rental and party,” explained Wendland, who has worked in the rental industry and family business for more than three decades.
“The university is always building new dorms and classrooms and renovating athletic fields, not to mention the apartments, strip malls, and restaurants that always seem to be popping up. The combination makes high reach aerials, air compressors, skid steer loaders, and stump grinders popular rental items. So, too are trenchers. Probably 50 percent of homes and likely 100 percent of all apartments and commercial establishments have irrigation, making the later a necessity and fueling a healthy lawn and garden business for us.”
She noted the university also hosts several events throughout the year, generating traffic for canopies, tables and other party and event goods. The area is not without its challenges, though.
“Our three stores have 26 employees among them and finding good people to make deliveries, work behind the counter and perform other day-to-day tasks is more of a struggle than it was five or six years ago. I really don’t know what to attribute it to,” said Wendland. “It seems that young people are not as driven to work and make money like my generation was. They hold onto a different set of values, ones that put more priority on flexibility than making money.”
Her stores try to accommodate the value shift by giving employees time off if having enough advance notice. Offering an excellent health care package, 401k with employer match, and a flexible spending account helps them compete in the competitive employee marketplace.
Easing the current labor challenge is a solid core of employees who have been with Sunflower for several years, and Lawrence gives that store access to a pool of part-time help during summers. If recent history is a good road map for the company, finding work for employees is not the issue, especially in a vibrant college town. Recruiting and retaining a newer generation of employees to get the work done could be a bit more challenging.
