Weather in North Dakota is hardly a predictable thing. Snow, ice and rain can all leave homes or businesses without power.
Ray Zens, owner of Industrial Service Generator Sales and Service in Jamestown, said he wants to keep the power on -- in case of any emergency.
Zens recently purchased the old Mac's Hardware building at 1309 Business Loop East, and on Monday a remodeled reception area and technical room will be open.
Industrial Service has been in Jamestown since 2007, but business has gotten to the point where Zens said he needed the room to better serve the customer.
"We'll be modifying to continue to meet the customers' needs forever because it's never going to be enough," Zens said.
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His company is the sole Generac dealer in North Dakota, so he services and sells that brand throughout the state and the northern half of South Dakota.
He's into sales because he said he's seen people who have been "miss-sold or oversold."
"It's nice to have the capability to run the whole block but is it necessary?" Zens said of people purchasing a generator too large for their needs.
His crews will do a free consultation for anyone interested in hooking his or her home or business up to a generator as a backup power source.
They use an "amp clamp" to measure the power flowing through the wires and can determine the type of generator a person would need based on his or her intended power usage.
"We go through and establish what those needs are," Zens said. "If you can meet those needs you can meet their wants."
Zens has six trucks in his fleet that travel all over North Dakota and into South Dakota, from Williston to Rutland.
He said it is the service that sets him apart from other generator companies.
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Another company may make the rounds across the state before it returns to the shop a week later and sends customers their bills, Zens said.
Industrial Service uses laptops to instantly send the bill back to the office where it gets put in the mail ASAP.
"By the time we're out of the driveway the bill will be in the mail," Zens said.
Zens is a service engineer and master technician who runs the business with the help of his wife, Robin, who is the business manager, and his son, Shawn, who is training to be a technician.
Industrial Service Generator Sales and Service is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. On the weekends the business is on call and be reached at 269-9009.
"We combine the sales and the service," Zens said.
Sun writer Ben Rodgers can be reached at (701) 952-8455 or by email at brodgers@jamestownsun.com
