Building an inventory from 100 items to over 300,000 is no easy feat, but for Kelly Lykins, President of DEVON and 1Source, this was business as usual. DEVON was established in 1988 to provide quality equipment to the emerging quick lube industry. Since its inception, DEVON’s business model has catered to dealerships and government entities in addition to quick lube shops across the country. Lykins brought his expertise to DEVON in 2016 when he took over as the company’s president. His professional background includes working at the corporate offices of Office Depot and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
“I took a look at DEVON’s business model, and I loved it," Lykins says. "I knew that we could turn this company into an even bigger player within the industry.”
In the same year, Lykins announced a new service arm, 1Source Lifts & Equipment, allowing DEVON to focus on manufacturing and distribution. At the same time, 1Source performs installs and equipment services across the country. “We have seen tremendous growth by placing at least one 1Source service associate in every DEVON sales territory,” Lykins says. “This will further cement DEVON as a one-stop-shop for all of your auto equipment needs.”
If asked, Lykins would tell you he is not an island and believes in teamwork and sharing common goals. “You have to hire the right people and put them into the right situations to achieve success.” Lykins believes that his employees are the company’s driving force behind its recent upward trajectory.
The company has a name for this attitude and culture: “The DEVON Difference.” The company prides itself on providing a myriad of products and first-class service to all its customers across the country. It’s this differential that sets DEVON apart from the rest of their competition.
DEVON brings their “different” level of boutique service across equipment lines such as vehicle lifts, wheel service, catwalks and more. In addition, the company’s engineers regularly work with architects and contractors to ensure customer projects are built to their specifications. Being a one-stop-shop simplifies logistics while the customer only has one contact to communicate with instead of multiple vendors.
Want to learn more about the history of DEVON, Kelly Lykins and the culture behind the company? NOLN’s own Jordan Wiklund sat down with Kelly on this week’s podcast to talk all things DEVON.
