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New ownership, fresh start at McCook paint store
McCOOK, Neb. — Trent Jollensten is a well-rounded guy. He’s worked in tar and asphalt, heating and air conditioning, concrete and pivots. He’s been employed as a general manager for Fastenal and a territory account manager for Hillman Group. He’s also been a finance manager and a salesman at a car dealership. Heck, he’s even built power lines for IES Commercial and Industrial in his day. Jollensten, a 20-year resident of McCook, has now been hired to take the helm after independent Platte River Paint bought out the franchised Diamond Vogel location at 802 W. C Street in McCook.
“I like switching. Well, I’m to that point of age where I’m tired of switching, honestly, because it’s like, man, I’m going to have to learn something new again,” he laughed, adding that he was given a whole two days of training before he was on his own in a sink-or-swim situation. “I’m kind of new to the paint business myself. I told him I learned best that way. It’s really not tough once you get it. The first week was a little overwhelming, but I was here for almost two weeks by myself. Completely by myself. It went good.”
Jollensten has one employee who is also new to the paint industry, and he’s doing a great job.
The owner, Alex Ewert, comes up from Ogallala, Nebraska, once a week to see if Jollensten needs anything. Alex and his twin brother, Ben, own Platte River Paint in McCook and in Casper, Wyoming. They purchased the store after Diamond Vogel decided to close all its architectural stores and keep its commercial-industrial stores open.
One month in, Jollensten is working hard to make the changes necessary to run a smoother ship and provide customers with better products and service. He’s reorganized the paint shelves to make it easier to locate products and prevent shortages. At the moment, he’s concentrating on switching inventory to the new point-of-sale system and ensuring the store has the necessary inventory on the paint shelves and front-of-house.
“Right now we’re just trying to get the paint side up and going good, and get all of our vendors set up,” he said. “I want to look into getting some new product brought in and just really kind of expand it a little bit, and make it a little bit bigger and better.”
The new store is open to special orders if a customer has something specific in mind, and is open to suggestions for new products to carry. Jollensten is also considering adding some drywall products and wall decor to the store. Mis-tints are still available for purchase, as well.
Platte River Paint offers many classifications of paint bases and finishes, all depending on project type, color and location. They are able to color-match and prepare large batches of paint.
“[The store] will focus solely on how it was run previously, with a primary focus on paint and sundries. We also plan to re-open the flooring and tile side of the store in the next few months, but paint comes first,” said Ewert.
Stain blockers, primers, wood stains and paint—Jollensten acknowledged that his products come at a higher price than those found in big-box stores, but he maintained that the quality sets them apart. They offer better coverage, a superior finish, and, in many cases, long-term guarantees. More than once, customers have arrived in frustration, carrying partially filled gallons from other brands and asking him to match the color with his own products.
Ewert said he’s excited for the opportunity to support the paint needs of the community and surrounding area, whether that’s residential paint and brushes or large-scale commercial and industrial coatings.
“We’d like to thank the local community for its support and willingness to work with us as we find our footing while reopening the store under the new name and look forward to growing the business in the future,” he said.