Pat Ferch knows the wrecker body business inside and out.
As a 32-year employee at Zip’s, he spent more than half of his career here in paint and prep. During that time, he was no stranger to climbing inside a side bay compartment or crouching under a chassis, shot-blasting the steel back in the day
or laying down a final coat of paint.
Even though he transitioned to the assembly floor 10 years ago, he’s still glad he no longer has to deal with the weight and rust of steel. “Now, everything’s made out of aluminum,” he said from Zip’s main production
facility in New Hampton, IA. “It’s so much lighter and easier to work with.”
Better known to his peers and friends as “Ferchee,” Pat is this month’s ‘Meet an Expert’ at Zip’s. The Nashua native now leads a crew in the service body department, where he specializes in building the
Road Service Body (RSB), the Tow Service Vehicle (TSV) and the Light Service Vehicle (LSV).
Depending on the level of customization, he said it can take him and his partner close to 100 shop hours to complete a TSV, whereas a standard RSB takes closer to three weeks to finish . “That’s about what it works out to,”
he calculated. “Some builds take less time, while others will take more, especially if it’s loaded up with lights.”
“Some of the wiring involved any more with these trucks is just crazy,” Ferchee continued. “You used to be able to wire a few lights and be done, but some of the stuff going on now with lights will just blow your mind. Some
of these service bodies require a lot of work and warning lighting.”
Seeing the finished product makes it all worthwhile, he said. The 57-year-old works closely with the sales staff here and is also in regular communication with the customer to make sure they get everything in the right place. He said he takes
a lot of pride in delivering what the end user wants.
“The biggest variance really with these builds is what the customers want on them,” Ferchee explained. “Some are just ‘Plain Jane’ builds, and some can get pretty crazy. But you get a lot of satisfaction when
they are all done. When they’re done and all lit up, it’s a pretty good feeling. I like the challenge of the custom ones.”
Ferchee commutes about 20 miles to work every day. He’s a married father of three and has three grandchildren. When asked what has kept him working at Zip’s for more than three decades, he said he appreciates how he’s treated by
the Rottinghaus family.
“I’ve never had to ask for a raise here yet,” he said.
