Hello Lifco Fans, Megan here with Lifco’s content and media team. Lifco recently received Parker’s Partnership Award—often referred to as “Distributor of the Year.” In this Q&A, I sit down with Fraser to talk about what the award recognizes, what Parker expects from its distributors, and what this means for the road ahead.
Megan: So what did Parker give you? Fraser: The award is a partnership award—colloquially known as “Distributor of the Year.” It’s given for each fiscal year. Parker’s fiscal year ends in the summer, and they present the award after that. Tomas: They visit every year, don’t they?
Fraser: They do—this is an annual thing. We don’t win every year, though. We did win one of the divisions back in 2019. Megan: In your partnership with Parker, what’s entailed in that partnership? Fraser: It comes down to what Parker wants to see—and why they’d give an award in the first place.
Megan: Yeah, exactly. Fraser: They want to see that we’re investing in the product and building long-term value with them. A typical distributor has probably been with them for 30 to 40 years. So they’re looking at whether we’re still committed over the full lifespan of the relationship. That means: - Are we buying inventory? - Are we buying equipment to handle the product properly? - Do we have the staff to sell it? - Can we fix it and support it—especially in warranty situations? - And when customers ask questions, can we actually answer them?
Megan: How many years have you been working with Parker?
Fraser: We were originally a Denison distributor. Parker bought Denison in the early 2000s—around 2003 to 2005—and we had a choice: do we say sayonara and go with another product line, another company, or do we go all in with Parker? We ended up doing neither at first. We stayed with the Denison product lines and became what’s called a branded distributor—selling the Denison brands. It went well; we were selling a fair amount. Then I got involved, and at that point we went all in with Parker. The reason is simple: I took over the Parker product lines while my dad, Ed, handled all the Linde stuff. And that’s why Parker kept growing and growing—because that’s where I put my energy. Megan: You think that’s one of the things that sets you apart from others? Fraser: My involvement has always been a winning formula. Even with these kinds of videos online, people are surprised to see my face on there. But the amount of research and work that goes into it is a lot—and it matters.
Megan: Who are Parker’s competitors?
Fraser: For Parker, the competitors would be Rexroth and Danfoss.
Megan: And we don’t see much of those?
Fraser: We try to stay in our lane. There’s so much to know in hydraulics, and you can get into trouble very quickly if you spread too thin. That’s why we’ll often tell other service shops or distributors: if you see certain products that we’re best at, send it to us—we’ll make your life a lot easier.
Megan: So we don’t sell Rexroth or Danfoss—it’s just people bringing it to us…
Fraser: For servicing, yes. But no, we don’t distribute it. If we get a request for it, we typically say: not interested.
Megan: Going back to Lifco’s competitors—how do you set yourself apart from them?
Fraser: Inventory is the big one.
Megan: Now having this award, what does it mean for us in the years to come?
Fraser: A lot of people seem to be getting out of hydraulics. We’re going more into it. You’re going to see more investment.
Megan: Any final words—last statement about the awards?
Fraser: I think it’s very clear: just like hydraulics, it’s a whole system—everything working together—for a company to win Distributor of the Year. It means our staff are good. It means our management is good. It means our vendors are good. And it means our customers are good. So I’d just say thank you to everybody.