As the part-owner of Triton Automotive & Industrial Ltd. in Squamish, Jeanette Levett is used to being one of the few women in a male-dominated industry.
“When I go to conferences, I usually bring my husband along with me. When I introduce myself to the other attendees, they’ll ask my husband, how long has your wife come along with you to these? He says, ‘You’ve got it wrong. She's the person and I’m the spouse’,” Levett says laughing. “Most of the people here know who I am and what I do. But I’m also not a pushover.”
Levett didn’t have an automotive or industrial background when she began working at Triton in 1994. Initiatially, she began in the accounts payable department where she excelled. She was then moved into purchasing.
“I used to be nervous to go to the front counter and have a customer tell me he needed a specific spark plug for a Dodge Ram,” Levett says. “But I quickly learned I could look it up in the computer system and I could sell it.”
Levett found the industrial side of the business overwhelming at first, but credits her co-owners as being excellent teachers.
“They have amazing knowledge and they worked with me,” Levett says. “I’ve got it now.”
Levett became a partner in the business in 2008.
“When they were looking for a new partner I suggested, don’t pick a guy, pick me,” Levett says. “I had been here longer than anyone else and when it came time to pick someone, they went with me.”
Levett has lived in Squamish for 31 years and has seen the business grow along with the town. A skill that sets her apart in her role is her knowledge of Triton’s inventory of a quarter-million items and what it’s possible to get.
“We never say no until we really look into it,” Levett says. “Most of the time we can get everything and anything. Whatever you need, we’ll get it.”
For more information about Triton Automotive & Industrial Ltd., visit its website at .
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