Meet the Team Spotlight: Ryan Hannan
As a teenager growing up in Maine, Cutting Edge Supply’s Ryan Hannan had two choices for how he spent his summers — work at his two older brothers’ John Deere dealership or pick up shifts at his mom’s gift stores.
“It was an easy choice to work at the dealership,” recalled Ryan. “The gift store catered to tourists, everything was fragile, and the aisles were too narrow. Plus, I just didn’t connect with those customers. Being at the dealership was a much better fit. Solving problems for say someone who mows for the highways and needs to have his equipment running to feed his family, that was easier for me to handle and meant more to me.”
In his early twenties, Ryan headed west to the California coast to chase his dreams as a singer/guitarist. His band, the Killing Moon, signed with a label in Anaheim and toured across the states for a few years in a van and trailer.
“Eventually I met a girl I really liked and couldn’t afford to take her to dinner on a rock and roll budget,” said Ryan. “I felt it was time to go get my degree. Since I had been working at dealerships whenever we were not on the road, a construction management/civil engineering program made the most sense to me.”
Post-college, Ryan moved to Reno and took a job with Buffalo Wire Works, where he worked alongside Cutting Edge Supply for nearly six years as our manufacturer rep. Ryan made the jump to CES about three years ago, and as our Field Sales Manager for Crushing and Screening, he once again spends most of weekdays back out on the road, visiting his valued customers across California and Nevada.
“I am available to my customers at any time and will be there quicker than anyone,” said Ryan on his sales approach. “We are big on face time at Cutting Edge and doing our own deliveries. It’s all about the personal touch, getting to know your customers and understanding their needs.”
Site visits are also a bonus job perk for Ryan as there is always something unique to observe out in the field.
“It doesn’t matter how many years I’ve been doing this — I still love going to the quarry and mine and just listening to the guys on the radios while they’re working and crushing rock,” shared Ryan. “I also get to visit one of the biggest gold mines, which also has some of the largest-size loaders and haul trucks you can get. It’s a lot of fun to see the big ‘toys’ in action. Also, one of the coolest things is seeing people use our plate in other industries. I have a customer that makes sprockets for pro dirt bikes out of AR steel plate, which is a little outside the norm.”
One thing that is consistent across his customer base is a hard-working mentality.
“I grew up around guys who worked hard, and I love being in this industry because it’s the same as far as people who are willing to get up early and get it done,” he said. “I really respect that mindset.”
A big fan also of the outdoors, the Reno resident stays constantly on the go during his off-time — from mountain biking to skiing or camping. He also still makes time for his love of music, often playing his acoustic guitar by the campfire.