For the past 15 years, Dave Hards made the trek west—either by car or bike—from his home in Upland, Calif., to San Dimas five days a week. Now Hards, who was one of the go-to guys at IMCO Marine for a decade and a half, has to get used to a commute to the east as the newest member of the sales team at Eddie Marine and Eddie Motorsports in Rancho Cucamonga.

To help expand the growing business, Dave Hards was hired as part of the sales team at Eddie Marine and Eddie Motorsports.

Just three weeks into the job, Hards—who is well respected in the industry for his customer service and knowledge regarding drives, gears, steering, you name it—is starting to get used to his new desk. Although he said he’s already learned a lot, he admits it’s going to take some time to get the hang of things.

   Click image to enlarge“I’ve very busy all day here trying to learn everything,” said Hards, who worked at Rex Marine before IMCO. “It’s not that I wasn’t busy at IMCO it’s just that I had everything down pat so it was pretty repetitive. I’m looking forward to the opportunities with Eddie Marine and Eddie Motorsports. It’s like starting over again.”

Joe Rode, chief operating officer of Eddie Motorsports, said he’s excited to have Hards as part of the team, adding that Hards was brought in to assist in the company’s new-market growth.

“We hired Dave at Rex Marine in like ’93 or ’94, and we’ve remained friends ever since,” said Rode, who has helped grow the motorsports side of the business, which started in 2009 (Eddie Marine was founded in 1993). “His reputation speaks for itself. Since the day I came to Eddie I’ve been trying to talk him into coming over here. The timing was finally right. We’ve been so busy lately—Dave’s going to be a great addition.”

Hards, who enjoys hang gliding with the Crestline Soaring Society in his free time, said he’s looking forward to having such a vast catalog of products to sell in both the marine and automotive industries.