The Huron Fuel Injection CrewPatrick William De Jong
Patrick is a man who adheres to traditional values of honesty, loyalty and workmanship in both his life and his work. Growing up in a large dairy farming family of ten children in Huron County, Ontario, Patrick developed his talent for “tinkering” with used cars, tractors, motorcycles and snowmobiles from a very early age.
As a young adult, he worked as a farm hand before moving on to become a welder/fabricator. In time, he achieved certification as a farm equipment mechanic, auto-electric re-builder and a fuel injection service technician. Eventually, working his way into specializing in diesel fuel injection, and is now an authorized Certified Technician for Robert Bosch, Stanadyne and Delphi fuel injection system manufacturers.
Patrick worked for eighteen years as a service mechanic in a farm equipment dealership, dreaming of owning a company of his own. When the opportunity to purchase an existing business, Huron Fuel Injection, presented itself to him, he knew that his entrepreneurial dreams had finally come to fruition. With the invaluable assistance of his wife Heather, Huron Fuel Injection was redeveloped into the company it is today.
As the company grew, so did Patrick’s knowledge of every sort of diesel and gasoline-operated engine component—no matter how complex the system. In addition to serving local clients requiring components to be removed, repaired or overhauled, and reinstalled in their vehicles, HFI has serviced customers and clients from as far away as Africa and Australia who have either shipped or arrived with their components in hand.
Patrick’s view of his work is simple. He has worked for years to build loyal relationships with his clientele by making the effort to adapt each job to each individual’s needs and standing strong behind both his workmanship and the products he produces.
Today, Patrick is exactly where he wants to be and doing exactly what he wants to do—working to provide independent farm owners, business owners and equipment service personnel with quality products and honest, reputable and qualified service.
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Heather Ann De Jong
Heather is a delightful mix of artistic creativity and business savvy, who just happens to work in the fuel injection industry! A native of Guelph, Ontario, she enjoyed a fun and quiet childhood growing up as the only girl in a family with four older brothers. A keen eye for colour, beauty and design drew her toward working as a retail florist, sewing consultant, home decorating consultant and a decorative painting instructor. The experience that helped her to hone her business skills, however, was running a country department store, where she learned sales, marketing and managerial skills that would last her a lifetime.
In 1998, when Heather was running a home-based interior decorating business, her husband Patrick was presented with an opportunity that would change the direction of both of their lives. When Huron Fuel Injection came up for sale, the De Jongs jumped at the chance to work side by side, owning their own business. Over the course of two months, Heather put her business aside and prepared to work full-time with Patrick.
While Patrick’s passion lies with rebuilding, repairing and installing components, Heather loves to meet new people and to serve her existing clients and customers. Her command of the front office ensures that they all enjoy the best and most qualified service possible in the least amount of time. She has built relationships with customers who have come from as far away as Australia.
Even as Heather works toward her business goals of increasing her social media presence and taking HFI online, she has still managed to satisfy her creative side. An accomplished amateur artist, she has been featured in Highlights magazine for her skills as a decorative artist and painting instructor and hopes to continue to paint for a long time to come.
For now, however, she plans to continue to work alongside Patrick to grow and develop their business and to provide this high-demand and very specialized service to the people who put their faith in HFI.
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