PITTSBURGH, PA — Equipment Corporation of America (ECA), a distributor of specialty foundation equipment, announces new hires at its Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, branches. ECA’s President/CEO Roy Kern is especially excited to announce the hiring of his son, Rod Kern, who represents the fourth generation of the Kern family.

“Rod will follow a similar path to my own by joining ECA at the ground level and learning all aspects of our operation from the ground up,” he said. “That experience will prepare him to eventually guide ECA in its second century of business.”

Rod joins the ECA BAUER Service Team as Applications Engineering Manager. While completing his civil engineering degree from Penn State, he worked at ECA as a Mechanic’s Assistant and then took on several internships. After graduation, Rod went on to earn master’s degrees in business administration and geotechnical engineering from Cornell University. Once he completed those degrees, Rod began working for Moretrench (Keller North America) as a Staff Engineer. During his four years at Moretrench, Rod worked on a variety of large construction projects and was eventually promoted to Assistant Project Manager.

Matt Nastala has been named Philadelphia Service Manager. While Nastala excels at customer communication, he really shines when it comes to system improvement and safety implementation. Nastala previously worked for a Caterpillar dealer, so his experience with heavy equipment makes him adept at recognizing issues, gathering data, and recommending a course of action.

Stephen Funaiock has been named Pittsburgh Service Manager. He started out in paving materials and moved on to Service Supervisor before being promoted to Shop Manager for Cleveland Brothers. He later worked at American Contractors Equipment Company as Manager of both the parts and service departments. Funaiock's has a reputation as an organized, dedicated, and detail-oriented team player.

Rex Christensen, based in the Pittsburgh office, joins ECA as Midwest Account Manager. He is a professional known for developing and maintaining strong client relationships. Christensen's knowledge of equipment, especially in the mining industry, allows him to offer field service and technical support. He has experience with training, safety, and project coordination.

“While there is no question the Coronavirus pandemic has presented new challenges in the short term, ECA has always operated with a long-term outlook,” said Vice President - Sales and Marketing Jeff Harmston. “The hiring of talented employees represents our view that it’s important to constantly invest in our ability to serve the industry regardless of economic conditions.”

ECA has been a supplier of foundation construction equipment in the Eastern United States and Eastern Canada for more than a century. ECA is the exclusive distributor for BAUER drilling rigs, KLEMM anchor and micropile drilling rigs, RTG piling rigs, and BAUER MAT slurry handling systems. The company also distributes HPSI vibratory pile hammers, WORD international drill attachments, Dawson construction products, ALLU ground improvement equipment, Pile Master air hammers, DIGGA dangle drills, Olin concrete pumps, and KB International synthetic polymer slurry.