Walter Vilsmeier, CEO of the former Vilsmeier Equipment Company, and later the CEO of Vilsmeier Auction Company, died Monday, Nov. 25. He was 73.
In the business world, Walter Vilsmeier was known for founding the Vilsmeier Auction Company, but to his friends and colleagues, he was noted for his compassion, his indefatigable work ethic and his integrity — all virtues that will leave an indelible memory for those who were fortunate to know him.
Vilsmeier got his start in the industry with his father, Fred, who founded Fred Vilsmeier and Sons. Soon after, in 1954, he acquired the business and formed the Vilsmeier Equipment Company, of Montgomeryville, PA, and proved to be a go-getter — literally. Often, he would travel to the Midwest and attend Forke Auctions, where graders were in abundance. There, he would purchase dozens of graders and have them trucked or shipped by rail back to his company in Pennsylvania, where graders were like gold, in very short supply.
His frequent attendance at auctions would soon lead him to a part-time venture with Traiman, of Philadelphia. While running Vilsmeier Equipment Company, Walter also helped Traiman, a real estate auction company with virtually no experience in selling equipment, set up auctions. It was this taste of the auction business that lured him into it permanently when he founded Vilsmeier Auction Company in 1972.
Vilsmeier managed both companies until 1976, when he handed the reigns of the company over to Harry Krapf, who had worked his way through the ranks since his arrival to the company in 1962.
“He was the most caring, understanding man I ever knew,” said Krapf, who served as president of Vilsmeier Equipment Company from 1976 to 1992. “And he was a great student of whatever he was interested in. He would work tirelessly to learn, but he also was a teacher for all the people who worked for him. He would encourage you to read or go to college. He was just a great mentor.”
Vilsmeier also was a great leader. “He never would ask anyone to do something that he wouldn’t do himself,” began Krapf. “He was very firm in business, but honesty and forthrightness was his way — no matter whom he dealt with. And he was compassionate; something would happen in the [equipment] yard, someone would be running a bulldozer and, if something went wrong, he wouldn’t blame you. Some proprietors would rant and rave, saying that ’it was your fault,’ but he wouldn’t do that. He would just say ’things happen’ and move on.”
Rick Hutchinson, who became president of Vilsmeier Auction Company in 1976, met Walter Vilsmeier in 1970, shared similar sentiments of the man, whom he said “took him under his wing” when he got started in the industry.
“I couldn’t have asked for somebody better to work with,” began Hutchinson. “He taught me the right work habits and about doing the job right. The biggest thing that stands out in my mind is how honest of a man he was to me and to others. He enjoyed his work and worked all the time … we worked all the time.”
Vilsmeier was a textbook workaholic. Hutchinson recalled that if somebody gave Walter a business card, he would always immediately follow up with a phone call. It was this unrelenting work ethic that earned him the slogan, “Can you pack a bag and be ready?” Hutchinson provided an anecdote:
“I got married on a Friday night and Walter attended. Before my wedding, he asked me if I was going to work that Friday during the day. After the wedding, the following Sunday morning in my new apartment, the phone rang and it was Walter asking me if I could go to South Carolina for business. It was then that I knew my honeymoon was over.”
Although it might seem to some people that Vilsmeier was a taskmaster, speak with anybody who worked for him and they would tell you that every moment with him was worth it.
“We would work hard, but we’d play hard. He was never a bore to be with. I’ll tell you, I worked for him for 31 years and I enjoyed every bit of it. He was the most honest and fair person I ever worked for,” said Hutchinson.
Vilsmeier also was a pilot, which eventually earned him a legendary title. Hutchinson explained:
“He was flying his drivers back and forth from Montgomeryville to a Bell Telephone storage yard in Camp Hill [PA] where they would drive equipment back to the yard in Montgomeryville. He took off out of Turner Field but began to experience trouble with the plane’s carburetor. He needed to make an emergency landing, but the only place that was suitable was a very large cabbage patch. He landed in the windrows and managed to stop the plane before it hit the trees at the end of the field. Meanwhile, it chopped up three acres of cabbage. After this, he became known as Captain Cole Slaw.”
Construction Equipment Guide (CEG) also was fortunate to have had a chance to get to know him, and the relationship with him was forged shortly after the publication’s founding in 1957. While with Fred Vilsmeier and Sons, Walter began advertising in the classified section. Soon that ad grew into a full page, then, ultimately, the back page ad, a tradition that continues to this day with the Hunyady Auction Company, which purchased Vilsmeier Auction Company in 2000.
“He was not only a good friend but a wonderful customer,” said Ed McKeon, founder and CEO of CEG. “There are so many ways to describe Walter; he was an entrepreneur, a first-class gentleman who was well-respected in the construction equipment industry; and he was a very inventive businessman. Personally, he was very entertaining, a fun loving guy. With Walter you never knew what was going to happen next; he was funnier than any television show. He enjoyed a wonderful life; he did it his way.”
It has been said that Ty Cobb, the famous Detroit Tiger baseball player, had one regret when he spoke from his deathbed: “I only wish I had more friends,” he said. Walter Vilsmeier had friends, along with their admiration and respect. Krapf summed up Walter’s life best with one simple sentence:
“He certainly added to people’s happiness and self-worth in this world, and we’ll all miss him.”
