Colin Griffin, the Newest Sales Engineer at Alpine Bearing
Colin Griffin, the newest sales engineer at Boston’s Alpine Bearing, is a long way from his first home in California, but he’s happy to be here. A tall, friendly guy, Colin has a genial smile and talks easily. It’s not hard to see that he’d fit in wonderfully in this close-knit company. Colin lives in the Boston area now, but that wasn’t always the case. Both of Colin’s parents were in the military so he started out in San Diego before moving to New Hampshire for high school. After graduation, Colin moved to the Boston area to attend Mount Ida College in Newton where he played baseball and football. He started working part-time for Alpine in 2011 as a student and moved up to full-time after graduating with a degree in Business Administration.
Colin started his full-time Alpine career as an assistant quality control manager before his promotion to the sales team. While his focus is miniature, machine tool, and ball screw bearings, he deals in other types as well. “I don’t specialize in a specific type of bearing or have a dedicated sales territory,” Colin says. “If someone needs bearings, I’m happy to help them—regardless of what they need, or where they are.”
Colin has great things to say about the Alpine team. When asked about what it’s like to work for owner, Jim Levin, Colin says, “It’s great to work for a guy who stands behind his employees without looking over their shoulders all the time. He empowers us to make our own decisions.” Colin also mentions his fellow Alpine employees as a resource. “There’s a lot of experience in this room so if I have questions, I have quite a few people I can ask.” He’s not wrong. Many of Jim’s employees have been with Alpine for at least ten years; some for nearly 20. That’s unusual these days and says a lot about the atmosphere at Alpine.
As for Colin, he looks forward to his future at Alpine. “This is a new challenge for me. I want to keep learning and getting better and Alpine is a good place for that. We’re set up for success here. Customers keep coming back because we’re selling them quality goods at the best possible price. That combo is hard to beat.”