Employee Owned
Mission Driven
About Us
SCIPI, St. Cloud Industrial Products, Inc., is proud to be a people-first organization dedicated to the success of our company and its divisions by empowering each individual person who makes up our compassionate team. Established by two childhood friends, Ken Gross and Earl Buttweiler, who had a dream to create something great together. Each contributing $500 in 1959, the pair of local professionals have grown their humble vision of putting people first into an international company employing nearly 200 team members in North America. Key to our success has been our adaptation of a strong employee-ownership mentality. 100% employee-owned since 2014, SCIPI’s hardworking divisions include North Central Bus & Equipment, Inc., Sunburst Memorials, and Parts Midwest, Inc. Together, with an exceptional culture and matching values, we continue to move our exceptional people and our mission-focused company forward.
WHO WE ARE
We are a team of hard-working people, driven by the purpose of fostering a people-first culture. We strive to create an environment where individuals are motivated and eager to contribute to the success of the business. Central to our purpose is the consistent opportunities for increased financial positions, which subsequently boost the company’s stock price and create wealth for all of our employees. We truly believe in prioritizing each individual’s well-being and ensuring our workforce’s provision and satisfaction are both ethically right and financially sound. Through prioritization of people at the forefront of our operations, we have created a foundation for sustained growth and success. Our purpose embodies the philosophy that by investing in our employees and cultivating a supportive culture, we can achieve prosperity for all stakeholders.
OUR MISSION
What sets SCIPI apart from others is our unwavering commitment to our “People First” philosophy, as said in our mission statement: “We make a difference in the lives we touch.” This principle drives every decision we make, ensuring that our focus remains on positively impacting the lives of our customers and employees alike. While many organizations prioritize profits above all else, we believe that by prioritizing the well-being and satisfaction of our employees, we can achieve even greater success. SCIPI’s mission is to cultivate and sustain a people-first culture where employees are at the heart of everything we do. While recognizing the importance of profitability and shareholder value, our daily operations are guided by the well-being of the individuals that make up the SCIPI team. We have demonstrated that exceptional profits and impressive stock price performance are achievable when people, not profits, are the focal point. At SCIPI, we understand that true success is not just measured by financial metrics but by the positive impact we have on the lives of our employees and the communities we serve. Our focus on people sets us apart in the industry, allowing us to attract top talent, foster innovation, and build strong relationships with our stakeholders.
Our Culture
We make a difference in the lives we touch by living our 6 Values.
- Do the right thing.: We find solutions to challenges that satisfy all.
- Families First: We balance the needs of our home, work and customer families.
- Ownership: We believe in being good stewards and sharing our successes.
- Working Together: We help others whenever and wherever.
- Respectful relationships: We treat others the way they want to be treated.
- Fun at work: We believe laughter and fun bond us together.
Our Leadership
Matt Gaffy
CEO
- Title: President & CEO
- Year You Started with SCIPI: 1993
- Main responsibilities: Helping people find the tools they need to be successful, then getting out of the way!
- Best part of your job: Engaging with our amazing people to align our people-first culture toward a common vision that makes a difference in the lives of our teams and their families, our customers, vendors, and the communities we live in and serve
- Team you work with mainly: The SCIPI executive team
- Best memory of working at SCIPI: My first day, we had a forklift that would stick in reverse. I was unaware of this and accidentally backed it into a brand-new delivery vehicle in front of the leaders of SCIPI! I learned two things that day- how to get that forklift out of reverse and how it’s OK to make mistakes at SCIPI- and that I would be supported through them. I’ve never seconded my decision to stay here- it’s been a wonderful place.
- Favorite quote: I love Mondays!
Jeff Behrens
CFO
- Title: Chief Financial Officer
- Year You Started with SCIPI: 2017
- Main responsibilities: Financial stability of SCIPI and long-term sustainability of the ESOP
- Best part of your job: Knowing what I do every day helps preserve and enhance the wealth of all our team member-owners.
- Team you work with mainly: Accounting Team (A-Team) and HR Team
- Best memory of working at SCIPI: Fun Events and Cooler Socials
- Favorite quote: “3/4 of your effectiveness as a leader comes from who you are, not what you do.” -Tim Spike
Jen Sell-Matzke
CHRO
- Title: Chief Human Resources Officer
- Year You Started with SCIPI: 2023
- Main responsibilities: Culture Driver, HR Strategic Alignment, Organizational Development, Succession Planning
- Best part of your job: Supporting and assisting SCIPI team members
- Team you work with mainly: HR Team, SCIPI Leadership Team, Accounting, IT
- Best memory of working at SCIPI: When we were named a Top 200 company by the Star Tribune for the first time.
- Favorite quote: “Be who you were created to be, and you will set the world on fire.” -St. Catherine of Sienna
Jason Klinefelter
COO
- Title: Chief Operating Officer
- Year You Started with SCIPI: 2021
- Main responsibilities: 1. Operational Excellence 2. Resource Management 3. StrategicAlignment 4. Risk Mitigation
- Best part of your job: Hands down, the People at SCIPI
- Team you work with mainly: SCIPI and Divisional Leadership
- Best memory of working at SCIPI: I love celebrating the holidays with our work family.
- Favorite quote: “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change!” -Albert Einstein
Paul Gauerke
GM for North Central
- Title: General Manager – North Central Group
- Year You Started with SCIPI: 2016
- Main responsibilities: Oversee North Central Bus and North Central Upfit business units
- Best part of your job: The great people I work with
- Team you work with mainly: All North Central employees
- Best memory of working at SCIPI: How the North Central team navigated through all the challenges during and after the pandemic.
- Favorite quote: Actions speak louder than words
Robert Decarie
GM for Parts Midwest Incorporated
- Title: General Manager – Parts Midwest Incorporated
- Year You Started with SCIPI: 2015
- Main responsibilities: Managing Sales and Operations for Parts Midwest and Vehicle Personalization of Canada
- Best part of your job: Working alongside people with a passion for what they do
- Team you work with mainly: Sales and Operations for Parts Midwest and Vehicle
- Best memory of working at SCIPI: The Donut Investigation of 2020
- Favorite quote: Everything has a way of working itself out
Jill Kampa
GM for Monumental Sales Incorporated (MSI)
- Title: General Manager – Monumental Sales Incorporated
- Year You Started with SCIPI: 2024
- Main responsibilities: Lead an amazing group of individuals who sell, design, and produce custom memorials.
- Best part of your job: The people who make up our “secret sauce” and culture!
- Team you work with mainly: The management group at MSI, but the whole MSI team.
- Best memory of working at SCIPI: My first customer meeting at Michelich. Learning the story of the customer designing the stone and what was important to them was special. Then, seeing the memorial all the way through the process until it finally was placed in the cemetery really highlighted the teamwork team internally to provide the best possible product and service to those we serve.
- Favorite quote: “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”–Winston Churchill
Our Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors
Bob Kovell – Chairman
John Babcock- Director
Clay Ostlund – Director
Joe Francis – Director
Matt Gaffy – Director
Jeff Behrens -Secretary
“SCIPI is a people centric company where the Values are more than just a poster on the wall. By putting people at the core of our business, SCIPI creates positive opportunities for team members and the communities we work in.“
Dylan Gertken