Cornwell Quality Tool distributor Jon Bachand spent many years as an RV technician and fabricator. But upon advice from his tool dealer then, he decided to try the mobile tool business.
After about a year into his journey as a tool dealer in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, Bachand got COVID-19. While many cases of the virus are reportedly mild, Bachand got a severe case that sent him to the emergency room, where he was admitted to the hospital immediately.
"I got COVID and went into the hospital in October 2021. I basically died four times and was in an induced coma," he recounts. "My wife continued to run the business and kept things going while I was in the ICU."
Bachand says he was laid up in the hospital for 12 weeks and was not given much chance to survive, but fortunately, he pulled through.
Family ties
Bachand's son Jonathan, who is also a Cornwell dealer, and his wife Laura were covering his tool route. In total, Bachand was out of work for about nine months, and doctors feared he might not be able to return to work for a long time, if at all.
"Cornwell stood behind me and helped me as much as they could," he says. "My wife actually ran the business while I was in the hospital. She'd go on the road and visit shops, and she took care of the warranty stuff."
Bachand's son also helped his father by delivering tools to people on his days off, and he and his mother collected money, too. "[My family] wasn't sure I was going to make it, so they signed over the lease on my first truck to another dealer," he reflects, saying that his family was starting to help the other dealer because they weren't sure if he was going to be able to come back to work.
New lease on life
Bachand was released from the hospital on Jan. 1, 2022, and by the end of the month, he had already ordered a new truck. "I ordered a Freightliner M2 through Tim Herr, and he thought it'd be done by the beginning of May. And May came, and I still had no truck. So, Herr sent me a loaner truck, an MT45, to get me back to work because it would be another two to three months for the M2 to be finished."
Having survived such a rough bout with COVID, Bachand figured that he would go big this time.
"I figured if I survived COVID, I wanted to come back and come back big. I had a loaner truck for four or five weeks and got a call that they had a Kenworth that had financial issues and was available. I could have it in three weeks with the same wrap I was going to do on the M2 and almost the same design [as the Frieghtliner]. So, I ended up taking it, which I run with now. It's a 24’ box."
Bachand says his new Kenworth is wrapped in his favorite Cornwell design with red, white, and blue flames. And it's got the Gremlin on the back of it.
The big truck is a good fit for Bachand and his tool route, where he visits dealerships, body shops, and even some landscaping companies. He says that he sells many specialty tools and that he stocks an extra one for the truck whenever someone orders one.
Bachand says he is very grateful for everyone who helped him during his bout with COVID.
"Tim Herr went out of his way to send me a loaner to use for free. Everyone's been great. My district manager, they all really helped out through the whole ordeal."
Even though Bachand is back to working full days, he still has some effects from the virus that will take a while to recover from fully.
"I'm still winded and stuff," he admits. "[And] I still have a lot of side effects that will take years to overcome."
While the virus may have taken its toll, it didn't win. Bachand says that he expects his tool route to be back up to 250 customers by this summer.
