Some people join a company on their first day. Nick Kohm has been around Premier Equipment for most of his life.
He knew the office. He knew the people. He knew the sound and scale of the machines before he ever had a full time title. That is what makes his new role as Sales Engineer feel less like a new hire announcement and more like a natural next step for someone who grew up close to the business.
Nick officially joined Premier Equipment on Aug. 3 after graduating from LSU with a background in marketing and professional sales. Before that, he spent summers in the warehouse cleaning machines, helping with prep and learning what used CNC equipment looks like beyond the listing photos.
That matters at Premier. This is a company where machine knowledge still carries weight. Buyers ask serious questions because they are making serious decisions. The people answering those questions need to understand more than a model number.
A familiar face steps into the business
Nick described Premier as a place he has known for years, not as a place he is trying to learn from scratch. That familiarity gives the announcement a personal side. He is joining a team that already knows him, and he is entering a business where relationships still matter.
That is not something every young salesperson gets. Many people start their first job with a laptop, a product sheet and a list of accounts. Nick starts with years of memories inside the building, time in the warehouse and a father who has spent 27 years in the used CNC machinery business.
There is a lot of pride in that. There is also a lot of responsibility. Premier customers are often buying machines tied to production schedules, cash flow and shop capacity. A wrong fit can create problems far beyond the purchase price.
Learning the business from the floor up
The warehouse work is an important part of Nick’s story. Cleaning and preparing machines may not sound like sales training, but it gives a young person a better feel for the equipment.
You see how big the machines are. You see how they are staged and moved. You hear the questions that come up around condition, control, tooling, power, rigging and shipping. You start to understand why buyers care about details that may look small on paper.
That early exposure gives Nick a stronger foundation as he moves into sales. He is still learning, and that is part of the point. Premier is giving him the chance to learn the right way, around people who know the machines and know the customers.
A family story inside a company story
Nick’s arrival also adds another generation to Premier’s long family business story. Premier’s history began with the Grabenau family, and the company has continued through years of family involvement, long relationships and practical machine tool experience.
The Kohm family line is one part of that larger story. Tom Kohm has spent 27 years in the business, and he is still active in the company. Nick joining the sales team gives Tom a chance to pass along the lessons that only come from years of helping customers buy and sell used CNC machines.
That is what makes the announcement easy to root for. It is a father getting to teach his son. It is a young person choosing to step into a serious trade. It is a company watching someone who grew up around the business earn a real seat at the table.
Why it matters to customers
This story is personal, but it also matters to customers. Used CNC sales is built on trust. A buyer needs straight answers. A seller needs someone who understands the market. A shop owner wants to know that the person on the other end of the phone respects the weight of the decision.
Nick is joining a team that already works that way. Premier owns and warehouses many of the machines it sells, which helps the team answer questions from close to the equipment. When a machine is in Premier’s facility, the team can often walk into the warehouse, look at it, power it up and bring service knowledge into the conversation.
Customers can browse Premier’s current used CNC machine inventory or reach the team through the contact page.
Carrying the work forward
Manufacturing needs young people who are willing to learn work that takes time. Some parts of the trade can be taught in school. Other parts have to be picked up by listening, watching, asking questions and being around the equipment.
Nick’s move into Premier gives the company another person learning that way. It gives customers another familiar name to know. It gives the team a chance to carry its machine knowledge forward without turning the story into a handoff.
For Premier, that is a good thing. For Nick, it is a big step. For the customers who trust Premier with major equipment decisions, it is another sign that the company is still investing in the people behind the machines.
