Richard Knott is a parts department lifer. The parts manager started his career off working for another John Deere dealership north of Kern Machinery’s stores. After a 3.5-year stint in the parts department at that dealership, Knott came to Kern Machinery and 31 years later is still keeping the parts department on goal at the Buttonwillow location.

“I’ve had opportunities to go into sales and do different things, but I like the parts world. I like the challenge. I like the freedom of being able to buy what I want to buy, prove that it turns, it fills, it moves, it makes money and just working with a good group of guys. Just trying to be better than the competing dealerships’ parts managers. I haven’t gotten bored with it yet. I have grown up with it. It is the same type of thing, but it’s not the exact same thing every day,” says Knott.

Diverse