SASKATCHEWAN, Canada, May 27, 2014 — In the wake of Kramer, Ltd. announcing its intent to exit the agricultural equipment business, CLAAS of America  has made immediate plans to fill the gap left by its long-time dealer with two new, full-service dealerships in Saskatchewan. The move, part of a planned dealership expansion in western Canada, will ensure that CLAAS customers in the region will experience little or no disruption of service or support.

“Western Canada is an important world market for CLAAS. We recently opened a Parts and Logistics Centre in Regina, and are now taking similar measures to ensure our dealer network there is just as strong,"  explained Jan-Hendrik Mohr, Executive Vice President of CLAAS Sales and Service.

Tingley's Harvest Center, set to open a new retail location in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, will carry all CLAAS equipment lines, including LEXION combines, JAGUAR forage harvesters, the XERION tractor, and CLAAS balers and hay tools. Tingley’s is already well-versed in CLAAS products, with two dealerships in Lloydminster and Vegreville, Alberta.

"As a long-time CLAAS dealer in Alberta, Tingley's Harvest Center is excited to expand our coverage into Saskatchewan with our newest location in North Battleford. CLAAS is known for their high-quality, high-capacity harvesting equipment, including the LEXION combine and top-selling JAGUAR forage harvester. I look forward to exceeding the expectations of producers in the area," explained Shane Tingley, Owner/President of Tingley's Harvest Center.

The second dealership to be announced will be CLAAS-owned and operated. The new harvest centre, scheduled to be open for the upcoming harvest, is being established in the Regina area and will offer the full line of CLAAS products, service and parts support. CLAAS currently operates its newly opened Parts and Logistics Centre and Regional Training Academy in Regina, and the new harvest centre stands to benefit from its close proximity.

“While the vast majority of our dealers throughout North America are independent business partners, the most immediate way to provide service and support to our customers in the Regina area is to establish a new dealership owned by CLAAS,” said Leif Magnusson, President, CLAAS of America.

“As part of our ‘phase one’ plan, we’ve put the development of our harvest centre on a fast track to make sure our customers in the region continue to have the tremendous service and support they’ve come to expect from CLAAS. Producers in the region can expect to see the addition of even more dealerships – both independent and company-owned – as we work to quickly expand our network.

While Kramer, Ltd. will no longer sell new CLAAS equipment, the location will service CLAAS equipment until the new dealers are open for business and CLAAS customers should see no lapse in service in the interim. As soon as the Kramer decision was reached, CLAAS and Kramer worked together to develop a short-term strategy to allow for the unhindered support. At the same time, CLAAS set in motion the longer-term plans designed not only to replace Kramer as the Regina-area dealer, but to expand service throughout Saskatchewan.

Both new dealerships will sell and service LEXION combines and other CLAAS equipment, and offer the full-service, parts and sales support that CLAAS customershave come to expect.  The company plans to make even more dealership announcements to the region in the very near future.