By: Harry Sullivan

Three Blueline New Holland dealerships in Kentville, Lawrencetown and Truro, Nova Scotia, were recently acquired by Truro businessmen Stu Rath and Jon Lynn. The dealerships specialize in farming and forestry equipment.

Rath and Lynn are longtime business associates. Rath is the owner of the Truro Bearcasts Junior A hockey team and was a former partner as a minority stakeholder in Halifax Cable. Lynn has owned a number of companies as well as serving in top positions of several others, including as the president of Atlantic Sobeys Inc.

“Stu Rath and I bought the majority shareholding of Blueline New Holland, so we’re partners there,” Lynn told the Truro Daily News. “But there is a significant minority shareholder and that’s Trevor Dillman.”

Dillman also serves as the vice-president and general manager of Blueline New Holland at the three dealerships. 

“He’s an excellent man, comes off a farm and knows the industry well,” Lynn said of Dillman, who will continue to run the day-to-day operations of the three dealerships.

Lynn said he and Rath will assume the roles formerly held by Blueline New Holland founders Eric and Jacquline Bent, who have retired.

Blueline New Holland also handles other agricultural equipment supplied by the Pottinger and Woods companies and Lynn said the partners hope to eventually grow their dealerships even more, “We would be very grateful if we could grow the business to the point where we required further expansion,” Lynn said. “There is no further expansion of facilities contemplated at this particular point in time but that would be very nice development if we got to that point.”