Hiawatha Implement, Mound City, Mo.
John Deere dealership Hiawatha Implement remodeled and expanded by about 75% its Mound City, Mo., last year. “We used a ‘Vintage Industrial’ theme to decorate rather than anything from the standardized John Deere Place. A pair of restored John Deere model B’s are mounted on a pedestal above the parts counter. And for all the proud grandparents, we restored and upgraded an old Thomas the Train,” says Larry Roeder, owner of Hiawatha Implement. Above the showroom, there’s a 30 x 40 foot classroom with a 10 x 25 foot window that provides a view of 4 states, Roeder says. The shop was also expanded with a 75 x 120 foot addition. Vidmar cabinets were installed in the parts department to make more efficient use of space. “All in all, we believe the design is more creative than our Hiawatha store you ran in your magazine several years ago,” he says. (See Farm Equipment, April/May 2013)
New Holland Tri County, Bluffton, Ind.
In March 2014, New Holland Tri County in Bluffton, Ind., expanded its shop and kept energy savings in mind through the process, says manager Ken Mast. The heating and cooling system is geothermal and this summer solar panels will be installed. In addition to energy conservation, the shop features a 120 x 60 foot over-head crane. “We can now drive combines with duals or a 35-foot head into the building,” Mast says. “What this has done for us is build customer confidence.
We sell mainly big cash crop equipment, combines, tractors, planters and tillage tools. Combines keep us very busy and now our customers can see we are serious about it.”
Tri County also converted 2 bays from the old shop into parts storage for larger items, such as diesel exhaust fluid, baler twine, net wrap, bulk oil and large parts for the tillage and planter equipment. “This allows us to control and find inventory quicker and more efficiently,” he says.
The former shop is now used for planter setup and some equipment storage. “We all have those customers who bring you equipment to work on and when it's finished they stress that they don't want it outside in the snow and cold. So, now we have a little extra room to accommodate them until it is returned to the farm. It is just an extra step we take in customer service,” Mast says.
“These two factors have shown customers that we are ready to grow with them for years to come.”
Rathbone Sales Inc., Moses Lake, Wash.
On March 17, 2012, Rathbone Sales Inc., an AGCO dealer in Moses Lake, Wash., found itself in a situation where it had to remodel. A piece of equipment that had an electrical short caught fire while the dealership was closed for the weekend. “Luckily, the fire was contained to the shop area of our building. We were forced to tear down that portion of the building and start over,” says Doug Rathbone. “In doing this, we were able to start from scratch and make some changes that were needed.
“More machinery can fit in the new shop despite the square footage being the same. The dealership also built a warehouse to store products that had originally been stored in the shop. “Current building codes forced us to install fire sprinklers in the shop and pave our parking lot. The whole process gave us a needed facelift. This is not the preferable method of remodeling though,” Rathbone says.
Rathbone Sales chronicled the fire and reconstruction on its Facebook page.
JayDee AgTech, Swift Current, Sask.
JayDee AgTech’s Swift Current, Sask., John Deere dealership recently held the grand opening of its new multi-million dollar facility.
“The most unique aspect of the new building is our 90 seat Training Theatre for optimization clinics. This really demonstrates our distinct advantage to customers in how we ensure they get the best return on investment from their equipment,” says CEO and general manager Duane Smith.
Additionally, the new facility has a showroom that houses 2-3 pieces of large ag equipment in addition to all the parts displays. “While many years ago I never felt this was important, I have reversed my opinion now — the number of customers who are enjoying being able to view the equipment away from the elements is tremendous. We get great feedback from this and it allows us to move them from viewing to quoting to closing a deal,” Smith says.
JayDee AgTech also enhanced its parts warehouse space significantly. “Given the size of area we serve and the volume we generate, the expectations are high that we have the right parts in stock. This space allows us to meet and exceed those expectations not only for today, but for the future,” Smith says.
The new shop includes 4 main shop spaces and 5 overhead cranes, which Smith says increase the dealership’s service capabilities to match future sales.
Gellings Implement, Eden, Wis.
Gellings Implement, a New Holland dealership in Eden, Wis., is in the midst of building an addition to its service shop that will be completed later this year. “Our customers have been saying for years that we needed a larger shop, and now we are excited to have it near completion. With our increase in sales and staff in the last 6 years, we believe that the service area will only increase the efficiency for our service techs. We also believe we can get customers’ equipment repaired faster with more space,” says Ruth Bode, general manager.
Bode says the new shop will allow Gellings to better manager the workflow through the service department. “Instead of having one machine being repaired, we now will be able to appoint two or three machines to our master techs. By doing this, they will be able to diagnose and order parts for the first repair then start on the second machine while they wait for the parts to come in for the first job,” she says.
While the project is still a few months from completion, Bode says the dealership is excited to move into the new space. “It will only help us to grow in the future,” she says.
