Vanderloop Equipment, located in northeastern Wisconsin, operates with two major equipment lines at the forefront, Claas and AGCO. This includes all AGCO brands, such as Massey and Fendt. According to Robb Vanderloop, co-owner and CFO of Vanderloop Equipment, they began with Fendt in 2000 on one of the first waves of Fendt dealerships. At that time, he says, no one knew what a Fendt tractor was. The same was true of Claas when they started carrying the brand’s tractors in 1996. Robb says they had to build that brand recognition from the ground up, which took time.

As far as shortlines go, Robb says they keep it minimal. The company does sell HORSCH, which is a relatively good size shortline for them, but that’s about it. Robb says that with shortlines, it’s hard to sell one or two of something and support it with parts and service.

When asked about what interesting things the company had done in the past, Robb says that they did bring over some European equipment over the years for new concepts, such as mowing concepts. There was a bit of a learning curve with figuring out how to avoid conditioning or messing up the crop, but as they figured it out, the market demand got bigger, as did the competitors in the market, he says.

It didn’t take long for them to go from being the only ones offering something new in the market, to being one of many in a stiffly competitive market. Because of this, Robb says it’s important that they always be looking for something progressive to do in different market areas. What’s the next new progressive concept on the horizon? Robb believes it is autonomous machinery, which he thinks will be a mainstay of the industry in some capacity.

Related Content:

  • Dealership Minds 2024: Vanderloop Equipment: For the sixth installment of Farm Equipment’s Dealership Minds series, 8 staff members traveled throughout central Wisconsin to experience first hand how a successful dealership — Vanderloop Equipment (VE) — operates in the midst of planting and hay cutting season in May.
  • Cashflow Rules the Day, an in-depth interview with Robb Vanderloop