Making the choice to modernize, upgrade or expand an equipment dealership is increasingly being seen as a necessary vs. nice option in an industry that has faced consolidation and growing competition. That was the common thread in conversations had when developing this year’s dealer modernization feature. The investment of finances and time are significant. So, too, are the risks of businesses not taking action to hit the refresh and renovate button — most especially within dealerships that have operated for decades and, in some cases, over a century. Consolidation continues and shows no signs of slowing. These factors create something of an “adaptability vs. extinction” mentality among the most savvy dealers eager to maintain a competitive advantage.

In what has become a highly-anticipated and popular annual feature, Farm Equipment has once again gathered a collection of recent renovations among dealers across the U.S. and Canada. From Oklahoma, Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky and Quebec, owners, general managers and shop managers shared their experiences and pain points, while also offering insight into ways the investment into their teams and customers paid off. 

P&K Equipment: Multiple Projects Help Maximize Opportunities 

As P&K Equipment marks 40 years in business in 2025, there were big expectations for this John Deere dealership which completed 2 remodeling and renovation projects in the last several years. With a total of 30 stores — 18 in Oklahoma and 2 in Arkansas as part of P&K Equipment Inc., and 9 in eastern Iowa and one in northern Illinois as P&K Midwest Inc. — ensuring each dealership offers its best to customers and its staff is a top priority.

Top: The new 57,000-square-foot P&K Equipment Midwest dealership in Welton/Delmar, Iowa. Middle: P&K Equipment’s Kingfisher, Okla. facility underwent renovation, including its showroom and expanded service department. Bottom right: The newly-built Iowa location boasts an expansive showroom. P&K Equipment

Scott Eisenhauer, general manager/CEO, based in Edmond, Okla., offers a wide range of detailed insight into P&K’s modernization projects, each of which resulted in expanded facilities to answer the growing customer base and growing need to stand out as a top-notch employer.

The first and larger major project was established in a new location in Welton/Delmar, Iowa, where P&K Midwest consolidated 2 outdated locations into a brand new 57,000-square-foot facility. Utilizing builder/contractor Kiehm Construction out of Minnesota, which works with several midwest Deere dealerships, the new dealership building project started in early 2022 and was completed just over 2 years later in June 2024.

This Iowa site is based in a large geographic area, so the dealership draws from an approximately 50-mile radius. In determining the best location to create one combined dealership, Eisenhauer says management decided on an area in the Welton/Delmar region which sits in the middle of the 2 original sites, Dewitt and Maquoketa. The decision was promptly rewarded when they unveiled the new dealership during an open house that drew between 1,500-2,000 people to the event over a 5-hour period.

“Customers have definitely recognized we are able to service them in a more timely fashion with extra space and can do more quality work because of the upgraded facilities — better light, better space and the recruitment of better talent that is able to deliver better service to them,” says Eisenhauer.

As part of the Welton/Delmar area facility upgrade in Iowa, a vertical lift system, built by Modula, was installed. Eisenhauer describes this as a modular vertical lift module (VLM) system that is basically a tall mechanical cabinet for efficient storage of parts. He notes that it is able to store about 50 traditional parts storage cabinets into these units. Once the part needed is input, it brings it down based on knowing the bin location in the parts department, allowing for storage of more parts in a more efficient fashion.

Additional features built into the new facility include a large parts department with a mezzanine, as well as an indoor drive-thru wash bay that fits 2 combines.

“As far as employees, it is certainly always good for employee morale to see the company reinvesting in the facilities, to be able to function more efficiently and more safely and have a better work environment, and to be proud to work for an organization that is reinvesting and growing its facilities in order to grow the business, as well,” says Eisenhauer. While this held true for both modernization projects, it was more the case with the Iowa facility, he explains, as both of the sites that were operating before had been completely outgrown, were smaller and quite outdated.

“This was really important from an employee recruitment standpoint,” he offers. This was specifically the case in the Iowa location, as the new site has an air conditioned 30,000 square foot shop and much better working conditions that support the effort. Being able to showcase the new facility and learn about the scholarship program was a good combination to support their interest, said Eisenhauer. 

For P&K Equipment’s Kingfisher, Okla., location, a renovation project there had the dealership taking on a range of upgrades. New features now include an updated and more functional showroom and offices, a renovated parts department and added training room, where they recently held a recruiting session.

Oklahoma City-based Miller-Tippens Construction served as the contractor on this facility upgrade, which was completed in December 2024 after 18 months, resulting in what is now an additional 30,000 square feet of shop space. An open house and 40th anniversary celebration for the newly-renovated dealership is scheduled for early spring.

Eisenhauer says he and his staff are eager to showcase their latest updates to what is expected to be another large turnout of customers from across the region, staff and their families and hopefully potentially new technician recruits.

Any advice for his peers in the industry considering expansion or renovation projects?

“With any construction project, you’ve got to have patience. There’s always going to be something that comes up unexpectedly, so just being prepared for those things is important,” he says. “Be ready to address issues and make decisions quickly. For us, the top priority was to make sure the facilities were functional. We didn’t want an overly dressy, fancy site as we are in a rural area, but we wanted it to have more space and be very functional.” 

Remodeling for ROI: Kunau Implement Co.

Kunau Implement Co.’s Dewitt, Iowa Store and Advanced Farming Systems (AFS) Manager Ryan Heilig shares the various challenges and positive results from the Case IH dealership’s most recent and major renovation project, which evolved from work started back in 2017. Kunau began working on the expansion with its architect, Bruner, Cooper & Zook, in 2017 and worked with the general contractor, Estes Construction, to order the steel building in December 2019. They put the balance of the work bids out in early 2020 and officially finished summer of 2021. The original structure was built in 1994, with additions made to the shop around 2000, he explains. Since then, with the size of equipment growing, Heilig says they were running out of shop space and parts storage. 

A major renovation project at the DeWiit, Iowa location of Kunau Implement Co. addressed a wide range of issues, says to CEO Todd Kunau. Making the showroom more open and inviting for customers was important. Parts storage in one central area was a key component of the remodel, which added needed space. Kunau Implement Co.

“We decided that if they wanted to keep up with the industry we needed to remodel and add on,” notes Heilig. “Our main challenge was working with our existing structure. We weren’t starting on a brand-new property, so we had to be cognizant of reusing our building while adding on in a way that actually made sense and wasn’t just slapped on the end of the existing building. I can’t think of one single square foot of the old building that wasn’t changed in some shape or form, which is pretty amazing to me.”

The original building had 6 sales offices, 3 administrative/service manager offices, as well as separate parts counters for customers and technicians. With the remodel, the facility now has 12 sales and administrative offices, including separate service and parts managers’ offices, as well as a “service bullpen” where they have room for an assistant service manager, service writer and the shop parts counter.

“Separate parts counters for the shop and showroom have always worked well for us, so we made sure to incorporate that into the remodel,” says Heileg. “We also have a receptionist immediately inside the front door of our showroom. Our showroom is over double in size and directly off the showroom is a meeting room that gets utilized almost weekly.”

The new shop is 100-x180-feet with a crane running the entire span of the space. In addition, there is now a consumer lawn and garden shop area that is about 35x70 square feet. As part of the renovation project, the Kunau Implement Co. dealership turned part of its old, detached parts warehouse into an 80x50 square foot wash bay and continues to use the remainder for large parts and lawn mower storage. Additionally, notes Heilig,  the parts storage area is about 70x100 square feet with about a third of that being a double layer mezzanine with shelving.

Todd Kunau, president/CEO, said  that after years of adding on, they needed to address a long list of issues and problems, ranging from efficiency in workflow, lack of proper wash bay and detailing facilities and insufficient parts storage — both in layout and capacity. 

There were additional issues they had to contend with as well. Those included insufficient employee areas, such as locker room facilities, lunchroom accommodations, training areas, hard surface parking and clean/safe/well-lit workspaces. Insufficient customer-facing spaces, including poor showroom spaces for the dealership’s retail goals, clear directional signage, room for the sales team, needs for a reception area, lack of comfortable customer waiting area, hard surfaced parking were also dealt with. Other challenges Kunau says the project addressed included a lack of shipping and receiving areas to accommodate parts, machinery and service business.

“We took the opportunity of this project to re-roof, re-skin and re-insulate the balance of the facility that remained, and tripled the electrical service into the facility,” says Kunau in describing additional project details.

Kunau provided a detailed summation of other components in the company’s modernization project. 

“We had our own fiber optic cable trenched in to provide appropriate bandwidth to accommodate our planned growth and in support of our technology plan. We added another gate at the north end of the property to streamline delivery truck traffic in and out of the facility. Also, we engaged an outside company to provide an ongoing, managed IT solution for our technology platform to support our technology goals and security.” 

After having first worked with Estes Construction, the general contractor and many of their subcontractors in 2014 on a new shop project at the Preston store, Kunau Implement reengaged Estes Construction for this project.

Kinze has introduced its Offset-Pivot Hydraulic Door available in 40’ to 120’ widths and heights up to 30’ which is free-standing and does not rely upon the structure of the building. Kinze Manufacturing

Kinze Manufacturing Opens New Doors of Innovation

Built on its history of designing and building innovative, durable and easily maintained equipment, Kinze Manufacturing recently introduced the Offset-Pivot Hydraulic Door. Available in 40-120 footwidths and heights up to 30 feet, this door was initially designed and manufactured out of the need for large doors at Kinze Manufacturing and has been built for production facilities, machine sheds and even aircraft hangars.

Unlike other door designs, Kinze reports that it is free-standing and does not rely upon the structure of the building. This feature not only keeps the door’s wind loads isolated from the building, but the frame can also support the roof trusses above it. The offset-pivot feature requires less lateral cylinder movement, provides greater stability, and reduces the door’s exterior overhang. Additional features include durable Kinze-made hydraulic cylinders that are easily serviced, an optional powder coat finish, maintenance-free pivot bearings, and an overhead routing channel to protect the hydraulic hoses.

Kinze introduced the Offset-Pivot Hydraulic Door at the 2025 National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Ky., where it was positively received. “We had a lot of questions and interest in the door,” shared Susanne Kinzenbaw Veatch, president of Kinze Manufacturing. “This door is designed for aviation, commercial, and agricultural installations — and everyone from architects to farmers and ground crews maneuvering wide wingspan aircraft will appreciate how well this hydraulic door performs.”

For anyone thinking of remodeling or expanding, Heilig recommends touring other dealerships which have remodeled to take notes on how they did things, seeing what works and what doesn’t. He’s also helped others do the same. 

“We have had a few dealers come tour our new facility and are happy to show them around, and we aren’t too proud to flat out tell them what we would have done differently in a perfect world,” adds Heilig.

“The overall response from both customers and employees has been very positive,” reports Heilig. “Our customers understand that our investment in the remodel was a direct investment in them as customers. Our ability to provide more key parts for them and efficiently be able to service their various equipment types and sizes, was a key driver in the remodel. Also, our employees really appreciate working in a nice new facility, and it has definitely helped attract new employees as well as retaining our existing employees.”

Centre Agricole: Family Business Makes a Compelling Case for Growth

With a total of 8 locations across Québec, le Centre Agricole has been serving ag customers in a family-oriented environment since 1969. After several investments, expansions and hiring of personnel, the dealership proceeded with other transactions that allowed it to manage the 8 current locations today, in Nicolet, St-Maurice, St-Bruno, Coaticook, Berthierville, Rimouski, Wotton, Neuville.

Top: Centre Agricole in Quebec recently underwent renovations at 2 of its 8 facilities, offering expanded space in its showrooms, service departments and modernized offices. Bottom: Kunau Implement Co. in Dewitt, Iowa, took on an expansive renovation project which addressed a wide range of needs to better accommodate its staff and customers. Centre Agricole

Centre Agricole has modernized 2 of its facilities in the last 2 years: Centre Agricole Berthierville and Centre Agricole Bas-St-Laurent. At the location in Berthierville, the first dig was in August 2021and the project was finished in October 2022, taking 14 months. The office is now in what had been the old shop and a brand new shop was a big part of this renovation. For Centre Agricole Berthierville, space was added in the showroom to accommodate more products and additional machinery, growing from the original size of 5,200 square feet to what is now 16,125 square feet. 

“When respect, teamwork, initiative and efficiency are at the heart of a business process, the results are tangible,” says Alex-Anthony Rheault, president, a 3rd generation of Rheault’s, who is in charge of used product purchases and U.S. sales. 

“Most of our stores have other Case IH dealers nearby (approximately 45 minutes) and we do have competition from all the major brands in all of our stores. We do quite a good job getting more market share each year … we sell a bit of everything,” Rheault says. Interestingly, the business also has an International Harvester collection-museum with 80 fully restored tractors.

At the Rimouski location, Centre Agricole started in August 2023 and finished 8 months later in March 2024. What started as a 5,000-square-foot facility has been expanded to 10,200 square feet, including the addition of a complete new shop next to the old one and modernization of the office space.

“We have tripled our workshop in both cases and redid our showrooms,” says Rheault. “We did this to be more efficient, to adapt to the new sizes of equipment and to attract new talents.” Centre Agricole has 165 employees and now all but 2 of their facilities have been upgraded, he says. 

In detailing specific steps toward modernization, Rheault acknowledges there were many necessary procedures and plans undertaken. The first one was to get the city involved for approbation, which in both cases went fairly well, followed by hiring architects to ensure that all of the necessary equipment would fit and that the overhead crane would be part of the structure. 

“We had to think about what’s coming up in the future and make sure we could cover those needs with the right upgrades,” he says, adding “We always had in mind to be more efficient in each and every step of the process.” 

Rheault explains the various considerations that brought them to the decision to modernize, saying: “We did the upgrades because we now have more technology and all of the equipment we sell is getting bigger each and every year, and will continue to get bigger. The biggest upgrade was mostly in the shops so we would have more spaces. While we were doing that, we decided to freshen the showroom and office, although we did not expand those areas too much. For us, we also feel that the business is still on the road and we like to visit our customers.” 

When asked what efficiencies the dealership has tracked as a result of the upgrades, Rheault explains the many ways the business has seen improvements, specifically with productivity and employee recruitment. Across all 8 locations, the family-run business currently has  24 employees in its parts department, another 24 in service, along with 60 technicians, 20 salespeople with 4 who are product specialists dealing in GPS, and 33 staff members in administration.

“We do see improvement in productivity,” he reports. Rheault explains before those upgrades, they had to assemble field cultivators outside. “I can tell you that doing that outside, at –20 degree Celsius, was no one’s favorite job. We also had issues in the past where we had to get tractors out that were not finished to repair for another one to fit. That’s a major improvement on that part, too. Something that we’ve seen is when in search of new talents or to replace someone who is retiring, we have more applicants than before the upgrades. The technicians can also now work in a safer environment using equipment like a forklift inside for more efficiency.” 

As for plans to make additional upgrades anytime soon, he says, “We do not plan for the next 2 years to modernize any of our other stores since they’re all pretty updated, but still we will have to start to think about it sooner than we think.”

Claas Farmpoint: A New Business Model for Continuous Improvement

Claas Farmpoint held a grand opening and 2-day open house for its newest location in February in the Industry Technology Park located in Hanson, Ky. 

Serving as the new location of its Centralized Service Office Support Center for Indiana and Kentucky, Claas Farmpoint recently opened a new facility in Hanson, Ky. (L to R) Patricio Frangella, Head of Commercial Development and Troy Shank, Sales & Marketing Manager tend to the February ribbon-cutting. Claas Farmpoint

 “Our customers were able to see what Farmpoint is and what it’s doing, and they often wonder why this mobile-first approach hasn’t been done like this before,” says Troy Shank, sales and marketing manager for Claas Farmpoint. He further explains what brought the company to this location and reasons for its business strategy.

In detailing the modernization and specific design features, the company reports that the Hanson, Ky., location is more spacious, with 4 work bays and additional spare parts stock. Shank offers this is also a better logistics location, situated right next to interstate I-69 to faster support service from their technicians and parts delivery, resulting in increased customer satisfaction.

In addition, the building itself was designed to be modular, meaning that as there’s a need to expand, it can be done easily and without interrupting dealership operations. Everything in the building — down to where we place the trash cans — is set up based on the Kaizen process, he explained. 

“If our processes flow with maximum efficiency, those efficiencies are then passed on to our customers,” says Shank, explaining that Kaizen is a continuous improvement method that identifies problems, analyzes processes and implements solutions. 

Additionally, this facility will serve as the new location of the Centralized Service Office Support Center for both Indiana and Kentucky, he adds, noting the strategy behind this decision.

“Having a centralized location helps us to ensure minimum harvest downtime and optimal customer support. With the remote first business model, the company locations are chosen based on logistics rather than machine density. Our logistics play more into how we do business, so when we focus on our logistics, our technicians are able to get everywhere fast,” says Shank.

“More than the actual dealership locations, the modernity of Claas Farmpoint is in the business model itself,” he offers. As it is a mobile first business, it relies on remote service and telemetry to monitor machines and proactively recommend maintenance and repairs to reduce grower downtime when it’s most important.

The company further reports that the remote service aspect of this Claas Farmpoint model is a key differentiator, modernizing how the company looks at equipment service. Each service truck and tech are truly a mobile shop — fully equipped with custom tooling to best suit Claas equipment and set up using the Kaizen methodology to increase efficiencies. This allows their techs to be more efficient and helps growers to reduce downtime because of it, offering a key benefit, according to the company.  

“The machinery and equipment industry as a whole needs to innovate — be more quick and nimble,” reinforced Shank. He adds, “Claas Farmpoint is looking at the best way to do that. Equipment dealerships historically have been tied to a location. Claas Farmpoint is breaking the model of how equipment can be sold and serviced on a large scale across different locations. Look at what Amazon did to the retail industry. That’s what Farmpoint is looking to do in the equipment space.”