Farmer consolidation and growing capital requirements for dealers has contributed to the need for dealerships to expand and grow.

Interviews with ag equipment entrepreneurs stoked a fire to deep dive on “grit.” Mike Lessiter studies Dr. Angela Duckworth’s analysis and shares of takeaways in part 1 of this series.

Atlanta, Ind. Category: Over $75 Million in Revenue

In mid-April, Chris Frodel, Mid-State Equipment (John Deere) drove over from her store to meet in the conference room at Johnson Tractor (Case IH), Leo Johnson’s store. The length of Frodel’s drive on Highway 14 was a full 4 minutes. That’s how close these two dealerships are in the rich agricultural region of Janesville, Wis. Both are second-generation dealers with siblings as partners (Chris runs the business with her brother Bryan and father Curt Hanson, while Leo does the same with brother Eric) and steadily collected additional stores from small-operation origins. Frodel (44) and Johnson (62) also found a lot of similarities and values in their businesses as they dug in for a candid discussion and what the future may look like.

CEO David Meyer reflects on how business has changed for Titan Machinery since going public and where the industry is headed.