Dealer News Update
Straub International, a Wichita Case IH dealer, is moving its Wichita store to a larger location, but staying on “machinery row.” The dealer is buying a 55,000-square-foot building nearby at 3200 May St., a near tripling of its current space.
CEO Larry Straub said he expects to open by Sept. 1. The new building represents a $3 million investment. The company has about 15 employees and expects to gradually to increase that to perhaps 30 in the next five or so years, he said.
Straub International, with seven locations throughout Kansas, is among the largest Case IH dealers in North America. Straub said he expect to expand other locations in the state, as well.
Farmers Equipment Inc., which has 52 employees in four Ohio locations, will open a new dealership in South Charleston, OH in early 2014.
The Case IH Agriculture dealership purchased a nearly 5-acre plot of land at 140 S. Church St. for $120,000 at the end of December, according to Clark County Auditor’s Office records.
It will be South Charleston’s first farm dealership in about 30 years, and Clark County’s first in about seven, said Larry Timmons Jr., South Charleston resident and president of the Clark County Farm Bureau.
Farmers Equipment opened in Urbana, OH in 2004 with nine employees. Now, it has four locations — Urbana, Elida, New Hampshire and London. The London location only sells parts and will be moved to the new South Charleston location.
Green Iron, a John Deere dealership, recently moved to their new $2 million facility in Ashley, ND. USDA Rural Development helped finance the project by partnering with a local cooperative, KEM Electric. Through the Rural Economic Development Loan Program, Green Iron Equipment received a $740,000 loan.
The original dealership consisted of four separate buildings in downtown Ashley. Two of those structures housed small service shops that could not accommodate large farm machinery.
“As sales and service requirements continued to grow, we outgrew our facilities,” said Lyle Fey, Green Iron Equipment manager. “We simply ran out of space to meet our customers’ needs.”
Titan Machinery Inc. announced that it has acquired Tucson Tractor Co., consisting of one Case Construction equipment dealership located in Tucson, AZ.
Tucson Tractor has been in business for over 45 years and complements the company’s existing Case Construction equipment dealerships in Phoenix and Flagstaff. In its most recently reported fiscal year, Tucson Tractor generated revenue of approximately $7 million.
David Meyer, Titan Machinery’s chairman and CEO, said, “We are excited to expand our construction equipment footprint in the Southwest with the acquisition of Tucson Tractor Company. The dealership is well located to serve a vast area and has strong market potential for new and used construction equipment and parts and service sales, as well as for associated rental demand.”