Northland Industrial Truck Co. (NITCO) was founded in 1969 as a Yale lift truck dealer specializing in selling, renting and repairing material handling equipment. By 2010, NITCO had grown into a $70 million company with 270 employees; this was when the company decided to venture into the construction equipment market.
“In 2010, JCB approached our management staff about expanding our operations into the construction arena,” said Alan Hammersley, chief operating officer of Northland JCB and NITCO. “At that time JCB had experienced success with similar material handling dealers where synergy had worked. When we studied the JCB product offering, their worldwide market share and the commitment they have made to the U.S. market with their Savannah, Georgia, manufacturing facility, we made the decision to build an alliance with JCB.”
Leveraging its pre-existing parts and service department, in August of 2010 NITCO decided to become a JCB construction equipment dealer in Concord, N.H., and Northland JCB was born. Since then, it has expanded and opened branches in Wilmington, Middleboro and Shrewsbury, Mass.; and Lewiston, Maine. Northland JCB-NITCO has 118 technicians on the road and an additional 30 in the shop.
According to Mark Silva, corporate manager, “As we progressed with putting our JCB distribution network in place, we became increasingly aware of the diverse needs of the industrial lift customer base and our new contractor base. We have begun a continuing process of changing our facilities to meet those needs. For example, each location serves both client bases, in which case we have designed separate entrances, showrooms, parts department and staffing. Early on, we identified the necessity of implementing a separate sales staff for the construction equipment division. These sales reps have received special training from JCB, which enables them to match the machines to individual customer’s needs.”
Northland JCB prides itself on a quality product and excellent customer service.
“The most important piece to our company is our customer base. It’s our goal to take our JCB products and provide individual support to each client,” said Mark Silva, corporate manager.
In 2014, Northland JCB opened a primarily focused JCB facility in Middleboro, Mass., located at the intersection of Route 495 South and Route 44. This facility, with its six-bay warehouse and store, is the model for Northland JCB’s future growth and presence in the market place.
“We wanted to better serve our customers and have a retail store where you can see our equipment more easily and have a more pleasant experience,” said Northland JCB General Manager Jeff Souza. “Usually, with this kind of equipment line, we would be stuck in an industrial park and you don’t see us. We wanted to open up a retail store at the best possible retail space we could find.”
Not a One-Trick Pony
Even with the diversity of the JCB product offering, Northland JCB has added a few other brands to its lineup as a continued effort to meet its customers’ needs, such as Avant, Vibroscreen, Felling and Magnum.
“Avant is a manufacturer of articulated compact loaders. These machines come with more than one hundred attachments, which makes the Avant an all-in-one product with applications year round. It’s an ideal fit for landscaping, light construction, nurseries, ground maintenance, municipalities, etc.,” Silva said.
“There is a huge demand for material screening. Simply designed, portable, box screens are heavily used in this market. In order to meet that demand, we have picked up the Vibroscreen product line. Vibroscreen has over 15 years of experience in designing and manufacturing portable screening plants. Implementing customer feedback, the Vibroscreen has matured into one of the best machines in the marketplace.
“All of our customers utilize trailers. In order to satisfy that need, we have aligned ourselves with Felling. Felling has been manufacturing trailers for over 40 years, using the best available materials and the latest in design technology. Each trailer is supported with a five-year instructional warranty and three-year paint warranty. We have a tremendous amount of confidence in this manufacturer.
“The sale of excavators has identified the need for us to offer specialized, severe duty attachments, and Magnum fills that need. Magnum gives us the ability to match your excavator with breakers, compactors, material processors, pulverizers, sheers, screening buckets and sorting grapples,” Silva concluded.
Award-Winning Dealership
Northland JCB was a recipient of JCB’s 2012 “Dealer of Excellence Award.” JCB determines the recipients of its North American Dealer of Excellence awards based on:
• market share;
• retail performance vs. goal;
• parts SOE;
• parts sales improvement;
• sales and service training; and
• dealer development and re-branding.
For more information, visit www.northlandjcb.com.
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