Dealers from across the U.S. travelled to Merlo Group's headquarters in Italy to share insights from the field, strengthen ties with the global team and explore new ways to support customers across North America.
At the foot of Mont Blanc, a Merlo telehandler works farmland beneath the snow-capped Italian Alps. Across the Atlantic, Merlo machines are equally at home on peanut farms in Georgia, Louisiana oilfields, New York construction sites and deep in the forests of Maine.
The landscapes may be worlds apart, but the customers share the same priority — keeping their machines working and their businesses moving. That was the focus of Merlo America's 2026 Annual Dealer Meeting, which recently brought eight U.S. dealers to the company's global headquarters in Cuneo, Italy. By connecting those closest to American customers with the teams designing and building their machines, the meeting provided valuable insight into how Merlo can strengthen support and grow its presence across North America.
The program included a tour of Merlo's manufacturing facility, where dealers saw firsthand the engineering, automation and production processes behind the machines they represent. The visit also offered an opportunity to connect with the teams responsible for developing and building the equipment – strengthening the link between Merlo's global manufacturing expertise and the needs of customers in the field.
Connecting Global Manufacturing with Customer Needs
Family-owned and built on a strong heritage of engineering innovation, Merlo's integrated manufacturing operation and extensive in-house production capabilities were a highlight for visiting dealers. For Chris Palmer, President and CEO of Vermont-based dealership Woods C.R.W. Corp, the facility stood out against decades of industry experience. “I've been working in this industry for over 35 years, and this is the most impressive manufacturing facility I've ever been to,” Palmer shared.
Don Fiacco, General Manager at Finke Equipment in New York, also remarked on the facility's advanced automation and investment in production technology, describing the operation as “exceptionally impressive”.
Beyond the factory tour, the meeting gave dealers the opportunity to share feedback directly with Merlo's global team, bringing together insights from across the U.S. market with the people responsible for developing the equipment.
“Our dealers have first-hand knowledge of their customers and the markets they serve," said Merlo America's General Manager, Cole Renken. "Bringing our dealer network together allows us to learn from their experience in the field and remain focused on helping customers maximise uptime and get the most from their machines.”
The Difference Is Support
Keeping equipment working depends on more than having reliable machinery. Parts availability, as well as technical expertise and responsive service are also essential to helping customers minimize disruption.
Lew Brooks, president of Wisconsin-based Brooks Tractor, has seen the relationship with Merlo develop since his dealership began representing the brand. He highlighted the ROTO range's established niche in tree care and cited instances when Merlo America had provided exceptional service support while equipment was awaiting repairs. That support has helped Brooks Tractor maintain customer confidence as it continues to develop its rental business.
Making Machine Data Work
Connected technology was also a central discussion point, with Merlo America highlighting the practical benefits of MerloMobility and the opportunity to encourage wider adoption across its dealer network. Already available to customers, the platform provides real-time access to machine information – including location, operating status, performance data and fault alerts, helping dealers and operators identify potential issues earlier and plan maintenance more effectively, with further assistance available from Merlo America's technical support team in South Carolina.
“With MerloMobility, I can click on the customer's unit, see the dashboard display and all the fault codes, and tell him exactly what's going going on real time," said Tony Lirette, operations manager at Louisiana-based Piranha Rentals. "I don't have to send a mechanic out — the customer can grab the part and have it to hand when he gets to the job site. It saves so much time.”
Merlo America is encouraging dealers to make MerloMobility part of their day-to-day customer support, using connected machine data to help diagnose issues more efficiently and minimise machine downtime.
Capability That Clicks
Across agriculture, construction, oil and forestry, selecting the right machine and attachment is key to meeting the demands of individual applications.
“Merlo offers a breadth of products that's hard to match in this market, giving customers more options to find the right machine for their needs,” said AgCentral's Dairy and Equipment Manager, Eric Risser.
He also noted the usefulness of Merlo's attachment recognition technology, which identifies an attachment and helps determine the machine's capabilities for the task.
“The machine recognizes the attachment, knows how much it weighs and understands its capabilities with that attachment fitted. That's proven itself to be a really useful feature for operators,” Risser added.
The discussions reinforced the importance of matching machine capabilities and attachments to the task, supported by the training and guidance needed to use equipment effectively.
A Shared Ambition Across the Atlantic
Merlo America's Annual Dealer Meeting brought its U.S. dealer network together with the global team to share perspectives and strengthen relationships as the company looks to grow across North America. Maintaining that connection will be important as dealer feedback continues to inform how the business supports its customers.
“Merlo's dealer partners are a valued part of the family, and welcoming them to Italy allowed us to strengthen our relationships and better understand their customers' needs," said Francesco Brondino, Export Business Manager, Merlo Global. "It also gave us the opportunity to listen to their experiences and learn from their insight while showing them first-hand the level of engineering expertise behind the design and manufacture of our machines. Maintaining that direct connection between our global teams and the people representing Merlo in the U.S. helps ensure that the knowledge we share is as valuable as the knowledge we gain."
“It's been a privilege to bring our U.S. dealers together with our global team in Cuneo," Renken adds. "The visit has been a success and I'd like to thank our colleagues in Italy for their warm welcome and for sharing their knowledge with us. It's given us valuable time to strengthen existing relationships and build on our work to grow Merlo across North America.”
