Harter Equipment Inc. recently completed a renovation project that began approximately two years ago.

“We [will] celebrate our 40th anniversary in January 2007. [However] we began planning our new look more than two years ago so that when the time came, we would have a spacious, well thought-out, contemporary facility to show our customers,” said Sue Harter, vice president.

In the first phase of the project, a seldom-used space on the second floor was converted into offices for the accounting department.

“Moving the accounting department upstairs opened up lots of room on the main floor for our sales department,” said Harter.

“Now there are workstations for our salesmen to use when in the office, a conference room and a private meeting room [in which] to meet with customers.”

The second phase of the project was not as subtle. The front of the building was totally renovated. An oversized vestibule with three sets of double doors was added to accommodate the large volume of daily foot traffic at the dealership. All exterior windows were replaced and the front facade was redone in a combination of stucco, decorative block and seamless metal accents in a contemporary color scheme.

The final phase was the renovation of space from the service department into a hose shop. A wall was taken out and cabinetry was added to consolidate parts inventory, which freed up space in the lobby to double the size of the main parts counter.

“Now customers enter the building into a spacious, open display area where someone greets visitors right away and directs them to what they need.”

In conclusion, Harter said, “We are really proud of what we’ve accomplished in the past two years.”

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