By Eric Olson
cEG CORRESPONDENT
The equipment dealerships that have managed to survive the ravages of the American recession over the last two years are the ones that have strong and loyal customer bases.
Longtime relationships between dealers and their customers have proven to be more valuable during that time as companies search for the right formula to stay in business.
So it is not surprising that those dealerships that have been known for their outstanding service for a decade or more have been the ones to emerge best from the recession.
That certainly describes Highland Tractor Company, an Ocala, Fla.-based chain of stores that has served the west coast and central part of Florida for more than 35 years.
Highland Tractor has remained successful because it deftly combines a staff of personable and helpful professionals — characteristic of a small company — with the resources to take care of all the needs of its customers — normally something only large companies can do, according to the company.
“That has been hard to pull off, but we have been very successful at it,” admitted Sid Varner, the founder, owner and president of Highland Tractor.
Varner added that his dealership had seen pretty steady growth for more than three decades since its founding in 1974. That growth slowed considerably with the onslaught of the recession in 2008, but has bounced back this year.
He has no doubt that the company’s hard-earned reputation accounts for much of that comeback.
“I think mainly it has just been our relationship with customers and providing good parts and service to them,” Varner explained. “We are now dealing with second- and even third generation people at the firms where we have long relationships, but it still takes a lot of effective customer relations to keep that business. That means a lot of calling these customers to keep them on our side, but we seem to be pretty successful doing that.”
Varner said that a lot of companies offer the same equipment and brands, but it is the customer service that seems to make the difference between success and failure.
“Local ownership is also pretty significant as far as I am concerned,” he added. “A guy that owns a business and is pretty active in that business seems to do a little bit better than an absentee owner who just has managers run things for him.”
Varner has stuck to that business philosophy in the running of Highland Tractor even as he has acquired other companies and new managers over the last several years.
For instance, Highland Tractor acquired Southern Machinery & Equipment in January 2008. Varner then brought in Gary Coffman, the previous owner of Southern Machinery, as Highland’s new chief operating officer.
The merger also gave Highland Tractor a presence in the greater Tampa Bay, Fla., area with locations in Palmetto and Plant City — stores that service the Tampa, Bradenton and Sarasota markets. Other acquisitions in central Florida provided the company with locations in Leesburg (which includes the Orlando market) and in New Port Richey.
As a result, Highland Tractor, a certified John Deere Gold Star Dealer, now has 18 counties of responsibility from the west coast of the state to north-central Florida and down to Orlando.
Through the main Ocala dealership, Highland Tractor sells and rents primarily construction and forestry equipment, while moving mostly agricultural equipment in the other locations.
“We sell a lot of light industrial equipment in the Tampa Bay area,” Coffman added. “We don’t have the construction contract for heavy equipment down there, but we did take on the large agricultural equipment, such as the scraper tractors and pans, as well as utility equipment, such as mini-excavators, skid steers, track loaders, etc.”
In addition, Coffman said that Highland Tractor sells lawn equipment in the New Port Richey and Leesburg stores — largely business-to-business transactions to landscapers, rental companies and cemeteries.
Although Highland Tractor is primarily a John Deere dealer, the company also sells Stihl lawn equipment and Bomag compaction machines.
“Used equipment has been a big piece of the equation here lately,” Coffman added. “When you ask how we have weathered the recession, we have really had to scramble, but some of our direction really went into finding better deals for our customers in the used markets and then in the rental markets, as well.”
Highland Tractor maintains a parts and service shop in each of its five locations and a 24-hour emergency service. It also provides, as needed, schematics and cross-reference charts for its customers, too.
“Being responsive to our customers’ needs has been a Day One priority for us,” Varner said.
All of it is geared toward helping Highland Tractor’s customers be more successful — which, in turn, makes Highland Tractor more successful, Coffman said.
“We are always looking to create something beyond customer service — more like a customer partnership,” he explained. “We want to offer solutions for our customers and find ways to keep their businesses effective. As we do that we can partner with them to sell more equipment and work closer with them.”
Unlike some companies still standing in 2010, Highland Tractor can give its customers the benefit of loads of experience in the equipment business. Besides Varner’s almost 40 years in the business, Coffman has put in more than 25
years. In addition, veteran sales rep Alan Pope has been at his job for 27 years and Randy Craig, the company’s manager of product support and customer relations, has worked 25 years at his trade.
A native of the mountains of southwest Virginia, Varner first came to Florida in the early 1970s when he worked for John Deere setting up accounting systems for its dealer organizations. When the company wanted to transfer him to Moline, Ill., where he would then spend half the year working in Europe, he decided to stay in the Sunshine State and open his own dealership.
“I just really enjoyed Ocala and central Florida and I could see the potential for a good business to develop here,” Varner said. “Plus, I was intrigued with the heavy construction, forestry and agricultural equipment business.”
Now, more than 35 years later and thriving in the post recession, Varner and Coffman feel optimistic about Highland Tractor’s continued growth.
“Everybody that is left standing after going through this recession has probably become a better business, as a result. I know we are,” Coffman said. “We are also probably a little bit smarter and a bit more conservative, as well.” CEG
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