Two well-known and respected John Deere dealerships have hit the ground running as the new homes of John Deere Construction and Forestry Equipment in New Zealand. Construction and forestry customers now have access to sales and service from AGrowQuip (AGQ) in the North Island and Drummond & Etheridge (D&E) in the South Island. Source: Timberbiz
The dealerships will offer the full line up of John Deere equipment.
John Deere Construction & Forestry Division Managing Director for Asia Pacific and Africa, Jeff Kraft, said both AGQ and D&E had been selected based on their proven track record of outstanding customer service, and commitment to the success of the industries in which they operate.
“AGQ and D&E are known and trusted John Deere Ag & Turf dealers with a longstanding reputation for working with customers to meet their unique needs and business objectives,” Mr Kraft said.
“These qualities and skills, their existing client support infrastructure and their in-depth understanding of the industries that are fundamental to building and growing nations means they will replicate the same level of service they are renowned for across construction and forestry equipment.
“The customer service provided by both AGQ and D&E will be further strengthened by John Deere’s industry leading remote diagnostics platforms, as well as the extensive parts portfolio held at the Australia and New Zealand Distribution Centre (ANZDC) which supports dealers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
AGrowQuip has four large branches in the North Island and plans in place to extend this network.
AGQ CEO, Boun Khamwanthong, said preparations for the company’s move into construction and forestry equipment had been extensive.
“To say the team is excited is definitely an understatement and we want to show that this is a new day for John Deere in New Zealand,” he said.
“Our technicians have undergone extensive training to familiarise themselves with the intricacies of working on construction and forestry equipment, while many of our staff already have experience in the forestry and earthmoving sectors.
“We’ve also made key appointments to support the addition of the construction and forestry line up, including Alex Kelly as general manager who has previously worked with the Iconic forestry brand.
“Since joining us, Alex has brought some highly experienced salespeople, who will be familiar to John Deere customers, to his team which will further support our expansion from Ag & Turf.
“We have also started the process of employing additional mechanics nationwide who have long histories of working with civil and forestry machinery, including some of those who have been identified by our customers and sales team as the very best in their regions.”
Drummond & Etheridge (D&E) has also put in place plans to grow a network of dedicated construction and forestry equipment facilities while making key, industry-specific appointments and rolling out extensive staff training.
D&E Group Aftermarket Manager, Steve Hadler, said knowledgeable and motivated personnel with construction and forestry backgrounds had been added to the team at key branch locations across the South Island.
“We’ve appointed Andy Carson as construction and forestry training and technical support manager within D&E to ensure we have trained people on the ground to support the product range,” Mr Hadler said.
“We have also appointed Peter Holton-Jefferys as logistics and sales operations specialist and Jason Huitema as construction and forestry product manager, each have pre-existing knowledge of both the construction and forestry industries.
“Additionally, we’ve committed to branch upgrades to ensure customers are fully supported from an aftermarket perspective, made key appointments in Nelson and Southland, and we are creating two additional C&F dedicated workshop bays and a new parts distribution branch in Rolleston – to make sure we have parts on the ground overnight at branch level.
“Our entire business is excited to bring construction and forestry clients into the D&E family to help them increase machine uptime and to support their business needs.”
