Diamond A

DIAMOND A EQUIPMENT a retail parts facilitywhereweshipanddeliverparts. Withour service facilities,wehaveboth in-shopand in-fieldrepair,dependingontheneedof thecustom- er andtheconvenience requested.” “Weprimarilyrepresent twomajorbrands: Case andKubota,”Frankcontinues.“DiamondAoutof OxnardandtheSantaMaria locationsareCase ConstructionandCase IH(Agricultural andFarm Equipment),full-brandedstores.Inaddition,the Oxnardandthe twoLosAngeles storescarryKubota. SantaMaria isastandaloneCaseConstructionand Case IHstore;Oxnard isaKubotaandaCase full-line store; andtheLosAngelesmarketsareKubotaonly stores.Inaddition,thereareattachmentsandshort linebrands,suchasLandPride,Walker,andGearmore thatwealsodistributeoutof all our locations.Up in thenorthernpartof the territory–OxnardandSanta Maria–it’sprimarilyanagricultural-basedarea,sowe deal quiteextensivelywiththe rowcrops,thecitrus, andthevineyardcustomers.Asweheadsouth into LosAngeles,it tends tobemoreof theconstruction and landmanagement typecustomers.” Inadditiontosellingnewequipment,Franksays thatDiamondAisheavilyinvested inthe rental side of thebusiness,aswell.“Oneof thebigchanges that’s occurred intheCaliforniaagriculturalmarkethas beenthe fairlydramaticshift fromacustomerbase that, 25yearsago,was70percent retail purchaseand30per- cent rental,toone that is70percent rental and30percent retail,”heexplains.“So,thosenumbershavealmost flipped. What’shappened is that thegrowershavebecomemore educatedabout their cropsandtheir equipment and determinedthat theyjustneedseasonal usage–one forgroundpreparation,where theytypicallyuseheavier equipmentwithhigherhorsepower anddifferent attach- ments that canplowfieldsandget thegroundprepared. That’sabout a three-monthusage. “Then,whenthey’re intheproductionmode,when they’reactuallyproducingandpicking,whether itbe strawberries,grapes,lemons,avocadoes,ororanges,then theyneedadifferent typeof tractor.Whenthey’re inmore of aharvestmode,they’repullinggondolasandtrailers around,pullingthe freshfruitoff of theplantsor the trees, putting it intosomesortof acontainer,andthen loading that containerontoa truckout inthe field,whichthen getsmovedtosomesortof a facilitywhere theycan refrigerateor freeze itbeforemoving itout tomarket.” Inaddition,Franksays that asCalifornia farmshave becomemorecorporately-owned,theuseof rental equip- menthasmadebetter economicsense,since renting equipment is listedasanexpense inthe financial reports, andowning is listedasanasset.“Mostof the farmers still retainabase level of equipment thatgetsusedyear round,”headds,“butwhenthey’re intheirheavier times ofproductionorgroundpreparationstages,theyincrease their rental fleet,dramatically.” WhileFrankadmits thatDiamondAmust competewith much larger companies suchas JohnDeereandCaterpil- lar,hebelieves thathiscompany’sadvantage lies inthe knowledgeandexperienceof its35employeesacross the