jan-2018

168 169 four store locations.“There’songoingtrainingwithall of our employees,”hestates.“Andwhensomebodyis look- ingfor asolution,andthey’renot exactlysurehowtoget there,our extremelyexperiencedemployeesknowhowto asktherightquestionstogettothebestpossibleone.” Goingforward,FrankreportsthatDiamondAislookingto continuetoexpanditsterritory,followingtherecenttrendof consolidationintheheavyequipmentsector.“I’vebeeninthe heavyequipmentbusinesssince1990,”herecounts.“Back then,thereweremoresinglepointdealerships;yourtradi- tionalmomandpoptypelocations.Butnow,itjustmakes moresensetohaveabiggergeographicfootprint,sothat youcanmoveequipmentamongstmultiplestores.Ifyou’rea singlepointdealer,youdon’thavethatability. “Whatwe’veseenintheagrentalbusiness,isasyouget morelocations,you’reabletoincreaseyourutilizationbe- causeonemarket–Oxnard,forus–startsabouttwoorthree monthsbeforetheSantaMariamarket,sowe’reabletomove equipment,firsttotheOxnardmarket,andthen,whenthey’re donewithgroundpreparation,movethatequipmentnorth toSantaMariasoitcanbeusedupthere.So,whenyouhave abiggergeographicfootprint,itcertainlygivesyoumoreofa competitiveedge. “AndIwouldsaythatallthemanufacturersaretryingto pushtheirdistributioninthatdirection,wherethey’vegot onedealershipthatcoversthelargerterritory,asopposedto multiple,smallerdealerships.Wehaveagoodrelationship withKubota;wefeelthattheyareoneoftheleadingheavy equipmentdealersforbothconstructionandagricultural.We arelookingforlocationsthatmightbeavailableforsale,or openpointsforKubota,wherewecancontinuetoexpand thebrand. “Also,theequipmentindustryisverycapitalintensive.So,it requiresalargeoutlay,andwhatyoufind is that itbecomes verydifficult for smaller,singlepoint locations tobeable tosurvive,particularlywhenyouget theupsanddownsof themarkets thatmake itmucheasier for a larger,well-es- tablishedbusiness toprosper.” DIAMOND A EQUIPMENT C ongratulations Y ou are a Top 10 D ealer for 2017 s upplYing C onstruCtion i mplements for over 50 Years 13477 Benson Ave. • Chino, CA 91710 Ph: 800/833-3023 www.gearmore.com • sales@gearmore.com PREFERRED VENDOR n Gearmore www.gearmore.com Hopingtoexpandthecompany’s locationpointsover thenext severalyears,Franknotesanother competitive advantage-its relationshipwithsister company,Ahern Rentals. “Theyhaveclose toahundred locationsacross thecountryandwe’reable todosomeadditional joint typebusinesses inthesamegeographicarea.We’re workingonthat inOxnardandSantaMaria,wherewe’re puttingtheAhernRentals sales force togetherwith theDiamondAsales force.Theyhavedifferent typesof equipment fromwhatDiamondAhas,but thesame customerscanuseequipment frombothsides.So,we’re seeinganopportunitytoexpandour exposurewith thosecustomersbydoingbusiness togetherwithour sister company.” Inthe ruggedworldofheavyequipment,DiamondA is trulya“diamond inthe rough.”