Rural Lifestyle Dealer congratulates Big Valley Tractor, Stockton, Calif., as its single-store Dealership of the Year and Ewald Kubota, with 8 Texas locations, as its multi-store Dealership of the Year in the 11th annual awards program.

The nominations were judged by an expert panel using a point system to weigh financial performance along with other factors, including community involvement, training, succession planning and more.

According to the judges, the 2017 group of nominees was extremely strong, with several of the top dealers scoring very closely. “The most amazing trend was the vast improvement in the revenue per employee and total sales. Revenue per employee grew from an average of $350,909 in 2013 to $571,308 average in 2017. That is an incredible increase of 62.81% in just 5 years. This is a very positive trend and proves the quality of the nominees is changing,” says one of the judges, David L. Kahler. He was joined on the judging panel by Dr. W. David Downey and Charles R. Glass. 

Learn more about the judges below. Then, read on to learn what sets the 2017 Dealerships of the Year apart and above the rest. The sidebar on page 16, “How You Can Earn Dealership of the Year,” provides a further analysis of the nominee trends over the last 5 years as well as steps you can take to improve your dealership and maybe even be named Dealership of the Year in 2018.

Extending our Appreciation to the 2017 Dealership of the Year Judges

Dr. W. David Downey is Executive Director, Center for Agricultural Business (CAB), Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. Dr. Downey is responsible for the development of education programs at the CAB, which is regarded as the leading center for agribusiness education in the U.S. A distinguished agricultural marketing professor and proficient author, Dr. Downey also consults extensively throughout North America on a variety of agribusiness issues.

David L. Kahler is retired CEO of Ohio-Michigan Equipment Dealers Assn., Dublin, Ohio. Kahler spent his entire 39-year full-time career assisting equipment dealer-principals with their business affairs. He served for 22 years as CEO and was an active industry participant who earned the respect of both dealers and manufacturers. Kahler retired from full-time employment in 2008, but still works part-time as the associate director for AMG LLC. He is now in his 49th year of serving dealers.

Charles R. Glass is President of Glass Management Group, Arlington, Texas. With more than 4 decades in the industry, Glass produces an annual tractor and combine forecast and provides technical assistance to various investment groups. A former director of Farm Equipment Manufacturers Assn., he is also a frequent presenter and author of several white papers on the future of farm equipment distribution. He was a long-time chairman of FEMA’s Dealer Relations Committee.

Read 2017 Dealership of the Year Single-Store Dealer Big Valley Tractor Full Article

Read 2017 Dealership of the Year Multi-Store Dealer Ewald Kubota Full Article

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