John Deere dealership part of merger
Staff writer
Two Kansas John Deere companies, Prairieland Partners, Inc. and Concordia Tractor, Inc. are planning a merger effective in January.
Prairieland Partners, a 10-year-old company, has a dealership in Marion as well as eight other locations in central and south-central Kansas. Concordia Tractor, a 50-year-old company, has dealerships in north-central Kansas, including Abilene, Concordia, Clay Center, and Wamego.
The new company, named PrairieLand Partners, LLC, will have 13 locations in 37 counties and employ over 375 people.
“Keeping You in the Green” will be the company’s slogan.
PrairieLand Partners chief executive officer Darrell Pankratz will be CEO of the new company.
“Our two organizations are aligned in business practices and values, and we have a long-term relationship,” he said. “The merger aligns with John Deere’s location strategy to produce economies of scale and make us stronger. We will have more inventory and more expertise.”
Employees in all 13 stores will remain in place. The two leadership teams will merge. John Deere training programs allow 80 percent of leadership positions to be filled by employees, Pankratz said.
He said Mitch Geutterman, manager of the Marion location, is one of the company’s strongest leaders.
Despite ups and downs in the economy, John Deere is in it for the long haul, Pankratz said.
“We are partners with farmers,” he said. “Our job is to find the right solutions for them. We have no plans or discussions to close any of our stores. Our business has been recovering slowly since 2015. Sales are slowly increasing.”