Farmington Manufacturer Sold $5 Million in Tractors Last Year

When Agracat Inc. joined the lawn-equipment business in 2000, it faced a market stacked with well-known tractor brands. Headquartered in Farmington, the company challenged familiar names such as Caterpillar, John Deere and Kubota.

Dean Peer, Agracat’s general manager, said the company’s brand recognition solidified more than administrators thought possible for the second year of business.

“They’ve done an amazing job with our name recognition,” Peer said. Considering the manufacturer’s increasing profile, he expects the company to sell more than 1,000 tractors this year, up from 600 sold in 2001.

Each tractor retails for $7,500-$11,000, and Peer said Agracat grossed $5 million last year.

Agracat’s success begins at the point of sale, Peer said, because dealers sell the tractors with a “new car” approach. Sales employees are well-informed about the products and display the green-colored machines in showrooms. Most dealers also offer machine service and repair.

To highlight flaws and accomplishments in the system, Agracat tracks customer satisfaction. When the company sells a tractor, the customer receives a service survey to fill out and mail to the Farmington headquarters. Each dealer must earn consistently positive consumer ratings to maintain the Agracat franchise rights.

Agracat sells three lines of tractors: a 20-horsepower 2700 model, a 25-horse 2900 model and a 35-horse 3700 model. Separately sold attachments, such as backhoes and front loaders, equip the tractors for small-scale commercial use.

Peer said 25 percent of the company’s annual $5 million sales is from commercial operations. However, Agracat’s niche consumers are residential and farm customers who use the attachments for mowing and moving hay bales, dirt or debris.

Nearly 70 dealers sell Agracat tractors. Peer said that within the last six months, the company’s points of sale have grown by about 30 percent. The company’s dealer network centers around the Great Plains.

There are 12 Agracat dealers in Arkansas, counting the Farmington plant on Rhea’s Mill Road. Johnson and Sons in Greenland and John Dellinger’s Auto in Springdale sell the tractors in Northwest Arkansas.

Nine employees working daily eight-hour shifts at the 6,000-SF Farmington plant assemble all of the tractors. Settled on pastureland in north Farmington, the plant makes the tractors out of parts made in a factory in China. Nine more people work in Agracat’s administrative offices.

Mel Robinson, Jim Steele and Charles Foster started the company in March 2000, and Foster sold his portion to Steve Combs this year. Peer said the change in ownership was amicable, and Foster wanted to pursue other ventures.

Steele, Agracat’s president, and Robinson, Agracat’s secretary and treasurer, maintain offices in Farmington and visit the plant daily, Peer said.

Led by the three owners and Peer, the company plans to continue its growth by adding dealers to the central and southern United States. Peer said the company’s biggest challenge will be to grow the business without straining the product quality or jeopardizing dealership relations.

Peer said Agracat can grow and adapt from its current location in Northwest Arkansas, and he doesn’t foresee a move anytime soon.