Rural Group’s three outlets at Shepparton, Echuca and Cobram now fall under the AEH umbrella, and AEH national marketing manager Sharon Charlton said it was an exciting time for both businesses.
Under the guidance of owner Adam Kaplan and AEH general manager Mark Massingham, AEH has grown from one dealership in Parkes in 2018 to 12 in the past four years, with six outlets in NSW, three in Tasmania and more recently the three in northern Victoria bought from Rural Group owners Chris Pettigrove and Graeme Shiells.
Mrs Charlton said AEH and Rural Group shared a commitment to family-owned and operated businesses, a strong customer focus and a future-focused sustainable model for growth.
“The AEH approach provides a great model for a younger generation wanting to get into the farm machinery sector without significant overheads,” she said.
“It also provides a succession plan for dealership owners who are wanting to step back or retire from the business.”
Mrs Charlton said Mr Pettigrove and Mr Shiells planned to retire but would continue to work with AEH’s Mr Massingham during the transition period.
Rural Group’s logo will change to reflect the AEH brand but there will be no name changes, existing staff will be retained and all the familiar machinery brands, including New Holland, will continue to be sold by the dealerships.
“Customers can be confident they will continue to see many of the same faces,” Mrs Charlton said.
“We’ve been working with the Rural Group team through this whole process — there has been great communication. In turn, we offer professional development, a new outlook and opportunities to grow the business in a sustainable way.”
A national human resources, marketing and service business management team will also provide additional whole-of-business support to the locally focused dealership teams.
Mrs Charlton said AEH was currently recruiting for multiple management, sales, parts and service roles to meet demand as the business expanded.
She said customers would soon see some exciting new machinery brands in the yards.
“AEH is pleased to have successfully joined forces with Rural Group to continue to offer (a combined) 600 years of experience to the local community.”
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