KIOTI DEALER MEETING
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KIOTI DEALER MEETING
“ It ’ s about people ,” said Tim Phillips , National Sales Manager for Kioti Tractor , when I asked him why dealers attend the company ’ s dealer meeting . The manufacturer did not unveil or announce new tractors or power equipment at its dealer meeting , held Nov . 13-14 in Raleigh , N . C . Kioti dealers already knew about the SL and TL750 ( lower left photo ) compact loaders ; they have been waiting for a year or more for that compact construction equipment . They had heard about the new 7340 tractor , the diesel zero-turn mower , the utility vehicles and more .
“ These meetings are important for relationships ,” said Pat Lyons , owner of Pat ’ s Power Equipment , in Charlestown , R . I ., who attended the Kioti meeting with his son Tim . “ The meeting includes a lot of good education sessions , and we do share and learn from other dealers . That kind of professional networking , that ’ s the number one thing .”
“ The Ride & Drive helps a lot ,” added Tim Lyons . “ We don ’ t get to try all these vehicles otherwise . It can be hard to make equipment decisions based only on a visit from the manufacturer rep .”
Equipment Testing I watched the Lyons father-son duo as they evaluated attachments on a Kioti CS tractor ( lower right photo ) at the Ride & Drive site . Their dealership in Rhode Island provides a large market for equipment of varying sizes . “ We sell a lot of subcompact tractors ,” said Pat Lyons . “ And we ’ ll go back to our store and talk with people about these attachments and other things we saw at this meeting .”
The TL and SL750 compact loaders were the most popular vehicles at the
farm test site . Kioti had several models of both the skid-steer SL and tracked TL vehicles equipped with a variety of attachments for brief evaluations . Most dealers I spoke with about this compact construction equipment seemed interested in ordering the TL and SL machines – though some were more committed than others .
Mike Bolivar owns OCR Equipment & Rental in Nova Scotia . I spoke with Bolivar before he tested the new loaders , and he was interested , but not at a six-vehicle minimum order . Mike Elpers , of Straub Outdoor in Evansville , Ind ., said , they ’ re interested in the compact equipment , but that his dealership was “ probably a Stage 2 delivery for
CEO Peter Kim ( fifth from left ) seemed to enjoy the awards celebration as much as any dealer .
Kioti ,” he said . “ They ’ re providing these first to dealers who are already in the compact equipment market or on the construction side .”
Quintin Aune , meanwhile , is ready for the new TL and SL equipment . With three dealerships in western Montana , he and LTTM , LLC owner Larry Corona have a proven marketplace for this type of equipment .
“ This compact construction equipment is opening a new segment for us ,” said Kioti ’ s Phillips . I asked him how many dealers are ordering the TL and SL equipment , and he said , “ We are here to gauge interest in that . We are working through a process that will probably take another year .”
6 OPE Business December 2023 www . OPEBusiness . com