Claas’s company-owned, five-outlet Canada West Harvest Centre dealership chain announced in October it was adding Horsch equipment to its retail lineup.
The addition fills the gap not covered by Claas’s own product family and now gives the dealership a full-line offering.
“Having a full equipment lineup is great, and the Horsch and Claas product offerings complement each other perfectly,” says Mike Malmgren, CWHC dealership general manager.Â
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“Being able do most of our business with two main suppliers makes it easier for my team, so we can devote more of our energy to serving our customers.”
Adding the CWHC network will now give Horsch broad dealer coverage across most of Saskatchewan.
Initially, Horsch’s North American distribution was centred in the United States and its equipment wasn’t widely represented in Canada.
In 2020, however, Horsch created a Canadian subsidiary that now focuses exclusively on the Canadian market. Since then, its dealer network has expanded, and it now has a 10,000 sq. foot parts distribution warehouse in Saskatoon.
Malmgren says the new distribution facility was a key factor in deciding to go with Horsch.
“This might have been the most critical factor in making the decision.”
Adds Laurent Letzter, Horsch’s managing director: “We started initial discussions at the beginning of this year…. The rest was just getting to learn about each other, seeing the details of how to do business together. Because there are a lot of Claas dealers in Europe that also sell Horsch, there was also a lot of consulting.”
Malmgren notes that being able to get into the seeding equipment market with Horsch equipment will be an important benefit for CWHC.
Letzter says there will soon be additional introductions from the brand on that front as well.
“We’re going to design some air drills specific to Saskatchewan (conditions). For us being a general seed drill manufacturer, we didn’t have those very particular demands. We’re making updates.”
Adds Malmgren: “We’re also very excited about the (Horsch) self-propelled and pull-type sprayers.… Starting now we’ve got a limited number of sprayers, tillage and seeding tools available to select customers.”
Initially, the number of machines available through CWHC will be limited as the dealership chain ramps up to ensure it can properly support and service the equipment, which includes getting staff trained to sell and service them.
“We have a limited selection of machines we want to sell to their trusted customers … so we can see how everything works on the parts and service side and train their employees, their product specialists, service people,” says Letzter.
The training will take place at a new North American marketing and training centre Horsch is establishing in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“I think every small airport on the Prairies has a direct flight to Minneapolis,” adds Letzter.
“We’re setting it up as we speak.”
Malmgren said the company is adding more staff to support the Horsch line.
“We’re learning, and that takes time. We are going to grow responsibly and make sure we can support what we sell,” he says.
“This is CWHC’s 10th year in business and this major expansion in our product offering is well-timed.… Adding Horsch to our dealership makes us stronger.”
