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Minnesota RDO facility gets upsized to fit today’s massive equipment

When RDO Equipment Co. in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, had to start taking the air out of combine tires to get them inside for service, they knew it was time for a bigger shop. That new shop is now open.

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The grand reopening at RDO Equipment Co. in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, on Aug. 27, 2024.
Contributed / RDO

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. — A remodel of the RDO Equipment Company in Fergus Falls was brought up 15 years ago, when RDO acquired the business from Interstate Service, also a John Deere equipment dealer. The work towards making that remodel a reality began in earnest about three years ago. One big reason behind that remodel included a need to fit the growing size of equipment inside for service.

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Kasey Lindstrom, store manager at RDO Equipment Co., in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.
Michael Johnson / Agweek

“We knew when we acquired this location that it was going to need something bigger,” said Kacey Lindstrom, RDO Equipment store manager in Fergus Falls. “There was a time, three years ago, when one of the newer combines came in here that we had to take the air out of the tires in order for it to even fit in the door. That’s obvious. We couldn't fit some things inside without taking duals off.”

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There was a need for a larger footprint in both height and width to maintain service and do so safely, Lindstrom explained. A groundbreaking for the project began in April 2023.

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RDO Equipment Co. team members stand ready to dig during a ground breaking in April 2023.
Contributed / RDO

On Aug. 27, the equipment, parts and service center reopened its doors with an entire face-lift and increased space that the crew is excited to utilize.

The project addressed more than 30,000 square feet of refreshed and new floor space. A 10-bay service shop with increased door size allows big equipment inside the new 12,000-square-foot shop. Five-ton cranes inside fully cover the shop’s needs. The center has a designated service center for lawn and garden equipment repairs, as well. The business also has five service trucks and three service technicians that can work on equipment in the field.

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Dakotah Revering, a service technician at RDO Equipment Co., in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, works on a John Deere combine on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024.
Michael Johnson / Agweek

Following a grand reopening, the facility was alive with activity with five combines and a couple of tractors parked inside for service with plenty of room to spare. That many combines inside is a sign that farmers are prepping for fall harvest.

With the expansion of the facility also comes an additional five staff members to the team, Lindstrom said. That includes three new service technicians. She said that would help them be even more responsive to the urgent needs of producers in the region. Lindstrom has been a part of the Fergus Falls team for a decade and has been with RDO for about 19 years.

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Parts specialist Austin Aasness collects parts on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, from a tray of a vertical lift module, a new parts storage system at the RDO Equipment Co., in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.
Michael Johnson / Agweek

A smaller but powerful part of the innovations at the new facility is the addition of a vertical lift module which stores an expansive amount of parts in one enclosed space. When team members need a part, they can enter in the part code on a screen and the parts are moved down from their trays from high overhead and lowered at waist height for staff to retrieve. Austin Aasness, a parts specialist at the store, plucked the parts he needed on Tuesday and said the new module added significant efficiencies to his work.

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The parts side of the business is a busy one, as more and more farmers are holding onto equipment and maintaining what they have.

“We’re currently in that shift of the sales are going down. We’re in an unpredictable time, grain prices are not good,” Lindstrom said. In the last couple of years, they have seen more people keeping and maintaining equipment, which has led to an increase in their parts sales.

Lindstrom said they stand ready to provide equipment users with advisement on how to keep their equipment working or to offer service themselves.

“We are always available we have our connected support, and service support and parts support,” Lindstrom said.

The Fergus Falls location is one of more than 80 RDO Equipment locations across the U.S. along with partnerships in Africa, Australia, Mexico, and Ukraine.

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There were five John Deere combines parked inside the 10 door service bay Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, at RDO Equipment Co., in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.
Michael Johnson / Agweek

Michael Johnson is the news editor for Agweek. He lives in rural Deer Creek, Minn., where he is starting to homestead with his two children and wife.
You can reach Michael at mjohnson@agweek.com or 218-640-2312.
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