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Jan. 18, 2024
By Ben Thorpe, Farm Equipment magazine There are few dealer success stories larger than that of Titan Machinery. From humble beginnings as Co-Founder David Meyer's 2-store North Dakota operation in 1980 to the 147-store publicly-traded powerhouse it is today, the almost half-century history of Titan Machinery is full of progressive business practices and mentalities. Core to the company's successes are Meyer himself and the man who was a partner in elevating the dealership to "titanic" heights: Peter Christianson. Titan Machinery, Fargo, N.D. Primary lines: Case IH, New Holland, Case Construction, Brent, Unverferth, Parker, Geringhoff, MacDon, Salford, KwikTill, Top Air, YieldTrac, Westfield Meyer, who will step down as CEO on Feb. 1, remains Titan's executive chairman and the chairman of the board, while Christianson retired in 2017, having served as Titan Machinery's president, CFO and COO at different points along the way. Their careers were built on breaking the mold. The company survived by leaning into selling rather than pulling back during the tough 1980s, followed by a series of rapid acquisitions in early 2000s. Understanding how important capital was for their own growth, the pair took the company public in December 2007. Titan Machinery was also among the first North American dealerships to go international by expanding into the Black Sea region in 2012. Humble Beginnings Meyer's entry into the ag equipment industry began in 1975 as a Case 4WD tractor product specialist straight out of college. But his time with the OEM was short-lived, and he knew he'd much prefer to work on the dealer end of things. By November 1975, he was working for the Case dealership Meyer-Jones Farm Store in Wahpeton, N.D., and became a minority shareholder along with Case blockman Darrell Larson in 1976. In September 1977, Meyer and Larson started a second location in Lisbon, N.D. In 1980, recognizing their success was rapidly raising the value of a business they intended to one day buy, Meyer and Larson bought out the dealership's majority shareholders and formally started the corporation that is Titan Machinery today. Christianson, meanwhile, entered the ag equipment industry in 1972 at his family's Steiger dealership, Christianson's Inc., in Elbow Lake, Minn. The dealership was run by his father, Earl, who not only played a pivotal role in the initial development of the Steiger 4WD tractor but was the first and ultimately one of the largest Steiger dealers. To read the entire article click here. Tweet |
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