September 2011
The Arizona Machinery Group Just Got Bigger
Arizona Machinery is proud to announce its acquisition of seven new stores in Arizona, Colorado, and Northern New Mexico! On August 29, 2011, Arizona Machinery purchased all of the assets of Central Implement, a John Deere dealership operating out of facilities in Casa Grande, Tucson, Thatcher, Willcox and Stanfield, Arizona as well as Cortez, Colorado and Farmington, New Mexico. With this transaction, our company has grown into an operation doing business out of 21 locations across 8 states under the names of Arizona Machinery, AA Equipment, and Greenline Equipment (see map below).
The acquisition of Central Implement's assets is particularly meaningful because most of the Arizona portion of Central's business had at one time been a part of Arizona Machinery. Those of you that read the history article in our last newsletter will recall that from 1947 to 1959 Arizona Machinery covered almost the entire state of Arizona for John Deere and Caterpillar with two of their seven stores in Casa Grande and Tucson. Today, the John Deere territory for our business looks much like it did in the 1950's, comprising virtually the entire state with the exception of Yuma and the area along the Colorado River.
Though the bulk of Central's business pertains to the agriculture industry, they were a John Deere commercial and lawn and garden dealer at most of their locations as well. We are excited to bring this issue of Turf Clips to many of Central's customers for the first time, and we look forward to building upon the relationships many of you had with Central over the years. It may take a little time before we have all of our Arizona locations operating as one team, but as we move in this direction, you can be sure that our vision for all locations is to make life easier for you, our customer.
Buffalo Turbine Debris Blower
Arizona Machinery is proud to carry Buffalo Turbine's outstanding line of debris blowers. For over 63 years Buffalo Turbine products have been engineered and manufactured to be durable, lightweight, easy to operate and service. The unique Turbine Design provides superior performance and satisfaction which equates to a faster return on your investment. Let's take a closer look at our fastest selling blower and one of Buffalo's newest products.
Cyclone KB-4
Physical Specifications:
• Overall Length: 102”
• Overall Height: 38.5”
• Overal Width: 48”
• Weight: 470 lbs.
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HEAVY DUTY CONSTRUCTION
• HEAVY STEEL CONSTRUCTION
• POWDER COATED FOR DURABILITY
• POLYCARBONATE FENDERS
• FULL ONE YEAR WARRANTY
• AEROSPACE POLYMER NOZZLE
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KOHLER POWDERED
• KOHLER COMMAND PRO 27 HP ENGINE
• V-TWIN
• AIR COOLED
• ELECTRIC START
• ELECTRONIC IGNITION SYSTEM
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WIRELESS REMOTE CONTROL
• THROZZLE CONTROL
• 360° NOZZLE ROTATION
• WEATHER RESISTANT
• DURABLE BELT CLIP
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OPTIONS
• RECTANGULAR NOZZLES
• HOUR METER
• HEAVY DUTY AIRCLEANER
• FISHTAIL NOZZLE #1743
(Converts blower to Greensfan)
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Buffalo Turbine products are made in the USA with state of the art manufacturing equipment and procedures. This allows the best value without compromising quality.
The Best Just Got Better
The new
Cyclone2 (Squared) like the model KB Blowers is an industry first, and is now the most dominant debris blower available in the Golf industry. The twin turbo design, powered by the whopping 40 HP Kohler Command Pro 40 engine, uses Buffalo Turbine's proprietary wireless system to control both the throttle and nozzles. Buffalo Turbine's new
Cyclone2 (Squared) has escalated debris removal to a new level and will complete jobs faster while paying for itself in time and labor savings.
Physical Specifications:
• Overall Length: 105"
• Overall Height: 40"
• Overall Width: 68"
• Weight: 750 lbs.
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Independently Controlled
Nozzles
3600 Nozzle Rotation
Heavy Duty Welded
Construction |
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40 HP KOHLER
COMMAND PRO 40 ENGINE
Air Cooled V-Twin
Remote Throttle Control
Heavy Duty Air Cleaner
Quick Change Oil Filter
Electronic Ignition System
Two Barrel Carburetor |
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Options
Rectangular Nozzles (10" or 19")
Maintenance Meter
Nozzle Extension 10-20"
10" Round Nozzle
18" Grease Gun Extension |
History of Arizona Machinery, Part 2
Fred Elder,
Founder,
Arizona Machinery
In 1959, after being diagnosed with cancer, Jim Deaderick sold off the business to various buyers including his partner and our founder, Fred Elder. Fred retained the John Deere business in Maricopa County, and continued to operate under the Arizona Machinery name. Under Fred's leadership, the company continued the growth it had begun in the 1940's, and built a reputation for unbeatable parts and service to match the quality of its John Deere products. In 1967, John Deere entered into the construction equipment business for the first time, and Fred was awarded this contract for Arizona. Because John Deere wanted their new industrial line to be operated separate from their ag business, Fred created Arizona Industrial Machinery. Arizona Machinery continued to focus its efforts solely on the agricultural market within Maricopa County.
Ferenc Rosztoczy
with wife
Diane Elder Rosztoczy
In 1975, after a bout with lung cancer, Fred Elder passed away, survived by his second wife Betsy and his two children: Diane Elder Rosztoczy and Tom Elder. Tom took over control of the industrial business, but the family was looking for someone to run Arizona Machinery. Ultimately, they decided to hand over the reigns to Diane's husband, Ferenc Rosztoczy. A Hungarian immigrant with a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from UC Berkeley, Rosztoczy came into the business with no working knowledge of the farm implement business. Ferenc and Diane relocated their family to Phoenix as Ferenc left his position as a scientist in the San Francisco Bay Area to take over the helm of his father-in-law's business. Standing at 5' 8" tall, weighing in at 155 pounds soaking wet, and with a very strong accent (his kids worked hard trying to teach him how to pronounce the word "tractor"), it is interesting to ponder how Ferenc was first embraced by the key personnel at the company.
Most likely, nobody could have possibly predicted how well Ferenc would do. His firm hand and intelligent direction guided the company for over 30 years through both the booms and the busts of the local agricultural industry. Rosztoczy quickly recognized the need to diversify the company's interests so the company could continue to grow as the area's cotton farms gradually gave way to residential subdivisions. In 1979, the company picked up John Deere's "consumer products" line of equipment, which included residential lawn mowers, compact tractors and commercial mowers to maintain large areas of turf. In 1986, John Deere rewarded Arizona Machinery's quality performance with one of the nation's first golf and turf distributorships.
In 1987, Ferenc's oldest son, Tom Rosztoczy, graduated from Stanford University and came to work for the company, planning to work for a couple years and then attend business school. Tom enjoyed the business and quickly concluded that two years of experience may be more beneficial than two more years of education, so he never went back for the MBA. In 1998, Ferenc promoted Tom to the position of President. At the time, Ferenc was passing to his son a business that was financially strong, had a long history of providing excellent service to its customers and was loaded with talented people – a business poised to grow if the opportunity arose.
Tom Rosztoczy looked out into a landscape in which it appeared that John Deere dealers must grow if they wanted to succeed. With no opportunities nearby, Ferenc and Tom had started looking elsewhere. In 1987, Arizona Machinery acquired EZ Equipment, a small John Deere dealership located in the San Diego area. This small acquisition proved to be just the tip of the ice berg, as growth has been a major theme of the organization under Tom's leadership.
Tune in to our next edition of Turf Clips for Part 3 of our History.
Click here to read Part 1 of our history.
Best in the Desert TSCO Vegas to Reno Desert Race
Collision Ends Race Team's Chances in the TSCO Las Vegas to Reno Race.
On Friday August 19th Scott's Gator race team competed at the Best in the Desert TSCO Vegas to Reno desert race. On the starting line for this 550 mile off-road race were 14 cars in the Pro UTV class representing 5 UTV manufacturers. Though Scott's John Deere Gator was one of the 14, it didn't take long before circumstances started working against he and his team.
Scott shared, "Eight miles into the race our Gator was hit by another car in our class. The collision caused extensive damage that led to a chain reaction of mechanical failures that we fought all day to overcome. In the end we simply ran out of time and were forced to retire at pit 5, 194 miles into the race". This resulted in an 11th place finish and keeps the team in 7th place in points for the season.
The good news is that the car can be repaired and will be ready to rock for the BlueWater Desert Challenge, October 14th-16th in Parker Arizona. Stay tuned.
Frontier Arena Rake - Smooth Going for Horse Owners
This is the only arena rake you will ever need to buy!
"Use the right tool for the job." That bit of sound advice should lead many arena owners to the Frontier arena rakes. Many horse owners use a chain drag or some kind of modified tillage tool to rake their arenas. These implements don't properly firm and level an arena surface like the Frontier Riata Rake does. With some tools, the surface can look level, but there are hidden pockets or soft spots that don't show up until a horse loses footing.
The Fronteir Riata Rake is designed so it won't dig too deep. Some modified tillage tools can get sucked down where they pull up rocks or subsoil that's under the arena's sand, sawdust, or other surface material. With the Frontier Riata Rake, you set the right working depth for your arena, and it won't go deeper. Frontier customers really like how our rake levels and firms all in one pass.
Hector Albarran
Chandler Inside Sales
"Frontiers' Riata Rakes have been a strong product line with the equine market here in Arizona," says Hector Albarran, Arizona Machinery's inside salesman in Chandler. "We sell equipment to several local world class training facilities that demand the very best in arena footing. They are the first to tell me how happy they are with the quality of the rake and the finishing it gives their arenas."
The Frontier rake may cost a bit more than some competitors, but the performance is excellent and it's built to last. We believe that for many customers this may be the only arena rake you will ever need to buy.
