Robert’s Farm Equipment will be moving out of its location on Highway 6, north of Mount Forest, to a brand new facility on Sligo Road West.
The newly-built structure has double the floor space of the existing building, and the footprint of the property has grown from 1.9 acres to almost 12 acres.
The business will be celebrating its grand opening of the new building on Sept. 1. There will be a barbecue, facility tours, door prizes and in-store specials. Everyone is invited to the ribbon cutting planned for 11am to officially open the new shop.
“We’re excited to get to the new facility, and it’s just going to make us more efficient and better serve the community,” said Shane Wanless, manager of the Mount Forest shop.
Co-owner Brian Osterndorff said the move is a big step for the company.
“It’s a lot bigger facility than what we had before. Our business has grown so much that we’ve outgrown the facility that we’re in,” said Osterndorff.
“It’s going to allow us to give our customer’s better service than what we’ve had before.”
Robert’s Farm Equipment is a family business, owned for 48 years by the Osterndorff family. The business is one of the largest new and used farming equipment dealers in mid-western Ontario.
Featuring brands such as New Holland, Kubota and Cub Cadet, among others, the business sells construction, agriculture, recreation and lawn and garden equipment.
The business carries parts and offers equipment service at all three of its locations (the other two are in Chesley and Lucknow). Robert’s also offers a mobile service that allows technicians to go to the farmer.
Robert Osterndorff, a mechanic, opened his repair shop on his farm in Brant Township. In 1968, he took on the Ford tractor franchise and officially opened the farm equipment and repair business on his homestead.
In 1989, the Osterndorff’s relocated Robert’s Farm Equipment to its current location in Chesley. Robert’s sons Bruce and Brian helped run the business and in 2006 they opened a second location in Lucknow.
Robert’s Farm Equipment opened its store in Mount Forest in 2010, buying Watson Tractor when Lloyd and Cathy Watson retired.
“We’ve grown at a fairly fast pace in the last 20 years … and even in the last ten years, it’s been a big growth spike for us,” said Brian.
“Our staff is an outstanding group; we couldn’t do what we do without them.”
Founder Robert passed away in 2004 from cancer. The Osterndorff brothers held a pink tractor raffle in memory of their father and to celebrate the shop’s 40th anniversary. The event collected over $30,000, which was donated to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Brian explained giving back to communities is important to him. This year, Robert’s Farm Equipment helped support the Mount Forest Fireworks Festival. “We support all of the communities that we have businesses in,” he said.
“That’s what drives our business, (the) community, so we feel it’s important to help give back.”
Brian explained that a lot has changed over the years in the industry.
“We’ve had to adapt to technology, which farmers have had to adapt to as well,” he said.
But the business remains committed to service.
“It’s always been a service-oriented business for us. And Bruce and I, that’s all we’ve ever done is this business … we grew up on the farm, and we understand what the farmer goes through when … they need equipment fixed,” he said.
The Robert’s Farm Equipment grand opening is scheduled for 10am to 3pm on Sept. 1 at 435 Sligo Road West, Mount Forest.
