A 50-plus-year-old Idaho equipment dealership has a new location for its sales, parts and service shop in Jerome, Idaho. Mountain View Equipment Company moved into a brand-new $10 million facility just off I-84 Exit 165 in Jerome in April. The new location for the longtime Magic Valley business will increase the dealership’s visibility, exposure and access, says CEO Randy Stewart.
“People can now drive by, see something they like and swing in because we are right off the exit,” Stewart says. “Plus, with trucks and trailers, it takes a lot of room to maneuver them around. The increased acreage at this location is going to work well for us and our customers.”
At the end of March, customers and staff helped drive nearly 25 pieces of equipment, including tractors, choppers and combines, from the dealership’s former store on South Lincoln Avenue in Jerome to the new location. The midmorning equipment parade through town included throwing candy to onlookers and a police escort.
“This new building is a symbol of 30 years of hard work by a lot of dedicated employees,” Stewart says. “It’s a monument to expansion, and I hope it tells the Magic Valley ag community that we are here for the long haul.”
The new facility sits on 13 acres and includes a shop with nine service bays, a 10-ton overhead crane and 5,000 square feet of parts storage. The repair shop in the new facility will be nearly twice as large as the company’s previous location. More overall space and a dedicated workstation for each mechanic should improve the shop’s ability to turn around multiple repair jobs at one time, says service manager Zach Rivers.
Customers helped drive tractors and other equipment to Mountain View Equipment’s new location during an equipment parade through Jerome in March. Photo by Walt Cooley.
“The new shop space is a big thing for us,” Rivers says. “In our previous facility, workflow was difficult. We couldn’t stage jobs, so each job was managed one-in, one-out. Now each technician has their own area to work in and to take pride in, knowing nobody else is going to use that space. Overall, it’s going to be more efficient for us to get jobs in and out.”
Time between breakdown and repair was already fast, says Bruce Kulm, a Jerome farmer and Mountain View Equipment client. He says he hasn’t been without a tractor that he sent to them for repairs for more than a day. He anticipates the new facility will help the business maintain the quick turnaround time he has come to expect.
“I’m not expecting anything less,” Kulm says. “The service and everything through them has been phenomenal for us. You just feel like they have your back.”
Mountain View Equipment began operating in Jerome in 1995. Back then, a single rep sold equipment from the tailgate of a pickup truck and parts were available for pick up at a small shipping container. Stewart says the business has been fortunate to grow along with the growth of the dairy industry in the Magic Valley. The Jerome store now represents more than 50% of the company’s overall business.
Service technician Marcus Heck works on a repair inside Mountain View Equipment’s new shop. The building has nine service bays. The shop floor is half the size of a football field. Photo by Walt Cooley.
“Mountain View Equipment sets the bar for other companies we work with in the Magic Valley,” says Lason Cope, forage chopping manager for Big Sky Dairies. “Their service has been top notch. I've had breakdowns late at night, but by the next morning, it's running. They'll work until 2 a.m. if they must; not a lot of dealerships will do that.”
From selling equipment out of the back of a pickup truck, the business has come a long way in Jerome.
“We feel the dairy industry will be a long-term industry in the Magic Valley, and we plan to continue to grow with it going forward,” Stewart says.
In addition to offering agriculture brands such as CLAAS, MacDon, Oxbo and Parma, Mountain View Equipment will also begin carrying commercial landscape equipment. They also offer same-day repairs for commercial landscapers out of their new location.
“It’s very unusual in the mowing industry to get same-day turnaround from a service department," Stewart says. "A lot of commercial landscapers bring their mowers in and have to wait sometimes three to four weeks to get them turned around. Same-day service is now available in Jerome.”
The new Jerome location is one of four locations for Mountain View Equipment, in addition to stores in Homedale, Idaho; Meridian, Idaho; and Sunnyside, Washington. The Jerome location will provide service for equipment as far as eastern Idaho, southwestern Montana and northern Nevada.
