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Gooseneck Implement: Move-in day nears for huge Kenmare store . . .

Kenmare area producers will buy parts for their John Deere equipment and attend combine clinics in the new Gooseneck Implement facility after the New Year rolls around, according to manager Kevin Borud.

11/07/12 (Wed)

Countdown to the opening . . . Crews worked inside and outside
Kenmare's new Gooseneck Implement shop, office, showroom
and parts building last week.  The scheduled completion date is
in late December, with sales and service operations starting in
January 2013.   In the above photo, the main entrance with
its towering windows can be seen at center, with one of the shop
doors open at the rear of the facility. Kenmare's Gooseneck Implement
will be the only John Deere dealership in the nation to feature
a beauty salon, which will be operated by stylist Jessilynn Borud
after the new building opens for business.

 

Construction could be
completed by Christmas

By Caroline Downs

Kenmare area producers will buy parts for their John Deere equipment and attend combine clinics in the new Gooseneck Implement facility after the New Year rolls around, according to manager Kevin Borud.

The dealership, now located on the southeast side of Kenmare along U.S. Highway 52 and housing the offices, showroom, parts counter and shop, is expected to open early in 2013. The new and used equipment has been parked at the location since August, when Gooseneck Implement turned over its former yard on the north side of Kenmare to new owner Eagle Operating, Inc.

“Right now, we’re saying the completion date [for the new building] is by the 23rd of December,” Borud said, adding he thought moving the offices and inventory would take about a month. “We expect to be doing business out of there in January sometime.”

The new facility in Kenmare resulted from extensive study of other dealerships and similar businesses around the country, with Borud and other staff members providing input for the building’s design.

Dirt work started on the site last spring, with construction of the 72’ x 250’ cold storage building beginning in July. That building is now finished, with three-quarters of the structure filled with combines and other equipment to be serviced by Gooseneck technicians. “We store around 30 combines to work on through the winter,” Borud said.

A 72’ x 80’ section on the south end of the cold storage building has been temporarily transformed into a shop area. “We’re also renting shop space for now at Nick Schumacher’s farm,” Borud said, adding that staff members have remained positive about working in the temporary conditions.

The main building features two levels, with a 100’ x 200’ shop area under construction east of the office area, complete with a separate wash bay and tool room connected to the shop by overhead doors.

The showroom, offices and parts area sprawl across a 100’ x 160’ space on the main level. A two-story wall of windows surrounding the main entrance offers one of the area’s best views of the Des Lacs Lakes and the rolling crop fields and prairie landscape southwest of Kenmare.

Visitors can enjoy that view from the large lounge area planned for the northwest corner of the showroom. “This is where we’ll serve coffee and cookies to our customers,” Borud said.

Offices begin on the north side and extend across the east end of the showroom, with the parts counter located on the south side. The parts inventory will be housed in its own section behind the counter, as well as on the second floor immediately above the counter.

The second level contains additional offices, an employee break-room, and a conference room equipped with state-of-the-art technology for meetings and customer clinics.

“This is going to give us so much more room,” Borud said. “We just ran out of space at the other place. Everyone was doubled up in offices.”

Crews were completing sheetrock and electrical work last week, with painting expected to being on Monday. The showroom floor will be covered by a cement-granite surface, while the offices still need to be carpeted.

New building important to
recruit, retain quality staff
The buildings have gone up quickly, with few delays. Borud hired Kiehm Construction Inc. of Lakeville, MN, and he has been pleased with the results. “I’m very impressed with the builders, the engineers, everybody working on this,” he said. “They’re on a schedule, they’re organized, and they’re good at doing what they say they’re going to do.”

Borud started designing the project more than two years ago and announced plans in January 2011 to acquire the property and begin the expansion.

“We’ve just outgrown this building,” he said from his office at the current location. “With the bigger machinery, we need more room for parts and service.”

Borud also considered the new facility as a way to recruit and retain employees. “I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the good people we have here,” he said. “[The new building and shop] will help us hang onto the key people we have already and hire more. We’re looking for technicians and I’d like to add at least five or six employees.”

A John Deere dealership has operated in Kenmare since the mid-1930s, although Borud’s father, Darrell Borud, is the owner who settled on the name Gooseneck Implement. Since Kevin Borud has operated the business, Gooseneck Implement has grown to include dealerships in Minot, Williston, Harvey, Rugby, Velva, Mohall and Stanley.

This expansion will be Borud’s second in Kenmare. He purchased the dealership from his father in 1989, then relocated the business in 1994 to its current site at the former Harris Equipment building and acreage.

Borud acknowledged conditions for his staff and customers are not perfect right now, with technicians working in two different shops and the office in a third location. However, sales and service have continued through the construction process, and the new building will be open for business in a matter of weeks. “We see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Borud said.