AHW Announces Consolidation of Service Departments at the Watseka and Hoopeston Locations
(PRWEB) March 14, 2016 -- AHW, your local John Deere dealer in east central Illinois and western Indiana, has made an announcement regarding two of their eastern Illinois locations in Watseka and Hoopeston. AHW has decided to consolidate the service departments of these two locations and move the service department to the Hoopeston location.
AHW Chief Operating Officer, Chad Braden, and the Watseka Store Manager Phil Scheiwe said this change is aimed at making better use of the facilities in AHW’s possession.
“We are just looking for a way to get better utilization of the facilities that we have,” Braden said. “Despite some of the rumors that have been circulating, we are not leaving town, it’s not that dramatic, we’re just trying to be smart about how we run our business, and get the most benefit out of what we have. The Watseka location will continue to offer a full line of parts and sales just as you experience today.”
In terms of how moving the service department from Watseka to Hoopeston will affect customers, Braden believes the effects on customers will be minimal. “I really don’t think there’s going to be any big change” he said. “We will still service this area with the same familiar techs that our customers have seen in the past.” Scheiwe added “Our lawn and garden department will not change either. We will continue to service lawn and garden products from the Watseka location, the same as in the past.”
“The Watseka facility has served us well over the years, but the equipment that’s manufactured today has out grown this facility” Braden said. “The Hoopeston facility has recently added an addition to its service department that is capable of accommodating the larger equipment of today’s farming industry,” he continued.
The Watseka location will be installing a new phone system that will enhance the communication abilities between Watseka and Hoopeston. “For instance, a customer could be speaking to our parts department in Watseka and be transferred to our service department in Hoopeston seamlessly,” said Braden.
AHW will utilize their Watseka service facility by moving the Green Fun Store, which specializes in online sales, to the service area of the Route 1 location. The Green Fun Store and Green Parts Store online sales have increased over the last couple of years to the point, they too, have out grown their facilities. The current Green Fun Store is located on 2nd street in downtown Watseka. AHW also rents another location for storage that is susceptible to flooding, which has caused damage to merchandise in the past. So by moving both of these to the Rt. 1 location, they will have significantly more room and storage at one location along with much easier access for shipping and receiving. They will also be more efficient because everyone is at one facility.
Along with the needed space for the Green Fun Store, AHW will also utilize this location for a Central Parts Warehouse and Distribution center. The location is ideal for this, since it is centralized in the AHW trade area. The vendor direct and large quantity orders from John Deere will be sent to the Watseka location and dispersed to our other locations leaving surplus inventory in the Watseka parts warehouse.
AHW plans to have the transition completed by late March of this year.
As the region’s largest John Deere dealer, AHW LLC delivers a full range of equipment, products, and services to agricultural producers in Northeastern and Central Illinois and Western Indiana. As a John Deere dealer, AHW LLC can help producers increase productivity, efficiency, and profitability. Access to all of their products and services can be found at http://www.ahwllc.com.
Chad Braden, AHW, http://www.ahwllc.com, +1 217-276-2763, [email protected]
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