Smoother Roads Ahead - John Deere Industrial Engines

DISTRIBUTOR NEWSOur Hats AreOff to YouAfter decades of quality service, several foundingJohn Deere engine distributors retire their careersTwo John Deere engine distributorships in Canada bode farewellto their leaders who recently retired from their positions afterdecades of service in the diesel engine business.Among them, Diesel-Bec, Inc., of Boisbriand, Quebec, changedownership last year as the company’s original three owners decidedto retire from the engine business after 24 years. Diesel-Becwas formed in 1981 and became a John Deere distributor in thesame year. The founding partners who are now retired includeAndre Lachapelle, former president and sales manager; Jean GuyDrolet, who served as vice president and product support manager;Retiring from Diesel-Bec, Inc., of Boisbriand, Quebec are founding members(from left) Jean Guy Drolet, Andre Lachapelle, and Gaston Franc.Former EastcoastPower general managerDavid Sansomand his wife, Brenda,look forward to theirretirement years withtheir yellow lab,Amber.and Gaston Franc, the company’s former secretary treasurer andmarine sales manager. The company’s new owner and president isYves Levesque.Also retired is David Sansom, former general manager of EastcoastPower Systems of Fredericton, New Brunswick. EastcoastPower is a division of Sansom Equipment and was formed in 1991to distribute John Deere engines. Although now retired, Sansomcontinues to serve as part owner in Eastcoast Power and its parentcompany, which was formed in 1964 under joint ownership betweenSansom and Wilson families. Jim Wilson, one of the company’spartners, now assumes the role of Eastcoast’s new generalmanager.When asked about his years as an engine distributor, Sansomsays his company’s success is the result of selling quality productsand providing strong customer service. “Customer acceptance ofthe John Deere product has been wonderful over the years,” relatesSansom. He says the reasons for the high customer acceptanceare twofold: John Deere builds a reputable product, and EastcoastPower and Sansom Equipment have always been willing to “gothe extra mile” for its customers. Says Sansom: “I like to thinkthat’s where we excel and have built our reputation over the past42 years.”CalendarLook for John Deere engines and drivetraincomponents at these upcoming tradeshows,conventions, and exhibits.APRIL, 200624–29 INTERMAT, Paris, FranceAUGUST, 200629–31 Farm Progress, Amana, IA, U.S.A.SEPTEMBER, 200612–14 Husker Harvest, Grand Island, NE, U.S.A.OCTOBER, 20064–7 GeoFluid, Piacenza, ItalyNOVEMBER, 200628–30 PowerGen, Orlando, FL, U.S.A.DECEMBER, 200614–16 SAMATEC, Madrid, SpainJANUARY, 200724–25 World of Concrete, Las Vegas, NV, U.S.A.FEBRUARY, 200713–15 World Ag Expo, Tulare, CA, U.S.A.PowerSource 23