Metcalf is a seasoned professional who spent 11 years working the sales territory of northern Virginia for James River from its Manassas Park location.
James River Equipment, the construction and forestry machine dealership with more than 30 locations in Virginia and the two Carolinas, has announced that Dan Metcalf has been tapped to be the general manager of the company’s Asheville, N.C., store.
Metcalf is a seasoned professional who spent 11 years working the sales territory of northern Virginia for James River from its Manassas Park location. Prior to that, he was a sales coordinator and inventory manager, also in Manassas Park.
Metcalf grew up around equipment and at a young age worked with his father to operate a mulch business. When his dad retired, they sold the business and the younger Metcalf began working for a dirt contractor in Virginia. After a few years in that business, he went to work for James River.
He began his new assignment in Asheville on May 1.
James River’s Asheville store is a relatively new location for the company. The dealership was purchased by James River four years ago from Flint Equipment Co.
A Dynamic Market
Metcalf sees a lot of fresh opportunities for James River in the fast-growing Asheville area based on the amount of construction happening there.
“There is a lot of new site work and road work going on here,” Metcalf said. “I know the aggregate business in this area is a strong point in western North Carolina, too. I also believe that we could get a little more of the forestry business, as well. Our machines can compete with anything our competitors have and I think there is a lot of business with the market coming back that we hope to not miss out on now that we have expanded products and offerings.”
A Diverse Line of Products
The Asheville location of James River Equipment, like all of its stores, is a John Deere dealership. Asheville stocks a full line of construction and forestry equipment manufactured by John Deere, including the manufacturer’s line of Commercial Worksite Products (CWP), made up of mini-excavators, skid steers and compact track skid steers.
In addition to John Deere machines, Metcalf said his store also carries products as diverse as Finn hydroseeders and straw blowers, LaBounty pulverizers and crushers, Broce brooms and Sakai rollers. Asheville also supplies large Morbark forestry equipment, including its horizontal grinders and large tree chippers, as well as the small, tow-behind chippers.
Top Notch Parts and Service
James River has built a sterling regional reputation over the years by offering expert parts and service capabilities that can be found at every one of its locations.
“Our company is very focused on the service and parts end of the business,” Metcalf said. “We have approximately 175 field trucks companywide, including three at this location. We also have approximately 500 service personnel in the field or in our shops.”
He said that James River has quite an extensive parts inventory throughout the company and is in the practice of “parts sharing,” meaning that if one location needs a specific part that they don’t stock, another James River store can typically have it to them the next day from one of its other locations.
“If that won’t work, [the Asheville store is] located in a strategic position to get parts out of Atlanta fairly quickly,” Metcalf said. “So we are very committed to filling the customer’s needs as fast as possible and we are constantly proving that through our parts and service.”
With strong inventory levels companywide, Metcalf said that James River will continue to be an economic dynamo in each of its many markets.
“The partners in James River have made sure that we have enough inventory throughout the company and they are constantly monitoring that to make sure that we stay on top of the equipment that is needed in the various regions that we cover.
“Our number one goal is to be here for the people in the Asheville market and to help them succeed.”
Headquartered in Ashland, Va., James River Equipment maintains 16 locations across Virginia and another 14 stores in western North Carolina. There also is a dealership located in Rock Hill, S.C., just south of Charlotte.
The Asheville dealership is located at 101 Bruce Road.
For more information, call 828/667-0176.
Eric Olson
A writer and contributing editor for CEG since 2008, Eric Olson has worked in the business for more than 40 years.
Olson grew up in the small town of Lenoir, NC in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where he began covering sports for the local newspaper at age 18. He continued to do that for several other dailies in the area while in college at Appalachian State University. Following his graduation, he moved on to gain experience at two other publications before becoming a real estate and special features writer and editor at the Winston-Salem Journal for 10 years. Since 1999 he has worked as a corporate media liaison and freelance writer, in addition to his time at CEG.
He and his wife, Tara, have been married for 33 years and are the parents of two grown and successful daughters. His hobbies include collecting history books, watching his beloved Green Bay Packers and caring for his three dogs and one cat.
Read more from Eric Olson here.
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