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Westchester Tractor’s Jeff Underhill has retired after more than 44 years of service.
Westchester Tractor's Jeff Underhill has retired after 44 and 1/2 years of service.
Through the course of those years, Underhill has seen a lot of changes at Westchester Tractor; he has watched entirely new categories of equipment be developed, launched, and then sold by Westchester Tractor.
Underhill joined Westchester Tractor in 1979, having recently graduated from Cobleskill College, where he met his future wife, Cynthia. For a brief period of time, (1977-1979) he was a mechanic at JohnMar Associates in Red Hook, NY. At that time, JonMar Associates was a JI Case and Kubota tractor dealership.
"I first started out working for Westchester Tractor in their Goldens Bridge, N.Y., facility," he said. "The owner, John Apple, hired me as a mechanic where I spent two years in the shop and as a road mechanic. After a short time as a mechanic, a position opened in the sales department and John Apple asked me if I would like to give sales a shot. So, I accepted. After 44 and 1/2 years I can say that has worked out very well."
"When I first went to work for Westchester Tractor, they were primarily a Ford tractor dealership that also sold Eager Beaver trailers and Torwel salt and sand spreaders," he added. "At the time, Ford manufactured primarily compact, Ag, and industrial products, so you wouldn't think I would get a lot of contractor exposure except for a few select products, the Ford tractor loader and tractor loader backhoes. However, as time went on, we added a few new construction equipment product offerings such as Fiat Allis loaders and excavators, JSW excavators and Hanomag wheel loaders to name a few.
"During those early years, the demand for tractor loader backhoes for any type of contractor was very high. During the good years, we sold as many as 100 ag and industrial tractors in a year. My sales territory was initially upper Westchester and Putnam counties and along the way by participating in other local business associations I developed sales opportunities and expanded our territory to include Dutchess, Ulster, Orange and Sullivan Counties. Today, Westchester Tractor represents a host of construction equipment manufacturers, including New Holland, Kobelco, Hitachi, Kubota, Avant, Bandit and Vibroscreen."
The wide variety of manufacturers represented, and the constant introduction of new products was a key to Underhill's long-term career commitment to Westchester Tractor.
"One of the things that I enjoyed the most about my job was the process of introducing new products to the marketplace," he said. "I loved to learn how each machine operated and what tasks it could perform. I always looked forward to the training periods from a new manufacturer and, whenever possible, I wanted to be among the first to make a sale with that brand product."
These days, one of Underhill's favorite manufacturers to work with is Avant, which manufactures a compact, articulated, all-wheel drive loader with a very small footprint.
"The Avant brand is very diversified in its application," he said. "They offer over 200 attachments. What's really enjoyable is finding niche markets that benefit from this type of product. As an example, I have had tremendous enjoyment and success selling the Avant machines to a vast market. Arborists often find themselves in a situation where preserving turf on a jobsite is critical. No one wants the tree guy to come in and tear up their lawn while removing a tree.
"We have found the Avant mini-loader to be an ideal product in residential settings and doing absolutely minimal amounts of surface disruption. It's a great product that, much like other manufacturers we represent, Avant mini-loaders have applications in a wide variety of industries, whether it be my contractor, municipal, nursery or arborist customers."
Another product that Underhill has enjoyed developing is the hand-fed brush chipper market.
"We took on Bandit at a time when the chipper market was really just developing. But by demonstrating the unique and efficient design of these chippers, Bandit has become one of our long-term and very important product offerings.
"The real key to getting customers to try a new machine in a new application is to ask a lot of questions and listen to the answers. As a result of listening on many occasions, we are able to take a problem that a customer has and find a unique solution from the diverse manufacturers we represent. Often, the tendency is to want to sell the equipment that is sitting in inventory to help out the dealership, but I have found if I put the wrong tool in the wrong person's hands and it does not solve his problem it can be a very quick path to losing a customer."
These days an equipment sales representative's responsibilities can be limited to just promoting and selling the product. Not so at Westchester Tractor.
"As sales reps we have always developed our own leads, researched for offering the proper equipment for the customer's needs. We also help to arrange financing if needed and provide a personal detailed orientation of the new machine at the time of delivery. Pretty much do the deal beginning to end. It's another reason why I loved working at Westchester Tractor. We were never single task focused."
Kobelco also is a manufacturer that has helped Underhill solve solutions.
"Kobelco has a great product called the Blade Runner," he said. "It's essentially an excavator with a six-way grading blade mounted to the lower part of the machine. In this part of the country, we deal with a lot of owners/operators that own just a handful of machines. The Blade Runner gives my customers the option to purchase one machine that they can both grade and excavate with. It's been very popular with my customers along with the rest of Kobelco's long line of excavator offerings."
When asked what he plans on doing in retirement, Underhill said, "Looking forward to it, but I know the adjustment is going to be difficult. I have seen all of my fellow employees at Westchester Tractor every day for decades. It's very much like a family. The last day when I came in to say goodbye was a very emotional day. It was not easy to stay composed. In particular, it was tough saying goodbye to John Apple. He has literally made me who I am today. He built a business for me to sell from, put the right combination of products together and even moved the business and rebuilt a tremendous new facility, making that investment in his employees and customers even though it was toward the end of his career. I also have a sincere belief in John's successors, Matt Apple and Andrew Prusinowski will continue the great traditions and carry on John Apple's legacy at Westchester Tractor. But once I get in the swing of retirement, my plans are to play a little golf, spend time with my family and wonderful grandchildren, and enjoy our family home in Upstate, N.Y." CEG
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