Parman Tractor & Equipment moved into its new, 20,000-sq.-ft. Nashville facility in November 2020 on the same property that had previously been the home of Cumberland Tractor & Equipment.
Just two years ago, a new company, Parman Tractor & Equipment, opened its doors to contractors in Tennessee and other parts of the South wanting a distributor of top shelf construction machinery — one that is also expert in the art of treating its customers well.
It was not long before customers found Parman to be exactly what they were looking for.
Located in Nashville, with a customer service radius extending 100 mi. around the Music City, the new dealership sells, rents and services new and used skid steer loaders, backhoes, large and mini-excavators and compacting equipment for the construction business, as well as some agricultural equipment for that industry.
In the case of Parman, though, the word "new" requires a bit of clarification.
In May 2019, the dealership formerly known as Cumberland Tractor & Equipment was acquired by Parman Holding Corporation, an employee-owned petroleum products distributor, also headquartered in Nashville. The large conglomerate also counts Parman Energy Group and Signature Lubricants among its divisions.
With the deal, Cumberland was renamed Parman Tractor & Equipment and the latter has since worked to live up to and strengthen the old dealership's good name and reputation in the region. It started by totally rebuilding the old Cumberland location into a more modern facility on the north side of Nashville. Parman also upgraded its capabilities and has completely revamped its approach to customer service.
Rachel Hockenberger, CFO of Parman Holdings, explained that her company saw Cumberland as an extremely attractive asset — one that was too good to pass up.
"Parman learned of an opportunity to purchase Cumberland Tractor & Equipment through a Parman Energy Group customer," she said. "Upon assessing the opportunity, we found synergies between service and reliability, which could complement both businesses. From there, it was a no brainer."
"Parman Energy Group has had robust growth over the years stemming from organic growth and acquisitions," said Steve Moore, CEO of Parman Holdings. "The acquisition of the equipment dealership has definitely been one of our most successful and gives us the confidence to further diversify and grow our Parman brand."
Parman Energy Group had partnered with Cumberland as a supplier for years prior to the acquisition, Hockenberger said, making the transition a smooth one and has maintained a good association with the former owners.
Construction Business Dominates Company Focus
Cumberland Tractor & Equipment started its life in 1981 as Nashville Ford Tractor Inc., owned by the Denny family. Over time, the original company grew and evolved into one of the region's leading distributors before it was acquired in 2012 by a local heavy-duty truck dealer, who gave it the Cumberland name, according to Charley Crichton, president of Parman Tractor & Equipment.
In the seven years between that sale and Parman Holding's purchase of Cumberland, the distributor had begun to shift its business focus and growth more toward the construction industry, said Crichton, adding that Parman has been able to build its customer-based capabilities on the shoulders of what Cumberland had established.
In 2021, Parman Tractor & Equipment distributes several manufacturers of construction machines and tools, including Link-Belt, Takeuchi, New Holland Construction, Hitachi, Epiroc, Sakai asphalt rollers, Bushhog and Woods, among others.
Takeuchi Excavators Latest Line of Equipment
Shortly after the distributor began operations in 2019, Takeuchi became the newest equipment maker to join forces with Parman. As a result, the dealer now provides sales, service, parts and rental of Takeuchi's construction model lines to contractors within its territories. Those lines include Takeuchi's full catalog of building machines, including excavators, skid steers, track loaders and wheel loaders.
Recently, Parman Tractor & Equipment was recognized nationally as Takeuchi's "North American Dealer with [the] Largest Market Share Growth."
"This recognition reinforces that we are doing business the right way and our growth efforts are paying off," said Colin Hockenberger, general manager of the Nashville dealership.
He explained that 90 percent of Parman Tractor & Equipment's revenues come from the construction segment of the business, which sells and rents small, compact and mid-size machines up to the 80,000-lb. Link-Belt excavators.
"Takeuchi and Link-Belt are where we are at our strongest and they are our largest offerings," Hockenberger said.
Cutting Edge Facility Now Open
After more than a year of construction, accompanied by pandemic-related delays, Parman moved into its new, 20,000-sq.-ft. Nashville facility in November 2020 on the same property that had previously been the home of Cumberland.
"We had been operating from three separate buildings that had once been a dairy farm and was in dire need of an upgrade," said Crichton. "Now, we have our parts, service and sales departments all under the same roof. The new building affords us with ample office space to go along with a new retail area for parts and plenty of storage for parts inventory. Our 12-bay service shop is completely connected, and we can boast of having a 7-ton crane that covers the entire shop. Also, our service department customers can now receive expedited repairs with the latest tools and resources."
He added that Parman Energy Group installed a centralized lubrication system with 30 lube reels throughout the entire dealership shop, providing customers with premium Chevron ISOCLEAN lubricants.
All In the Name of Customer Satisfaction
Colin Hockenberger noted that the new and expansive Parman facility represents the main addition to the distributor's customer-driven capabilities, although it is certainly not the only one.
"While we primarily offer the same services [that Cumberland did], we are always looking for ways to improve our business," he said. "We have also invested in additional equipment, information technology [IT] infrastructure and added new positions to further support our customers.
With the top priority being on our patrons, we introduced Parman's rally cry of ‘Totally Outrageous Customer Service' and strive daily to make the experience of doing business with us a pleasurable one."
With its extensive inventory of parts and knowledgeable parts professionals, Parman Tractor & Equipment is a leading company that stocks construction equipment components in middle Tennessee. It ships parts each day to contractors across the Volunteer State and to customers in neighboring states, as well.
The full-service Parman dealership employs a total of 33 people, six of whom are in management and administration. It also has a four-person sales force, another seven in the rental department, six operating behind the parts counter and 10 technicians working in the service bays.
"We have some employees that have been with the company for over 20 years, and, overall, we have an average employee tenure of seven years," Hockenberger said. "The industry knowledge that our employees possess is impressive and our customers can see that in the services we provide."
For more information, call 615/865-7800, or visit www.parmantractor.com. CEG
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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