New auction to feature tractors, equipment from dealers in nearby states

By LYNN MONTGOMERY | East Texas Edition

Feb. 19, 2004 -- A high demand for clean used tractors and farm equipment has led to a new ag sales venture in Sulphur Springs.

Ag2 Auctioneers, whose intent is to provide a state-of-the-art used tractor and equipment marketing and auction center, will have the first auction at 10 a.m., Feb. 27. Housed in the same facility with Ag-Power, Inc., a John Deere dealership, the new auctioning company will sell surplus inventories of dealers across the country.

"We are interested in all colors here," meaning not just John Deere, but New Holland, Massey Ferguson, Case, and other brands of farm machinery, said Gary Milton, auction manager.

Ag-Power's new facility, west of Sulphur Springs (on the north side of Interstate 30, between exits 116 and 120), is centrally located between the seven other Ag-Power stores (Paris, Mineola, McKinney, Terrell, Burkburnett, and Frederick, Okla.). The Ag-Power in Sulphur Springs has been open since October, but celebrated with a grand opening event on Feb. 6.

"Sulphur Springs is a 'shopping center' for farm machinery. A buyer can look all day here for any brand, and when you have the broad spectrum of brands here, you need to be able to compete," Milton added.

Auctions will be held quarterly with special sales thrown in occasionally.

Brochures about the new partnership between Milton and Jack Radke, Ag-Power owner, have been sent across the country. Milton, who said he is expecting tractors from Kentucky and other dealers in Texas and surrounding states, explained the new auction business intentions are to increase trade-in values by developing a market outside the immediate area, and build a broader customer base of relationships outside the immediate area for the used equipment.

The new auction business will include services such as financing, extended warranties, and physical damage insurance. Also, there will be no buyers' premium. New purchases will have to be paid for the day of the sale and a bank reference letter is needed, Milton pointed out.

"We have an automated parts carousel to be more efficient in parts storage and retrieval, along with a 7-by-9 rear screen projections system that is being set up to supply a direct feed video circuit from the sale ring to the showroom," Milton explained about the set-up.

The auctioneers, who also plan on-site farm sales, said the new Ag-Power facility is "more than just an everyday tractor dealership."

For more information about Ag2 Auctioneers and the auction, contact Milton or Clint Catching at 903-885-2440.