HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1972-03-23, Page 13I
A
r
Consfritaion of new headquarters for Vincent Farm Equip-
ment Ltd. was begun last fall and proceeded throughout the ,
fall and winter-months. The site on Huron ,county Road
12, a mile north of Seaforth, had been selected and purchased
some time earlier. Located, in MoKillOp at the corner of
the highway add con. 2-3, ready access is gained fronithe
concession road.
flit Turn fxpositor
SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, THURSDAY, MARCH. 23, 1972
Third Section, Pages la to 12a
Vincents announce opening of
new farm equipment complex
First sod was turned in September 1971 for the new farm machinery depot erected north of
Seaforth for Vincent Farm Equipment Ltd. when Marlen Vincent plowed a furrow at the site 1 1/4 miles north of town on the North Road. The farm buildings in the background are on
the adjoining farm of Con. Eckert. (Staff Photo)
Began with wheelbarrow
Vincent farm Equipment
includes three branches
Vincent Farm Equipment latd..
established their Seaforth branch
with the purchase of the John
Bach IHC farm equipMent busin-
.ess in March 1968. ••
Founded' by. the late John Bach
more than 30 yeari'previously
the business under his direc-
tion had grown-into one of the
largest of its kind in the dis-
trict and provided service over
a:wide area. Mr. Bach died sud-
denly in October 1967.
Marlen 'Vincent who has been
manager of the Galt branch of the
firm for the preceding yeark
Mr. Vincent 'said the expan-
sion program had been under
consideration for more than a
year but. the decision to move
ahead at, this 'particular time
was dictated by a desire to
advance the firtn slogan "better
to serve you.V
"We had realized for some
time that we were growing beyond .
the capacity Of our present
accommodation'' he said and
added that ,as machinery stocics
grew it had become necessary
to accommodate machinery in
several different areas, in town:
Students of Mrs. Ken Bochert
who teaches room 4 in Seaforth
Public School recently took, a
trip to McKillop andSusanSmith,
aged, 9, recalls the experience'.
We went on a trip to Vincent's
new fa?rm machinery building. We
went by school bus, We went in
twos, hit we had to go in single
file to go across a narrow piece
of plywood which led into, the
building. There we met Mr.
Vincent, the owner of the build-
ing. He called the contractor
Who helped him to answer some
questions,
Mr. Vincent asked him when'
they planned to be finished. He
figured it would be completed
was named in charge of the
Seaforth branch. Mr. and Mrs.
Vincent and their family moved
to Seaforth.
With the addition of the Sea.;•
forth outlet the Vincent firth
which ranks among Ontario's
largest farm equipment dealer-
ships employ more than 30
people.
The' Vincent organization had
its beginning in the Ayr district
in 1925 When it. was founded by
Leslie C. Vincent, father of the
present owners.*
"This hasn't been satis-
factory for us and didn't permit
the Aervice our customers''were
entitled to expects' he said.
The new„building includes an
area 60 by 60 feet in which are
•located office facilities, •a show
room and a two deck 'parts depot.
The service area of the building
is 60 by 84 feet.
•• Contract for'the building was
-awarded .Kase Van den Heuvel
Construction Ltd. of Odderich.
The total cost of the project was
$70,000, Mr. Vincent said.
in a couple of months. The
building is about 60 ft.'wide and
144 ft.. long. The floor is: going
to be 5 inches thick, and macie of
cement. The inside walls of the
large building will be lined with'
insulation and covered with
plastic: Then they will put on
steel sheeting. There is a well
90 ft. deep, and this will be used
(Continued on page 5A) .
A farmer turned blacksmith's
helper pushed a wheelbarrow full
of farm implement parts up the
main street of Ayr, Ontario, in
4925 and right. into a successful
career as- an International Har-
vester dealer.
Today the business has ex-
panded into Vincent Farm
Equipment Ltd. and includes
branches at Ayr,' Galt and , Seaforth. .
His name was Les Vincent. He
had purchased the parts from his
employer, the local blacksmith,
who considered the farm imple-
ment businesS a relaxing
sideline - secondary .,to shoeing
horses. •
His load of parts led to his
signing an International Har-.
yester contract.-.In.. three years
he had sold the first No. 8 Har-
vester Thresher in Ontario, and
later he put the first harrow ploW
to work, in the province.
Business was, so good in the
early years that Les Vincent was
caught with a carload full of 15-30
tractors when the 1929 stock
market crash lowered the boOm
on general prosperity. Despite
all the hardships, he managed to
get rid of them and rode out
'those lean years with business
intact. .
Thus, good business manage-
ment came naturally to his two
boys, Warren and Marlen, who
took over their dad's firm in
1955. Their intimate knoWledge
of the farm implement 'business
got them off to a good start.
The firm operating in a pre-
dominately 'mixed farming area
was able to gauge the require-
ments of a countryside with such
diversified farming as ,beef,
tobacco, dairy, and grain.
The Seaforth branch was
established in 1968 when V intents
pur.chased the business of the
late John Bach.
Marlen Vincent • of Vincent
Farm Equipment Ltd. who has
worked •out details for the
ceremonies in connection with
the opening of the compa.nys
new Seaforth headquarters on
Marsh 30th.
P
et
A new, • farm equipment
complex housing _ complete
display maintenance and repair
facilities will be opened north
of Seaforth in McKillop Township
next week.
Vincent Farm Equipment Ltd.
who announced plans for the
project last Septeiilber plan an
official opening on Thursday,
March-'30. Mr. R. D. Musgjerd
of Hamilton, President of Inter-
national Harvester Company will
officiate. He will be assisted
by area members of parliament
and heads of neighboring munici..
panties.
Plans for the opening event,
'Which gets -underway at 2:30 R.M.
include pancakes for everybody
and balloons. for the kids. In
the evening Des Jardines Orches-
tra will provide music for danc-
ing..
• Marlen Vincent of Vincent
• Farm Equipment Ltd. in announ-
cing plans for the new linf.lding
said his firm 'had purchased a
12 acre site at lot 26, con. 2
MqKillop to accommodate the one
storey 60 x 144 fOot steel struc-.
ture. The site is located. at
the juncture of the first conces-
sion road and the north , road.
Entrance to the site is from
• the concession he said,,
The corner lot was purchas0
from Gordon Elliott.
The firm has a staff of hen
which it is expected will be
increased.
John 'Bach IHC dealership
served community 30 years
spS student describes visit
to Vincent headquarters
•