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Village Squire, 1978-02, Page 39BUSINESS A big success story in an unglamorous business Although agricultural supply business have never been among the most glamorous segments of Canadian business, they have been among the most successful over the years. Massey -Ferguson Ltd. for instance has been a world -leader in the implement business. And on the local scene, one of the better success stories of the last decade has been the growth of Archer's, the farm manufacturing business now located in one of the old air base buildings at Vanastra. south of Clinton. The man behind the whole success story is Russ Archer, a hugh hulking man who looks like a retire football lineman. He grew up near Barrie but at age 16 went north to work in his uncle's dairy business at Kirkland Lake. During his 11 years there he came south long enough to take a dairy course at the University of Guelph. In 1964 he came back to Guelph where he worked for United Co-operatives of Ontario. Later he joined Beatty Farm Equipment when the company was busy producing stabling and other farm equipment. It was with that company that he arrived in Clinton as manager of the local branch. But in 1970 the company closed the Clinton operation and he was transferred. He, his wife Evelyn and their family found that after about six weeks away from Clinton they missed the town and so returned and the beginning of the Archer success story was in the making. In August of 1970 he took over a vacant garage on Highway 4 near the railway tracks in Clinton and began to work on his own line of livestock pens which proved the basis of his firm's success. He hedged his bets though by selling snowmobiles and keeping the gas pumps of the station going. The company expanded, however and rented another garage. then in 1976 began buying buildings at the former air base. A total of five buildings were bought with one building being sold for parts, two rented out and the other two being used by Archer's itself. By this time the company was concentrating completely on farm products. having dropped the recreation vehicle side of things. The new name was Archer's Farm Sales and Service Ltd. But the growth continued at a rapid pace. More and more manufacturing of the Archer lines was being undertaken requiring more space. New lines were constantly being added. Soon the two buildings were overflowing and it was either add another building or look for a new building large enough to consolidate everything under one roof. The company chose the latter and so came to situate down the way from the old site in a huge building formerly occupied by Glendale trailers which had closed recently. Suddenly the company had gone from 2400 square feet in the first building they had opened to 33,000 in about six years. From a shoestring operation, the company now has 16 full-time employees and a sales total of three quarters of a million dollars from its manufactured products. Besides manufact- uring the company also is distributor for some farm equipment. The company is gaining an international reputation with an order last year from Bermuda and work in the U.S. and throughout all of Canada. The new building allows space for a large showroom, the largest, Mr. Archer says, of anyone he knows of. It also has spacious, comfortable offices for the sales, management and design staff. The growth, naturally enough, has been built around Mr. Archer himself and his knowledge of the business and his interest in architecture and design. If he'd gone on in schooling, he says, he'd probably have gone into architecture. "I enjoy going into an old barn, measuring it, designing it and seeing what it looks like," he says. He often includes ideas from the farmer in his planning. Because his is a small company such changes can be worked into plans. "If it's a help to us, we definitely allow change," he says. Although designing is his main field, creativity in marketing is another interest of Russ Archer and it's led to such slogans as "Archer's -- the best name around livestock today" or "It's only horse sense" to be in stalls from Archer's. In starting out in the rich Huron -Perth - Bruce agricultural heartland, the company had an excellent base to grow from. The need for stabling for hogs, cows, horses and other livestock is large and varied in the area. But from that base the company has branched out. It now has dealers all over Ontario, though on a small scale as yet, Mr. Archer says. Considering the growth record of the company in the last decade, it's not hard to wonder just how long it will remain on a small scale. 1 AM MOVING AND MY NEW ADDRESS IS: NAME ADDRESS CITY PROV POSTAL CODE Attach your old address label here and fill in coupon. SEND THIS COUPON TO: Village Squire, R.R. 3, Blyth, Ont. NOM 1H0. How to read your expiry date: eg. December 2 1 0 9 8 means your subscription is due in December 1978 ignoring all figures except the one on the right. VILLAGE SQUIRE/FEBRUARY 1978, 37.