PORTAGE, Ohio — Archbold Equipment Co. last Thursday celebrated the grand opening of its two-year, $3 million Bowling Green farm equipment dealership with a ribbon-cutting and an open house.

The 29,000 square-foot store, at 13019 Powell Road in Portage, can be found south of Bowling Green just off State Road 25. It includes a shop with remote-controlled cranes, a showroom and a large repair parts storage area.

The facility’s 18,000 square-foot shop provides space and the latest technology for repairing high-tech equipment. "Several of our facilities are near capacity, so this gives us an opportunity to move more business here," said CEO Zach Hetterick. "We plan to use this facility to support our other facilities.

"We tripled the service parts storage area," he added, "and increased our service capabilities."

Hetterick said the company decided to expand to the Bowling Green area to better serve farmers in Wood, Henry, Hancock and surrounding counties. "Wood County has a long history in agricultural production," he said to local officials during his welcome at the ribbon-cutting. "There’s a lot of corn and soybean production here, and there’s a long history of ‘red’ here."

In addition to the strong ag tradition, he said Bowling Green/Portage is a good location for Archbold Equipment because of good transportation access. The store’s location near the crossroads of U.S. Highway 6 and Interstate 75 provides ease of access and ease of equipment transportation.

The company took part in the Wood County Fair in July, which Hetterick called "one of the greater fairs in the country." Also, he said Bowling Green draws thousands of tractor fans each August during the Northwest Ohio Tractor Pullers Assoc. National Tractor Pulling Championships at the Wood County Fairgrounds.

The company plans to be a partner in community events and with youth organizations such as FFA. "We think that’s very important," he said. "And we hired local people."

In addition to providing good services to customers, Hetterick said the company designed the new location to be good to employees. "We have cranes to handle heavy equipment. And we added other new technology that will start to be seen at our other facilities."

The company plans to increase its number of employees in the next few years, he noted.

On hand for the grand opening were Wood County commissioners, the mayor of Portage and Chamber of Commerce and other public officials. Visitors at the open house could learn about new product offerings, see the latest high-tech farm equipment on the market and consider special offers.

Hetterick invited people to stop in to see the new store if they weren’t able to attend the open house. "We have an open-door policy," he said. "You can stop in for popcorn anytime."

In addition to farm equipment, Archbold offers ag-related products and services including lawn and garden, turf management and outdoor power equipment at six locations: Archbold, Ottawa, Portage and Sherwood, Ohio, as well as Topeka, Ind., and Adrian, Mich.

Brand names sold and serviced are Case IH, Cub Cadet, Grasshopper, Kinze, Kubota, Bobcat, Woods, Yetter, Kongskilde, Land Pride, Landoll and Unverferth Manufacturing. Call 419-686-2273 or visit www.archbold equipment.com/portage.htm