Deere Dealer RDO Equipment Co. to Acquire Eight Honnen Equipment Stores in Mountain West
RDO Equipment Co. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Honnen Equipment’s John Deere construction equipment locations in Wyoming, Utah and Idaho. The acquisition, expected to close December 11, 2023, will expand the company's footprint to 12 states and establish a presence for the company in the Mountain region.
“We are excited to welcome Honnen’s team members and customers to the RDO family while expanding our John Deere and Wirtgen construction footprint,” said RDO Equipment Co. president Chris Cooper. “RDO and Honnen share long histories of family ownership, customer focus and values-driven business philosophies with leading reputations in our respective markets. We are confident that our shared priorities will greatly contribute to our ability to successfully blend best practices from each organization.”
Founded in 1963 by Pete Honnen as Pete Honnen Equipment, today’s Honnen Equipment grew from a single store in Commerce City, Colo., to three Colorado dealerships in its first nine years. From there, the company expanded to include stores in Wyoming. In 2009, Honnen acquired Scott Machinery Co. in Utah and southeast Idaho. As the company’s territory grew, so did its product lines. Beyond John Deere Construction and Forestry equipment, Honnen has added Hamm, Kleemann, Vogele and Wirtgen equipment lines.
“The Honnen team has built longstanding, trusted relationships with customers over the last six decades. We now have the duty to build on that foundation, committing to those team members to grow the business, strengthen resources and relationships, and ultimately help customers continue to succeed,” said RDO Equipment Co. executive vice president Marshall Anderson, who will lead the new additions to RDO’s portfolio.
“I believe that RDO Equipment Co. is the right company to lead the Honnen legacy into the future,” said Mark Honnen, president of Honnen Equipment. “Not only do we share similar histories, but we also share a similar vision for the future of construction equipment that will be greatly driven by advances in technology. RDO has made significant investments in technology and is well known as a leader in the industry. Most importantly, they’re a company that values and respects the relationships we have with customers and the role we play in supporting them. This is the right company to lead Honnen into the future.”
More than 150 Honnen team members will transition to RDO Equipment Co. across locations in Gillette, Casper, Cheyenne, and Rock Springs, Wyo., Salt Lake City, St. George, and Ogden, Utah; and Idaho Falls, Idaho. Honnen’s three Colorado stores will be acquired by 4Rivers Equipment, Honnen said.
“We learned a long time ago that one of the most important things we can do as a business is invest in our people and our culture,” Cooper said. “That’s exactly what we’re doing here, and we’re looking forward to all the ways the Honnen team will enrich RDO culture through their depth of knowledge and experience.”
Founded in 1968, RDO Equipment Co. sells and supports agriculture, construction, environmental, irrigation, positioning, and surveying equipment from manufacturers, including John Deere, Vermeer, and Topcon. RDO Equipment Co. has more than 75 locations across the United States and partnerships in Africa, Australia, Mexico and Ukraine.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.