EVERGLADES EQUIPMENT

“CELEBRATING A 60-YEAR COMMITMENT TO OUR CUSTOMERS’

By Jim Frankowiak

Everglades Equipment Group is celebrating its 60th anniversary and continues its commitment to integrity and assisting its customers to achieve success in their businesses. The company traces its beginnings in Florida to the early 1900s when Emanuel and Mary Schlechter, with their seven children, left the Upper Midwest after reading about the vast agricultural opportunities in Florida.

Third-generation family member Mike Schlechter, who is President and Managing Partner of Everglades Equipment Group, recounts how Emanuel, Mary, and their younger children remained in Belle Glade after traveling from North Dakota, while their older children moved to different areas of the country for work. “Those that stayed in Belle Glade were devastated by a hurricane that wiped out the community in 1928,” he said. “The older siblings returned and laid those who had passed in the storm to rest. An overturned tractor was the only item that remained on the Belle Glade homesite.”

The family continued its commitment to farming in the Belle Glade area, primarily growing sugar cane, which continues today. Walter Schlechter, his cousin Fritz Stein, and a local businessman Don Williams began a tractor repair shop in the late 1950’s. “John Deere approached the group a short time later and asked if they would be interested in selling their equipment in addition to the repair services. They accepted Deere’s offer and Everglades Farm Equipment was founded in 1963. Walter, my grandfather, then bought out his two partners in the early 1970s,” said Schlechter. “Since 1963, we have become one of John Deere’s premier dealers in Florida.” The original store in Belle Glade is still in operation today, and three generations of the Schlechter family are engaged in Everglades’ daily operations as well as the family farm.

Since 1963, Everglades Equipment Group has been at the forefront of innovation, bringing reliable, efficient, high-performance machines to farmers, ranchers, landscapers, and homeowners. “Our product range includes large and small tractors, combines, hay tools, tillage and seeding equipment, compact construction equipment, lawnmowers, and more. We focus on delivering superior value to our customers through quality service in every aspect of our business. From making sure our customers find the most suitable equipment for their needs to helping maintain that equipment throughout its lifecycle, we are committed to their success. As a farming family, we understand what it takes to make a business successful,” said Schlechter.

Everglades Equipment Group has 18 dealership locations in Florida. They include the original operation in Belle Glade along with facilities in Boynton Beach, Brooksville, Fort Myers, Fort Pierce, Homestead, Immokalee, Largo, Leesburg, Loxahatchee, Naples, North Port, Odessa, Okeechobee, Orlando, Palmettto, Plant City and St. Cloud. Each site manager is expected to operate their location as though it was their own. Gary Noel, the Plant City site manager oversees all aspects of his location. He and his counterparts are also involved in their communities. “Community involvement includes everything from local shows and industry events as well as youth organizations such as 4-H, FFA, and athletic leagues,” said Noel. “If something is important to our customers, it’s important to us.”

Proper maintenance is essential to keeping equipment running at peak performance. “That is why our service department is staffed with certified John Deere technicians who are trained to diagnose and repair all types of equipment,” said Schlechter. “Our team is equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic tools to identify issues quickly and accurately, so our customers can trust their equipment is repaired correctly the first time.” Schlechter noted Everglades assembled a group of their best service technicians and has them operate from a call center for prompt and efficient service diagnosis. “We understand the need to diagnose and repair equipment problems as quickly and as costeffectively as possible,” he said.

Everglades also carries a wide variety of high-quality landscape supplies, including sod, rock, mulch and soil to help customers achieve the outdoor landscape of their dreams. Sod options include St. Augustine, Zoysia, and Bermuda varieties available on sod pallets for easy installation. The company also stocks a range of decorative and functional rocks, from river rock to granite enhancing any garden or landscaping project.

“Our selection of mulch options, including pine bark and cypress, provides an attractive and low- maintenance way to conserve moister and suppress weeds,” said Schlechter. “We are also a reliable source of sand and soil for landscaping projects from sand leveling to organic soil for planting.”

As to the future, Everglades Equipment Group will continue its commitment to customers, while staying cutting edge on technological advances and incorporating those advances into the equipment and services they offer. “Should growth opportunities present themselves to us, we will certainly take advantage of them,” Schlechter said.

Congratulations Everglades Equipment Group on 60 years of service! For more information, visit: www.evergladesfarmequipment.com.