We first opened our doors 76 years ago as a feed and farm supply store, serving the families and farms in the areas surrounding Utica, Michigan. As the area changed, we changed with it, bringing in more power equipment to serve the upstart suburban neighborhoods. When the landscaping and lawn maintenance business became increasingly popular in the early 1980’s, we identified a huge opportunity that would be central to our growth over the next four decades.
We were (and still are) very much family owned and operated and loved the opportunity to do business with other small business owners. “The landscaping business was such a natural fit for us,” says Vice President of Sales, Ron Weingartz, “these were hard-working, honest people trying to start and run a business, and we just saw so many similarities to our own business.”
This started a tremendous long-term relationship with the professional landscape industry. We became an expert in the commercial mowing business and represented many innovative products as they came to the market. We were one of the first to sell handheld line trimmers, backpack blowers, commercial wide area walk-behind mowers, and zero-turn riders, products that are now staples in the landscape industry.
We knew that this new group of customers were going to require a level of service that our homeowner customers didn’t. These were people that made their living with the equipment that they purchased at Weingartz, and down time meant lost money. We committed to always having an extensive replacement parts inventory to make sure that customers would be able to count on us for stock as much as possible. We also started one of the first zero downtime programs for commercial mowers in the country. That program started as a 48-hour service guarantee, which was unheard of at that time.
Over the years, it morphed into a 24-hour guarantee to its current spot of 1-hour downtime guarantee. Landscapers with commercial mowers that are down for repair under warranty receive a loaner free of charge if it is in a Weingartz shop for more than 60 minutes. It is a program that has been very popular with customers and critical to our expansion in the landscaping market and a great example of how we have changed with our customers’ needs over time.
Also, in the 1980’s, we began our relationship with Exmark, which at the time was a start-up mower manufacturer in Beatrice, Nebraska. We were impressed with their quality and passion for the industry and decided to give the new company a chance to earn customers in their store.
When Exmark introduced their first zero-turn rider in 1995, it changed the trajectory of the business that would become the number one selling brand of mowers to the landscape industry and a brand that has become synonymous with Weingartz to a lot of customers. We continue to be the largest dealer of Exmark products in the country.
Our business continued to grow through the 1980’s, and in 1993, we ventured into a very ambitious expansion. We opened our second location in Farmington Hills, about 35 miles from our original store in Utica. However, this location was a whole new animal as it pioneered the power equipment superstore model in the industry.
Ron states, “I think a lot of people thought that we were crazy, not only opening a second location, but one that was over twice the size of the one that we took 45 years to grow. At that time, there weren’t many power equipment dealers doing business at scale, but my dad had a vision that there would be enough business to support this kind of bold move.” That risk certainly paid off, as this expansion set off a period of explosive growth for our business that continues through today.
Now, we operate six retail locations in Michigan – Utica, Farmington Hills, Cedar Springs, Clarkston, Ann Arbor, and Livonia and employ over 240 fantastic staff members. “We are so fortunate to have so many great people decide to make their career here – and many of them for 10, 20, 30, even 40 years.” says Dan Weingartz. “Our success is due to their commitment in serving our customers.”
We have grown to be one of the largest independent power equipment dealers in the country and are still growing. Even with all this growth, it is still very much a family affair with 13 family members working either at Weingartz or affiliated businesses.
“We still love what we are doing and love working together,” Dan says, “I can’t say that we planned all of this growth, and sometimes it has been difficult, but we have always really enjoyed working with one another, our team, and our customers.”
Why Weingartz?
Weingartz, family owned and operated, began in 1945 as a farm supply store for local Michigan families. In the 1970s, we began to focus exclusively on outdoor power equipment. Over time, we morphed into the “power equipment superstore” that now defines all of our locations. The staff and experts at Weingartz work diligently to provide the best service possible and give honest and helpful advice to each and every customer.
Weingartz also sells parts for all outdoor power equipment at https://weingartz.com/parts-lookup.
Weingartz
6585 Dixie Hwy.
Clarkston,MI 48346-3421
(248) 620-5258
info@weingartz.com
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