Owner: Dr. Barry Pollard
Location: Springdale, Ark.
Manager: Brad Wright (pictured)
History: P&K Equipment was started in 1985 by neurologist Dr. Barry Pollard and another partner, who is now deceased. The first location was in Kingfisher, near Enid, Okla. Dr. Pollard went after parts one day and found the John Deere dealership was for sale. After purchasing a third location in Stillwater, Okla., he knew he needed help and hired Scott Eisenhauer as a general manager. More Oklahoma locations were added in addition to the purchase of nine dealerships in Iowa five years ago in order to diversify income by including big row crop customers. Next P&K looked toward Arkansas and now has this Springdale location, as well as another in Fort Smith, with a total of 22 stores under the P&K Equipment name. Meanwhile, John Deere was seeking to consolidate dealerships under fewer owners. Understanding a business model that allowed for greater discounts first to the dealers and then in turn to the customers resulted greater buying power.
Products and Services: “Our business is comprised of two sectors, with the first being the equipment sector,” said manager Brad Wright. “John Deere offerings a range from riding lawn mowers up to 200 HP tractors with most sales coming from 25 HP residential mowers up to 100 HP tractors used for haying. Nonetheless, we also sell larger equipment for larger customers such as hay farmers and cities. We sell Stihl equipment, as well as zero turn riding mowers, chain saws, weed eaters, blowers etc. as well as Honda products, such as walk-behind and self-propelled mowers, generators and similar products. Finally, we cater to the poultry industry by supplying equipment for house maintenance such as washing equipment and decakers. We also sell John Deere apparel and toys for all ages, including ride on toys as well as lubricants and self-maintenance supplies.”
Philosophy and future: “P&K wants customers to have what they call the P&K experience, which means customers are taken care of as part of the P&K family. Simply put, taking care of customers takes care of the business. As P&K continues to grow by adding dealerships with the same P&K family philosophy, we expect our location to grow as the area’s population increases and awareness of our commitment to perfection spreads.”
