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May 26, 2006
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| Montana Tractors CEO Rodney Miller partnered with Textron Financial Corporation to increase his company's revenue from $2 million to $70 million in just one year. |
Growing the revenue of his company from $2 million to $70 million in one year is a source of great pride for Rodney Miller, CEO of Montana Tractors. He gives much of the credit for this success story to Textron Financial Corporation (TFC). "At a time when no one else was willing to take a chance with us, Textron did, and this is the result," said Miller.
Montana Tractors' parts are manufactured in South Korea by LS Cable, Ltd., a subsidiary of South Korea's second largest conglomerate, LG Group. Final assembly takes place at the company's headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas where they are inspected and pre-tested before delivery to their dealers. "Our original plan was to increase the number of our dealers in the US and Canada from 90 to 175 by the end of 2005," said Miller.
To achieve his goal, Miller needed to develop a company that could distribute tractors within a shorter period of time (less than 12 months). Drawing upon the experience of those he knew in the tractor and commercial finance industry, he pulled together a capable team of professionals, some, from competing manufacturers.
"We were impressed with Rodney Miller's expertise and his vision," said Kurt Schenck, Account Executive for Private Brands, a division of TFC, who manages Montana Tractor's portfolio. "It was something we, at Private Brands, wanted to be a part of."
As a portion of their role, Private Brands offers inventory finance programs that help manufacturers by providing loan programs that distributors and dealers can use to purchase inventory through a credit line with TFC. "In order to get Montana Tractor to the level they wanted, we knew there had to be an exclusive agreement with one lender who could expedite the entire process," said David O'Hare, VP of Operations for Private Brands. "The company had already been working with a lender, but that lender wasn't offering what we did."
"As a sole lender, we had the ability to move quickly to convert, sign up and activate new dealers," said Private Brands, Division President, Daniel Radley. "Plus our streamlined approach to credit and having the decision making authority centered in the business, simplified the lending process."
Montana Tractors goal to establish 175 dealers from 90 dealers was not only met, but exceeded. By December 2005, the company had 250 dealers in place. "I will always be very loyal to the people who helped get us here. I hope this is a very long relationship with Textron," said Miller, whose goal for 2006 is to grow the number of his distributors from 250 to 400-plus.
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