Findlay Implement Company Takes Over Andersons Mower Center

BY NANCY GAGNET | MIRROR REPORTER — A new company has taken over The Andersons Mower Center. Findlay Implement Company (FIC) Dealership, a Findlay-based company, purchased the business on November 1. The new dealership has retained all 19 employees from the former Andersons Mower Center as well as the full line of equipment that the store carried. The Andersons initiated the process of selling the mower center when it announced in January that the retail stores would close. Bids were solicited for the mower business and negotiations between FIC and The Andersons began immediately after the closure was announced, said store manager Gary Bartholomew. The Mower Center remained open until the sale of the store and equipment was completed. The purchase price was not disclosed. “Keeping the store open was a very important point, because we’ve developed relationships with the customers and we’re here when they need us, so if we would have closed, that link is broken and then problems start to arise,” he said. “It was never our intent to close, but it took a long, winding road to get here.” This is the seventh retail store FIC has opened. Other locations include Findlay, Gibsonburg, Ottawa, Tiffin, Bowling Green and Upper Sandusky. In addition to being a John Deere dealer, the store carries a full line of products from Stihl leaf blowers, trimmers and chainsaws to compact tractors, Gators and riding lawn mowers, Honda and Toro lawnmowers and snow throwers. The store sells and services all items on site, Bartholomew said. New products will eventually be added, including skid steer loaders, wheel loaders and mini excavators, he said. A new interactive website has also been implemented, which allows customers to schedule work orders, assists customers with part inventory needs and more. According to Bartholo-mew, the transition was highly emotional. He is grateful that the store will remain open and all employees are keeping their jobs. “I am very relieved and happy for our customers,” Bartholomew said. “We believed this was an entity that could be sold, we believed that there was a future here and it turns out we were right,” he said. The Mower Center serves customers from a 20-mile radius, he said. The nearest John Deere dealer to the Maumee store is another FIC Dealership located in Bowling Green or Berkey, he said. “John Deere has a history and a heritage that comes with tractors. They are relentless in their pursuit of being best in class. They have high expectations for their product, they have high expectations for us and they have high expectations for their customers.” FIC Dealership is located at 1220 Ford St. in Maumee. Store hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For additional information, please call the store at (419) 893-1199 or visit online: www.ficdealerships.com.