RDO Equipment celebrated a big milestone in September, delivering its 50th John Deere forestry machine to loyal customer Austimber in Gippsland, Victoria.

After what has been an unpredictable and extraordinary year, RDO and John Deere are both celebrating the success of achieving 50 sales in just over 12 months since RDO Equipment took over the John Deere Construction and Forestry contract in all states except WA.

“No doubt this past year will be one to remember for all sorts of reasons, but we’re thrilled to celebrate this milestone with the support of John Deere and continue our success in the Australian forestry sector,” said Nathan Psaila, National Sales Manager for RDO Equipment.

“Our teams in both forestry and construction have worked incredibly hard over the past 12 months to cement our position in both markets, so this sale is a testament to their dedication and performance, and I know our customers would say the same thing.”

Simon Shackleton, John Deere’s General Manager of Sales and Marketing – Forestry Equipment, agrees that RDO has made its mark over the past year. “There has been a great response from customers and industry towards RDO, so it’s no surprise they’ve hit their 50th machine delivery in not much more than 50 weeks.”

Ian Reid from Austimber was the lucky recipient of the 50th machine, which also happened to be the business’s 25th John Deere machine purchase, a 1270G Wheeled Harvester.

“We’ve been really impressed with how RDO has started its operation in Australia. Their support staff in particular have been great. Anytime I have had any dealings with them I’ve been met with a ‘can do’ attitude. They work really hard to make sure we’re never left waiting,” Ian says.

“We’ve had a couple of occasions where we needed parts which were overseas, and they organised prompt freight for us, so we had minimal machine downtime. Particularly during the last few months with the added pressure of coronavirus restrictions, there has been minimal impact in our dealings with RDO. Machine deliveries have been trouble-free and on-time, and parts supply and our regular maintenance schedules haven’t been impacted either,” Ian says.

“We’re looking forward to continuing to work with the RDO and John Deere teams and know we’re in safe hands with any future machine purchases

Main Photo: 
Pictured from L to R: Jake Peters (Service Technician, RDO Equipment), Ian Reid (Director, Austimber Harvesting & Haulage), Ryan Sim (Service Technician, RDO Equipment), Jim King (Operator, Austimber Harvesting & Haulage), Mark Hellberg (Sales Professional, RDO Equipment), Adrian Wapling (Product Specialist – Forestry,  John Deere) and Duncan Johnston (Director, Austimber Harvesting & Haulage).

Below: Ian Reid from Austimber was the lucky recipient of the 50th machine, a 1270G Wheeled Harvester.

Right: Simon Shackleton, John Deere’s General Manager of Sales and Marketing