A few years ago, John Deere’s three factories in Waterloo ran mostly LP forklifts, even though Hupp Toyota Lift began having conversations to convert Deere’s fleet to electric in 2017. With an order earned at the end of December, over 90% of Deere’s Waterloo equipment will be electric. “Usually, it is easier to keep doing what you have done before instead of changing. That goes for customers and Dealer salesmen,” said Hupp’s Major Account Manager, Scott Derby. “Even though Toyota was the incumbent, the Hupp team recognized that it was in Deere’s best interest to convert to electric.”
Hupp didn’t do anything unconventional to convince Deere to convert, but they did the basics well. “We demonstrated electric equipment for an extended period to convince operators that the performance is comparable to IC. The demo trucks helped convince Deere management that, with an opportunity-charge solution, there wouldn’t be downtime or hassles with battery charging.” Hupp partnered with the Deka Dealer, Industrial Battery Products, to ensure that the best electric power solution was recommended. “We put Deere at ease by including battery watering and maintenance in the full maintenance package, and by showing battery and charger reporting. That reporting has been used by Deere for training purposes to ensure operators are charging batteries whenever they can.” There were also discussions about better uptime, lower maintenance costs, and zero emissions.
The December order was for 139 new trucks, most of which were class one sit-downs. Hupp also purchased 131 lower-hour trucks coming off of leases and refinanced them with new batteries. The estimated savings of refinancing off-lease equipment was nearly $1.1 million. All 270 trucks will come off of a residual lease on October 31, 2028, which is the end of Deere’s fiscal year.
The main message from the Hupp team is that earning a 270-truck order was a team effort. “Jessica Hupp, who is the team leader and the main liaison with Deere,” said Scott. “Jessica did a great job of keeping everyone on task.” Nathan Mixdorf, Hupp’s General Manager, Matt Curran, Operations Manager, Jake Barnes, a new sales associate, and Brandi Van Meter, Hupp’s Fleet Manager, all had big roles in the win. Two crucial team members were Josh Gropper and Chad Allee, Hupp’s two on-site technicians. “Those two are huge, providing excellent service to Deere. They’re our boots on the ground. They’re so entrenched at Deere that they let us know when new products start rolling down the line at Deere. Deere tends to tell Hupp of changes after new products are released, but Josh and Chad see these things earlier and recognize when changes create capacity concerns. Hupp is quicker to address potential issues because of Josh and Chad.”
TMH has provided strong support to Hupp and John Deere as well. Jim Petges has been Deere’s main point of contact from TMH for many years. “The Dealers have done a great job of earning John Deere business, but there is still plenty of business to gain. TMH improved our position at Deere four years ago when (Fleet Operations Manager, Advanced Services Operations) Ashley Whitlock got involved. Ashley fixed some invoicing issues that TMH was having and regularly attended playbook meetings. John Deere grades all suppliers at the end of each year, and TMH’s grades have improved and are now great, largely because of Ashley.” Scott Derby agrees. “Deere loves Ashley and Jim. Jim has built a strong corporate relationship, which has been keys to Hupp’s success.”
Today, all three Waterloo John Deere plants are running 100% Toyota trucks.
For more information on John Deere, a location list and summary sheet are located on the Portal. Please check for Deere locations in your dealerships’ area of primary responsibility and contact Jim Petges at TMH for assistance!
