Tim’s not sure if the change came about because he switched to jeans, or because the sod farmers he’d visited were telling their friends he was a “straight-talking” guy, but after those first few months, cold calls didn’t feel so cold any more. “Now I love going out and meeting with my customers in their fields or in their shops, whether we talk equipment or talk fishing,” he says. “Sod farmers are the most down-to-earth folks I’ve ever worked with and the most willing to level with you.”

As the business grew, Tim rented a building in the Kansas City area with another forklift company. He says, “I traded office space for their service work. I moved the business to our Olathe, KS, location about 18 years ago and have been there ever since.”

Tim slowly gained the “grocery list” of product lines Sales Midwest now offers. He says, “Once our Donkey sales were going strong, I was approached by several manufacturers that wanted me to sell their equipment. I wanted top lines, so I’d evaluate each piece first to see for myself how it performed and would connect with several of that company’s customers to ask their perception of the products and the company. Progressive Turf Equipment was our first additional company; Kesmac was the second; First Products the third.”

Sales Midwest now sells new equipment and related turf care products for the following companies within a broad region of the Midwest: Donkey Forklifts, Master Craft, First Products, Brouwer Kesmac, Progressive Turf Equipment, Brillion Farm Equipment, Landoll, and TAMANET. Sales Midwest is a multi-state distributor, with the territory ranging from six to ten states, depending on the sales and distribution agreement with each of the companies. Most of the new products Sales Midwest sells are specific to sod producers and the turfgrass industry. He also sells some new equipment, such as the Donkey forklifts, to lumberyards, hardscape (brick and block) yards, and the roofing industry. About 80 percent of the used equipment the company handles is for turfgrass production.

Tim, Dawn and Colton Wollesen love the outdoors, so this is a great spot for their family photo.

Tim expanded the company’s offerings to include parts from the beginning and starts stocking parts for whatever new line of products he adds. Sales Midwest now stocks a parts inventory worth close to a million dollars. Tim says, “Sod is like milk—its shelf-life is limited. If a piece of equipment breaks down, the worth of that sod is in jeopardy. We try to make sure we have what our customers need, in stock, to get them back in the field right away. We can’t have everything, but we’ll have the main things.”

Selling Equipment

Around the World When the economic downturn hit the US, sod farmers stopped buying new equipment. Many were forced to downsize their operations, and some were forced out of business. Suddenly there was a glut of used equipment available for sale.

Tim Wollesen moved Sales Midwest into this building in Olathe, Kansas, about 18 years ago. TPI Turf News May/June 2018

“We’d moved quite a bit of used equipment when the economy was good,” says Tim. “When a sod farmer bought a new machine, it often was a replacement for an older model that they’d then want to sell. I discovered I loved making the match between used equipment, and those who could use it, just as much as I loved selling new equipment. We’d also started bringing some of those used machines into our shop, refurbishing them, and then selling them.”

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