James River Equipment becomes Sennebogen dealer

James River Equipment, Ashland, Virginia, has entered into an agreement with Sennebogen LLC, Stanley, North Carolina, to become the company’s dealer in Virginia. According to a news release from Sennebogen, James River Equipment had been looking to expand its range of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) lines with the right complementary machines for its customers the past two years.

“We are very pleased to have such an experienced and diversified representative to serve Sennebogen’s customers in this region,” says Constantino Lannes, president of Sennebogen LLC. “As a long-standing family-owned business with a clear focus on customer support, James River is an ideal match for Sennebogen purpose-built material handlers.”

Originally founded in Colorado in 1926 by Rudolf Romer, James River Equipment has long since migrated to its current base near Richmond, Virginia, now led by the founder’s great-grandson, Mark Romer. The dealership represents the full range of John Deere equipment throughout a four-state area, including eight branches in Virginia that will support the Sennebogen line.

John Grantier, James River’s vice president of sales in Virginia, highlights the areas where Sennebogen fulfills his mission to provide customers with a complete one-stop source of primary equipment. 

“Two of our niche markets include logging and material handling,” says John Grantier, James River’s vice president of sales in Virginia. “Our employees have been in these industries for many years and have seen our customers’ needs evolve. Our parts and service departments have unique specialties to handle the needs of both industries, and thus makes us a great partner for both logging and material handling.” 

Grantier says he attributes his team’s strong relationship with scrap yards and log mills as a good foundation for growing Sennebogen’s presence in Virginia.

Sennebogen’s resources in North America also complement James River’s commitment to service and parts, Sennebogen reports in a news release. 

Although Sennebogen machines aren’t manufactured in the U.S., Sennebogen’s 100,000-square-foot facility for its head office, warehouse and training center are nearby in Stanley. “Knowing that Sennebogen resources are so close to our own footprint made us feel confident in our ability to add Sennebogen to our lineup,” Grantier adds. “Having the headquarters so close allows us to train our sales and product support groups properly. Our product support group has already sent many of our parts and service teams to Sennebogen for on-site training.”