Dakota Peat & Equipment Under the Same Roof

E. Grand Forks, MN, July, 2004 -- All divisions of Team Dakota, including the highly successful Dakota Peat and Dakota Equipment companies, now under one roof.

The move, along with a corresponding expansion of the design and manufacturing capabilities of Dakota Equipment, is intended to further build on Team Dakota's ongoing effort to provide the best possible services to customers.

"Having all divisions at the same site and in an environment that promotes better communication between them provides the opportunity for more teamwork," Randy Dufault, Team Dakota sales manager, says. "In the new setting, Dakota Peat will be better able to tell Dakota Equipment about the particular needs of a customer, or vice versa. Another example might be that by sharing information, we can have a shipment of both peat and equipment on the same truck when both orders are going to the same area. This will speed delivery to the customer and, at the same time, improve our overall efficiency."

Other divisions of the Team Dakota group are Dakota Agronomics/Analytical and Dakota Blending. In the previous arrangement, the sales and manufacturing divisions of Dakota Equipment were in the complex that was recently remodeled and expanded to house all divisions, while the Dakota Peat sales and Dakota Agronomics/Analytical operations were in separate quarters a quarter mile away.

As a part of the move to co-locate the different divisions and of an accompanying internal re-organization, Dufault's duties have been expanded to include supervision of all Team Dakota sales. He had previously managed sales for the company's highly successful equipment line, which now includes 37 different pieces of equipment for soil and turf applications. Michael Pierce is Dakota Peat & Equipment president with Kevin Pierce as vice president.

Expansion of the manufacturing portion of the facility, which has been increased by almost 50 percent to more than 125,000 square feet, will provide space for the production of several new lines of equipment, some of which will soon be introduced. Other new pieces of equipment, along with some model updates for 2005, are currently in different stages of design by an expanded engineering staff. A new powder-coat line has also been put into use.

In the relocation, the testing lab facilities of Dakota Analytical have been greatly increased to provide a better facility that will allow it to gear-up for expected new growth for those services.

"We're really excited about the growth and expansion that is occurring at Team Dakota, and with the upcoming introduction of several new products, the future is only going to get better," Dufault says.