Sinclair Tractor celebrates 25 years in business

On June 24, Sinclair Tractor will mark its 25th year of business, a big milestone for the company that started with one location in Sigourney but has since spread out to 16 across Southeast Iowa.

The business has grown in more ways than one in the last quarter of a century. While John Deere Tractor dealerships remain the primary business, the stores are also distributors of NAPA Auto Parts, and of miscellaneous supplies from butcher paper to hammers to office desks through subsidiary company Sinclair Supply.

“We have a lot of interaction, delivery to our customers and throughout stores,” CEO Bob Sinclair said. “If we can provide more services, more parts, we can get more business. So every one of our farmers, they have cars that need oil and filters and belts and hoses, and we can provide those. But they also have a need for tools and gloves and copier paper … so if they can get that, one-stop, from us, that’s a nice add-on.”

Despite the diverse array of business dealings, Sinclair said the company stayed ahead of the game with the help of top-notch employees.

To do that, it maintains thriving workplace culture.

“Our employees desire to take care of our customers, to satisfy their needs,” he said. “We look at our business as having four pillars, four legs of the stool. One of those legs is our employees, one of them is our customers, one’s our communities, and then the last is the business itself. And when you as an organization strive to make every one of those legs taller, and stronger, you have a very, very solid business.”

As for the secret to 25 successful years, Sinclair said it boiled down to good, careful planning.

That planning is important at every scale. It’s just as necessary to know what products need to share a delivery truck as it is to know what big steps come next for the company writ large.

“To go do something outside the plan, that doesn’t add value, those things can become a distraction,” he said. “That’s where the plan comes in. What are you going to be good at, and what to be good at? Understanding what your strengths are as a business and how you can delight your customers, because at the end of the day you only have a business if you have customers that want to support you.”

While it’s a straightforward method, it’s also a rewarding one. Sinclair said he was pleased with his success story.

“I’m pretty proud to have grown a business over 25 years, with the support of our community and customers,” he said. “It just makes me feel proud to be able to be that organization that has made it.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com