Moses Lake, WA - Central Machinery Sales Inc. recently signed on to become the Champion Motor Grader Dealer for Central Washington. Their two locations in Moses Lake and Pasco serve the Columbia Basin area, plus Northern and Northeastern Oregon. Larry Frazier, Champion's Western Territory Manager, was contacted by Van Powers from Pasco "Van had an older Champion C50 and was interested in a current model. While that deal actually didn't go anywhere, they also had someone interested in a C86. They also wanted to talk about becoming the Champion Motor Grader dealer for the area," said Frazier. "From this original small contact point, the Sales Manager at Moses Lake, Peter Harp, was instrumental in getting the whole thing started."

A loaded C86 for the rental stock
Central Machinery has a C86 on order, soon to be delivered. Harp said, "We've ordered a high-end 'bells and whistles' machine, because we think our customers need to see the added value - how the different options like all-wheel-drive, a front blade and ripper can help on a job site. This grader also has a full cab and air conditioning - except for a few weeks in January, this is a year-round operating environment. We've already got a customer who'll take it for three weeks as soon as it gets here."

Versatility pays off
Word is starting to spread already: "What we'll have is the three or four sizes of grader that we haven't been able to offer until now. We've got some smaller contractors out here that are interested in this smaller type of machine, and they're calling us because the word is out that we're the dealer. A lot of them are doing finish grading for parking lots. They work in precise, tight spaces, and they have to be concerned about operating costs as well. This is a good match. To start off, this grader will be part of the rental fleet, and we hope to show it around and do some demos. We'll put some brackets on if anyone wants to try out a laser system."

Steve Stredwick, Sales Manager at the Pasco store, adds, "This is a grader that'll get into areas we haven't been able to serve so far. We have a demand in landscaping, and this line of grader will match up with other machines and products that we're involved with. I can see us renting for a while at first, showing it around, and then being able to convert the machine to a sale, and then continuing that cycle with more machines."

Pamp Myers is the owner of Central Machinery Sales Inc., and involved in farming and contracting in the region. He also supported the C86 stock purchase. Frazier says Myers' instructions to the store were simple: "Buy the machine that will sell."