KOBELCO Dealer Finke & Son’s Hosts Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at New Selkirk, NY-Based Headquarters

Executives from KOBELCO Construction Machinery USA recently traveled to Selkirk, NY to celebrate the ribbon cutting of Finke & Son’s new, state-of-the-art facility.

John Finke Toast
Kob Logo 10622928

Executives from KOBELCO Construction Machinery USA recently traveled to Selkirk, NY to celebrate the ribbon cutting of Finke & Son’s new, state-of-the-art facility. Alongside representatives from the city council, mayor’s office, the Town of Bethlehem, the local economic development agency, banks, business partners, friends and family, KOBELCO watched as this once home-based, father-son business marked a significant milestone in their 35-year history. The ribbon cutting signified the grand opening of the company’s new facility, marking the beginning of the next chapter of Finke & Son’s business.

The new facility located on Route 9W in Selkirk, sits across the street from the company’s first building and just behind the second building, which was fabricated in 1984. The new, $9-million dollar headquarters spans 66,000 square feet, more than eight times the size of the building they moved from. The new facility boasts eight full-service drive-through bays with overhead cranes and lifts, radiant flooring fueled by waste oils collected during service to keep mechanics comfortable throughout the work day, the largest installation of solar panels in the area which will be used to generate 50% of the company’s required power, a dedicated welding/fabrication bay, a self-contained, environmentally friendly wash bay, a drive-through paint booth that will cure paint within one hour and a learning center for formalized product training.

“Finke’s ribbon cutting event was very special,” states Pete Morita, president of KOBELCO Construction Machinery USA. “We saw years of hard work and dedication pay off for one of our loyal dealers. For 26 years, KOBELCO has been one of Finke’s leading brands.  To be a part of this success made us extremely proud.” 

Following the ribbon cutting, a three-day open house was held. From Thursday at noon through Saturday night, customers were invited to visit with Finke’s manufacturer partners, participate in equipment demonstrations and/or tour the new facility. A large tent was set up in the back of the building with food being served from opening to closing each day. On Saturday, Finke & Son’s anticipated more families, so they hired three bands to play, had a bounce house for children and culminated the event with an expansive fireworks display.

“There were so many people, customers, business partners, friends, family, you name it, who made today possible, that it was very important to us that we share the significance of the new building with all those who have aided our success,” states John Finke, owner of Finke & Son’s.

In addition to celebrating their success and the opening of the new Finke & Sons building, the company wanted to give back to the local community. “With the help of Abele Equipment, another KOBELCO dealer, we were able to have on display a limited edition KOBELCO SK350 excavator wrapped in graphics that tribute the 5 branches of our country’s Armed Forces. KOBELCO successfully used one of these machines at the recent ConExpo/ConAgg show in Las Vegas to raise nearly $120,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project. We used the limited edition machine owned by Abele at our open house to raise funds for our local chapter totaling $4,906. For every dollar donated by one of the attendees at our ribbon cutting and open house, Finke donated an additional dollar,” states Don Fiacco of Finke Equipment.

The Wounded Warrior Project Donation is not the only way Finke’s new facility will be giving back to the local community.  It will be bringing new jobs to the area, more business to the area and its new training room will be made available to local organizations and charities to use for meetings and events when not being used by Finke & Sons.

On Monday, it was back to business as usual for Finke.  “While we might be in a much larger building, our business philosophy remains the same,” states John Finke. “We come to work each day and provide the best service, equipment and assistance we can to each customer that walks through the door. This is the formula that has fueled our success and it will continue to be the driving principle behind the way we do business.”

Latest