Photo by Wanda Hanson
Just a year and a half ago, Creighton and Charles Horihan moved into their new building located along Highway 43 on the outskirts of Rushford. At that time, when asked if they had plans of adding any more businesses, Creighton had hinted at another one coming soon. Fast forward to today and that additional business has become a successful reality.
Very visible from the highway is a huge display of trailers of all kinds. Bluff Country Ag and Equipment, sister company of Horihan Insurance, Pioneer Seed Corn and their flooring company, originally started selling EBY trailers. EBY, which gets its name from the family that owns the company, is the anchor brand for Bluff Country Ag. These quality trailers are made from aluminum. The EBY brand is a premier brand which customers tend to upgrade to.
In addition to the EBY trailers, Bluff Country now offers CornPro trailers which are made of steel and are typically used to haul livestock and equipment. A third offering are side dump trailers from SmithCo.
Bluff Country has also begun selling trailers that are owned by others as well as trailers that have been traded in when the customers upgrade to a new trailer at Bluff Country.
By using the internet for their trailer business, they have broadened their market reach. The company sells trailers in Kansas, Ohio, Green Bay, Wis., Canada and North and South Dakota. Customers, however, mostly come from Minnesota, Wisconsin and northeast Iowa.
Bluff Country will ship or deliver trailers if customers so wish, but usually the purchasers want to come and pick up their own trailers. This brings in business to the local restaurants, gas stations and other businesses in Rushford.
Bluff Country picks up trailers from the factory in Story City, Iowa. Sometimes those trailers never even make it out to the sales area; customers pick them up shortly after they arrive in Rushford. Bluff Country does customizing on trailers; they add winch kits, air vents, hydraulic jacks, tires and rims. They also do limited repair work on customer’s trailers.
The trailers are intended to haul livestock of any kind including cattle, hogs, goats, horses, buffalo and even draft horses. Although Bluff Country tries to carry the trailers their customers will want, it seems everyone wants something different. They spec out trailers to suit their customers needs.
One of the more unusual requests for a trailer modification came from a customer who wanted to use a livestock trailer to transport frozen meats. The entire trailer underwent insulating to make it suitable. Equipment trailers are used to haul round bales, antique tractors, ATVs, etc.
When asked if they had any competitors in trailer sales, the Horihans answered that while there are other dealers nearby, they do not carry the same brands that Bluff Country does. The Horihans noted that their customers are brand loyal and prefer to purchase trailer brands with which they are already familiar.
When asked if Bluff Country Ag has any plans to expand their trailer brand offerings, the Horihans commented that while “there’s always an opportunity for others,” they are pretty satisfied with the brands they carry currently. They feel EBY is a great company; they treat their customers well and stand behind their brand. EBY is one of the few family owned companies in the industry. EBY appreciates that Bluff Country Ag not only sells their trailers, but also uses the trailers on an almost daily basis.
In addition to trailer sales, Bluff Country helps customers by collecting their information and sending it out to local banks or nationally for the customers. They do not actually do any financing themselves.
The median price range for the livestock trailers is from $30,000 to $60,000, while the equipment trailers range from $13,000 to $18,000.
Bluff Country Ag and Equipment differs from other trailer businesses in several ways. They not only sell the trailers, but also use them extensively. As a result, they have a deep understanding of each of the trailers and how to best suit the customers’ needs.
The sales staff consists of people with diverse backgrounds; the customers like the people working at Bluff Country. Jim Peterson, Kody Bearbower and Matt Holtegard comprise the sales staff for Bluff Country Ag. According to the Horihans, the biggest reason for the success of the business is that people know the sales staff personally.
Charles and Creighton called Bluff Country Ag and Equipment a “very nice complement to the other things we do!” They feel they are in a good place and are busier than they had expected. At this point, they have no plans to expand further, but you never know what the future will bring!
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