ATHENS, Mich. — Two veteran southwest Michigan John Deere dealers have merged in order to expand their offerings and continue to meet the needs of their customers.

Klug Equipment, LLC of Eau Claire and Union, Mich., owned by Ken and Karen Klug, and Spoor and Parlin, Inc. of Athens, Mich. and Howe, Ind., owned by Chip and Anita Riddle, announced their merger last week to the new Great Lakes Green Power LLC.

All four locations will continue to offer John Deere agricultural, lawn and garden and commercial worksite products under the new partnership.

“This partnership gives us the opportunities for expanded services and growth we all wanted,” Chip Riddle said.

Both families have more than 50 years experience in the John Deere business. With that in mind, Riddle said the merger was logical because both families “have the same goals in mind.” “We share the same philosophy – making the John Deere experience the best it can possibly be,” he said. “We wanted to expand our businesses and offer more services and better stocking for our customers, but you can only grow so much,” Riddle said. “Their two stores mirrored our two stores. By putting them together we can kind of share the load.”

“We didn’t have to do this,” Karen Klug said. “But it was an opportunity that came up for both of us and it made a whole lot of sense.”

“We’re very excited about moving forward,” she said. “This will help us create a strong organization for the future.”

She said one of the benefits is that everyone “brings different skill sets to the table. It allows us each to do what we do best.

“I think it’s important to bring those different things to the table and hopefully create a much stronger organization with us working together,” she said.

“I used to be a Jack of all trades,” Riddle said.

“Now I don’t have to be. We can all key in on our areas of expertise.” The Klugs and Riddles agree that customers should expect to receive the same high quality service they are accustomed to. “We’re just a family business and we’re going to stay that way. We’re not going to change that,” Ken Klug said. “People are people and we take care of them.”

“If someone calls you at two o’clock in the morning and needs a hose for a cherry shaker, you get out of bed and go make the hose,” he said. “Part of the reason we made this merger is that we didn’t want to let our customers down.

“I know that’s what we’re going to offer in the future. We’re no different than before,” he said. “It’s all about customers. A nickel bolt to me is no different than a $500,000 deal. It still helps pay the bills.” Both families have a long history of dealership experience backing them.

Ken Klug’s parents, Harman and Lillie Klug, started their business in Jan. 4, 1953. Klug explained that his father had to wait until that date – the day he turned 30 years old – because John Deere “wouldn’t enter into a contract with anyone younger than 30.” “I was born in 1953,” he said. “So as far as being around the business, this is what I have done.”

Chip Riddle has a similar story.

His grandfather, Chuck Spoor, in 1956 owned Spoor Farm Service in Athens. In 1967, he moved to the store’s current location in Athens and took on a partner, Roy Parlin.

“That’s when the name changed to Spoor and Parlin, Inc.,” Riddle said.

Then, in 1972, Riddle’s father, Freeman Riddle, joined the business, buying out Chuck Spoor’s half.

Freeman Riddle was a mechanical engineer who had worked for Allis Chalmers Corporate Headquarters in West Allis, Wis., and had a previous career working for Boeing in the NASA project in the 1960s. Chip Riddle entered into the business in 1977 and in 1981, the family bought out Roy Parlin’s interest, making sole ownership by the Riddle family.

“I started out working here in high school,” Chip Riddle said. Now he’s been there for 30 years.

When Riddle wanted to expand into another area, he purchased Sherman Farm Equipment in Howe, Ind. from Frank Sherman on Jan. 1, 2003. Sherman remains with the business and continues to manage that location.

“We went from being competitors to being on the same team,” Riddle said. “He reminds me so much of my dad, it’s unbelievable. I really appreciate what he does.”

That long history and customer commitment is exactly what both families plan to continue.

“Our partnership is also with our customers,” Karen Klug said. “It’s a shared trust and commitment to the future. We’ve served four generations of customers and are combining our resources to meet the needs of the generations to come.”