Going with used equipment sounds like a trade-off, but it doesn’t have to be with certified pre-owned (CPO) equipment. Brad Adamson, Vice President of Customer Care for Jacobsen, outlines the company’s CPO program and how it’s helping superintendents.
When did the Jacobsen CPO program get started?
About 18 months ago, we saw a rise in demand for quality, second-life equipment. As golf course budgets get stretched thinner and thinner, many superintendents started to explore alternatives to purchasing or leasing new equipment.
Although iron manufacturers have offered pre-owned equipment for years at the dealer level, we recognized a real need for a pre-owned program that centralizes pre-owned equipment selection and acquisition, tear-down and rebuilding, and warranty implementation at the factory level.
As a result, in 2013, we developed the industry’s first and only national CPO program based out of our corporate headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina and Ipswich, UK. All our CPO equipment is rebuilt at the factory using OEM parts; given a comprehensive 90-point inspection; and outfitted with a one-year factory warranty.
When you layer on our global dealer network that extends from North America into Europe and Asia-Pacific, Jacobsen CPO customers have peace of mind that they will get the service and support they need for the life of the product.
How does the program work with superintendents?
In addition to value courses, our CPO program has also generated a lot of interest among standard and premium courses as well. As a result, there are several ways we’re connecting superintendents with certified pre-owned equipment.
We’ve recently introduced a two-tier pricing structure that separates our inventory by hour usage. Units with less than 1,500 hours are priced at a higher tier and machines with between 1,500 and 2,500 hours are set at a lower price tier. We do not sell any CPO units with more than 2,500 hours.
Of course, we also sell full fleets of CPO equipment and recently sold some rather large packages in the Northeast U.S. We also have customers that have leveraged a piece or two of CPO equipment to secure the financing for a full package of new equipment. These customers are trying to match a budget number and fulfill all their product needs. So really there are several ways Jacobsen CPO is adding value for customers.
How can superintendents see what equipment is available?
At jacobsentrader.com, you can learn more about our CPO program and review our current equipment inventory. If you contact us through the website, we’ll get back with you right away to talk about your needs. We’ve made the website very user-friendly and easy to navigate.
On the website, you’ll also learn about our partnership we launched with Patriot PAWS, an organization that provides service dogs to mobility-impaired veterans. The dogs are trained for over a year to perform tasks like picking up dropped items, providing bracing to get up and down, help with household chores, and getting help in an emergency.
We’re dedicating funds of each of the sales of our CPO units through this entire year to the Patriot PAWS program. Patriot Paws currently has a waiting list of about 110 veterans who are in need of a dog, so we’re helping to fulfill a real need here.