PRESTON — Founded in Lewiston, Utah, in 1951, Valley Implement celebrated its 75th anniversary in Preston, where it relocated its headquarters in 1997.
The celebration, hosted at the Franklin County Event Center on Feb. 18, was a way for the company to say thank you to those who it considers the cornerstone of its operation.
“We invited our customers from every location,” said Karly Yardley, market director for Valley Implement. “We just really wanted to focus on our customers because we know they are the ones who got us here.”
Valley Implement is a dealership specializing in new and used agricultural equipment, including tractors, combines, planters, balers and irrigation equipment. It services the vehicles as well and has an extensive parts department that includes parts for brands it doesn't sell.
Yardley said it isn't just the large farms that can find what they need at Valley Implement.
“We do have compact stuff as well,” she said. “Hobby farmers and folks with a couple of acres can find what they need here. We are here for big and small.”
The company was founded by Lowell Christian Titensor and thrived in Lewiston, Utah, for more than 30 years before a second location was opened in Grace in 1985. A dozen years later, it moved its headquarters from Lewiston to Preston.
As the company continued to grow — it currently has 120 employees — so did the need for more space. Valley Implement changed its Preston location in 2004 and then again in 2007 to 213 W. 8th N., the location it now occupies. In the midst of all that, it opened a third location in Logan, Utah, in 2001, and 10 years ago added its fourth location in Tremonton, Utah in 2016.
“One of the things we are really proud of is that it has remained a family business for 75 years,” Yardley said. “We really like working with farmers and the farming community. We also work with contractors as well.”
The 75th anniversary celebration started with a breakfast for those who attended and included a feature speaker who talked about investing in people.
“That tied into how much we appreciate our customers and how they are a big part of our story,” Yardley said.
There was some swag that was handed out and some door prizes that included tool sets, jackets, blankets and a backpack sprayer. The final part of the celebration is a plan to give away a Bobcat Zero-turn Mower.