Australia’s largest manufacturer and wholesale distributor of replacement agricultural tractor parts has recently purchased its main US distribution center at Pine Drive, Dandridge TN. Bare-Co is a family owned and operated business, established in 1944 by Roy Bare. Roy’s son Allan has been with the company since 1960 and now owns and operates the business with assistance from his son Evan, daughter Alison and many loyal long term staff members.
Being an engineer, tractor mechanic and Ferguson tractor dealer from way back, Allan is proud of the company’s success, using procedures that farm machinery dealers need and ignoring the bean counters. The company operates twelve distribution centers covering Australia, New Zealand and USA with a branch at Sacramento and the new major distribution center here in Dandridge. Dandridge was chosen due to its ideal location for overnight freight to nearby states and second day delivery to most US agricultural states. “We are excited about our partnership with the town of Dandridge, Jefferson County and the Economic Development Alliance and are looking forward to an ever growing base of operations in East Tennessee” stated Mr. Bare.
BARE-Co does not sell directly to the public. All sales are delivered through a network of local farm machinery dealers who are in a position to provide local support. Company policy is to stock every one of the 10,000 web site lines in every warehouse which is unheard of in the spare parts business.
Scott Faulkenberry, Executive Director of the Economic Development Alliance, EDA stated, “the Bare-Co is an excellent example of the type of company that should be inherently attracted to our community based upon our proximity to the East Coast and excellent transportation infrastructure. The Bare-Co is a natural fit for both the company and the community and we are thrilled to have them as the newest addition to our employment base.”
Bare-Co is heavily engaged in the farm safety area. Particularly tractor Roll Over Protection frames and PTO Driveline Safety Guards. The Bare-Co patent safety guard allows the operator to release and refit the driveline guard in less than 30 seconds. These guards which are manufactured in the company’s Australian drive line factory have been a huge success with worldwide sales now in the millions. It is anticipated that assembly of these guards for the US market will transfer to Dandridge in the near future. Competitor guards which are retained by various screws and retainers are often discarded by farmers, resulting in fatalities and horrendous injuries. Most vulnerable are hobby farmers, typical of the East Tennessee area. All too often we hear of farmers and spouses losing limbs after contact with drivelines on post hole diggers etc. With just two guard part numbers (for small and large shafts) and a very small outlay, guards are very cheap life insurance.
A video showing the safety guard operation is available at this web site. http://www.bare-co.com/files-movieindex
