Technician Mechanic

In March of 1962, Everett and Elva Carlson decided to purchase a Minneapolis Moline dealership in Dow, IL. Everett was a part-time farmer and mechanic at an International dealer in Jersey County, IL at the time. Their son Roger Carlson, who pushed his parents to buy the dealership, soon joined the business in September of 1962. The newly-acquired dealership represented the Minneapolis Moline, New Idea, and New Holland lines of equipment.

In fall of 1974, the Minneapolis Moline brand was dropped by the White Motor Company. Our dealership was forced to close our doors and the Oliver dealer in Dow took care of the White Motor Company brands. In an effort to keep their dreams of operating a full-service agricultural dealership alive, Everett, Elva, and Roger decided to buy the Walter Chatten Company in Quincy, IL in early 1975. Walter Chatten Company was also a Minneapolis Moline dealership at the time along with White, Sperry-New Holland, and New Idea. So the move fit. The dealership was located at 10th and Broadway in Quincy, IL.

In 1976, Everett Jr came into the business after the move to Quincy. Everett Jr. and Roger would eventually end up buying their parents out and owning Walter Chatten Company. Roger worked in sales, Elva did the bookkeeping and payroll, Everett was a mechanic, and Everett Jr was the parts manager. In the early 1980s, Roger's eldest son Lance came into the business as a salesman. Roger's daugther Peggy also joined the business and helped with computer software, secretarial duties, and parts.

In 1985, Great River Ford in Quincy went bankrupt. This gave us the opportunity to move our dealership to its current location at 24th and Spring Lake Road. This is how Walter Chatten Company took on the Ford tractor line. This ended up being the perfect marriage for what would later be a merger between New Holland and Ford, as Ford bought Sperry-New Holland in 1986.

Fast forward to November 2008, Lance Carlson buys the business from Roger and Everett Jr and rebrands it to Quincy Tractor. Since the buyout, Lance has expanded Quincy Tractor, LLC.'s coverage by representing more brands and acquiring other businesses.

In March of 2010, Quincy Tractor, LLC. purchased Bowling Green Equipment in Bowling Green, MO and rebranded it as Bowling Green Tractor. All former employees were kept on board and the store's brands were enhanced. Since then we have renovated the buildings and made our business more economical at this location. We have also increased Bowling Green's staff to 19 full-time employees adding a Precision Farming Specialist along with more parts people and service technicians.

In July of 2011, Quincy Tractor, LLC. purchased Howard Bier Inc. in Hannibal, MO. This location was a Kinze dealership, which allowed the Kinze line to be acquired by the Quincy location. This dealership was rebranded as Hannibal Tractor. Since then, we have moved the business less than a mile west of its old location and built a brand-new facility. We have added the Bobcat, New Holland, and other lines that our stores represent to this location to round out its offerings.

In September of 2012, a unique and wonderful opportunity presented itself to Lance. Being involved in the New Holland Dealer Council, Lance found himself making friends and comparing business models with other dealers, one of which was Midwest Tractor Sales (MTS). Lance became good friends with the owners of MTS, and they decided to partner together to open a brand-new store in Jersey County, Illinois named Midwest Tractor Sales Jerseyville. This allowed the Carlson's to put a store back where it all started!

In July of 2016, we purchased Green Hills Ag in Brookfield, MO and rebranded as Brookfield Tractor. This location was a Kinze dealership with AGCO, Ferris, and RhinoAg lines of equipment. In addition to keeping those brands, we also added MacDon, Versatile, Geringhoff, Bobcat and others to their offering.

In April of 2022, Quincy Tractor acquired Stelter Hofreiter in Havana, IL.

Fast forward to today... Everett Carlson Sr. and his son Everett Jr. have passed away, as have Peggy, Elva and Roger. Lance still maintains the family atmosphere that the dealerships have always maintained. In May of 2012, Lance's son and fourth generation Zachary decided to join the business as Operations Manager. The Carlson's along with a fantastic group of employees continue to provide top-notch equipment and service that our customers have been accustomed to since 1962.