Zuidberg North America

Ryan Holden, President of Zuidberg North America, credits the success to a commitment of doing things “The Zuidberg way”. “The Zuidberg way is about passion, doing the small things extremely well, and never settling. Together with our colleagues in Ens, we beat like a single heart for Zuidberg. Together we pursue one goal: to dominate.

In July 2014, Zuidberg North America (Zuidberg NA) opened the doors of the office in Cedar Falls, Iowa. This involved a lot of preparatory work by sales and finance. A special task force team was implemented to investigate the potential of both latent after market and growth of OEM partners. Our new local sales office made it possible to support our Canadian Zuidberg distribution partner in the best way possible and from there we were able to grow.

The wild west
Ryan Holden was one of the first employees at Zuidberg North America, he started there as a Territory Sales Manager. “It felt like the wild west in the beginning,” he recalls well. “We had to find our own way. While in The Netherlands all of the farmers know what a front hitch and front PTO is, in North America it is a very niche product. Due to the size of the land and size of the equipment on American farms, there is not a practical use for a front 3 point hitch and PTO in most places. So we had to understand the market opportunities better, and be really, really good in those areas.”

From 10,000 to 30,000 square feet
Nevertheless, Zuidberg NA quickly conquered the American market. Ryan: “Our products are doing well, especially in dairy farming, fruit growing, and snow removal. We have grown exponentially and scaled up from 10,000 square feet (about 1,000 square meters) to 30,000 square feet within five years, and now own the building and land. We are the market leader in both OEM and aftermarket solutions in the field of front linkage systems, PTOs and transmissions. The tracks are the icing on the cake. Our stock is one of our main strengths, but our after-sales commitment to “the Zuidberg way” certainly sets us apart from the competition.”

Secret Weapon
Ryan’s colleague Tanner Barber, Technical Service Engineers, is responsible for the after-sales (Parts and Service). Ryan: “Tanner is our secret weapon. When a customer or dealer calls in the US, you should be able to answer them right away. You can’t wait a day or even a few hours with that. Tanner possesses tremendous knowledge of our products and is committed to serving our customers to a high standard. Our repeat customers and great reputation would not be possible without him. The same goes for Vice President Chris Saunders. He is our driving force when it comes to selling products, and teaching our younger salesmen how to best serve their customers in “the Zuidberg way”.

All on the same page
Including Ryan, Chris and Tanner, there are a total of 7 employees at ZNA. Ryan: “The team here is unlike any I’ve ever worked with. It’s reminiscent of the brotherhood that an athletic team experiences: shedding blood, sweat and tears together towards a common mission. When we learned to set ego aside, and put the Misison of Zuidberg at the center of everything, decisions become much more clear. We are about passion, growth, market domination, and of course having fun while doing it!”

80-20 rule
Ryan: “It simply isn’t possible to proactively market to the thousands of equipment dealers in the US, particularly with a team of 7, and knowing that the product is niche. So we adhere to the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80-20 rule: twenty percent of our dealers and customers determine eighty percent of our success. We have about forty dealer groups with whom we work closely.”

Besides the United States, Canada is an important sales market. “For the Canadian market we work together with importer Frontlink. They had been importing Zuidberg products for several years, even before our office was established. Our success is in no small part due to their commitment. I expect our growth to continue for years to come, we are on the vertical of the “S-curve”. In the big picture, we are just getting started.”

Global Team Effort
Ryan: “The success enjoyed at Zuidberg NA is not executed or celebrated in a vacuum. Our colleagues in Sales, Service, Engineering and Administration are equally responsible. Without their guidance, patience and expertise, the road we have walked since 2014 would have been much more difficult. We have learned that a “we are one team” approach leads to higher levels of both trust and success. We look forward to the continued collaboration in our pursuit of world domination.”