In 1930, the late Bill Hergott, fresh out of St. Peter’s College, was hired on for his first job as office manager and partsman with Jake Platzer who was the IHC agent. In 1944, Jacob Platzer retired and Bill Hergott along with his brother, the late Albert Hergott, formed a partnership known as Hergott Bros. They were the only people employed at the time, however they soon added two others.
In 1944, International Harvester had grown to the point where they needed a larger building so they moved to the 600 block of 7th street Humboldt where Wheelers Wholesale used to be.
In 1960, the late Gerald Hergott, Albert and Bill’s nephew, joined the partnership in the position of sales manager. The name was then changed to Hergott Farm Equipment Ltd. More lines were added, volume increased and storage property had to be rented throughout Humboldt.
In 1965, Parts Manager, Leo Altrogge and Service Manager, the late Ed Thiemann became partners, two years after the passing of Albert Hergott.
With farm machinery sizes constantly increasing along with sales, Hergott Farm Equipment was again forced to relocate and in 1966 moved to the present location on Highway, East of Humboldt.
At that time, a 7000 sq ft building was constructed. Parts inventory was increased and Telex was installed to give a direct connection to parts depots across the country.
During this era, new lines were added such as Degelman, Leon, Sakundiak, Morris and Ski-doo. However, due to increased heavy truck sales, Ski-doo was dropped, but between 1968 and 1973 511 snowmobiles had been sold.
In 1972, Bill Hergott retired. At this time Murray Hergott, Gerald’s brother, became a partner in the firm and filled the position of sales manager and Gerald took over the position of General Manager.
In 1976, another building with an additional 7000 sq ft was added, including machine assembly, parts storge, warehousing, offices, a lounge area and showroom.
In 1977, the late Willard Sarauer, who had joined the parts staff in 1974, became a partner.
1979 was another eventful year. The company name was changed to Hergott International, another expansion of 7600 sq ft was added to accommodate parts, service, showroom and office space. This same year, Hergott International became the first dealership in Canada to qualify for the prestigious XL Dealer point program and in 1980 were among the first IH dealers to implement DADS, which was a computerized Dealer Accounting Data System.
1982 again brought the addition of more lines, including Steiger four wheel drives and Wilger sprayers.
In 1984 Tenneco, the parent company of J.I. Case, purchased the International Harvester Agriculture division and formed Case International.
In February of 1985, Hergott International was selected as the preferred dealership in Humboldt for Case IH. This brought along another need for expansion, so an additional 1300 sq ft parts warehouse was constructed. This same year, the dealership reverted it’s name back to Hergott Farm Equipment, which it has retained to the current day.
In 1987, the Bourgault line was added, bringing air seeders, cultivators, sprayers and more.
In 1990, Ed Thiemann retired and in early 1991 three more partners were brought in. Daryl Hushagen, our controller, who had started with the firm in 1976. Len Hergott, former General Manager, who had started in 1981 and Joe Fischl, our sales manager, who had started with us in 1984.
The Patriot sprayer line was added in 2000.
2009 saw the sudden passing of our partner Willard Sarauer. In 2012, two more partners were added to the company, brothers Curtis and, Chris Hergott. Curtis had been with the company since 1996 and Chris since 2009.
2013, after 53 years, saw the retirement of Gerald Hergott and the General Manager position was then filled by Len Hergott. At this time, Murray Hergott, moved to the role of short line manager and led way to Joe Fischl taking over as Sales manager.
In 2014, an 11,000 sq ft service shop was constructed to make room for the expanding shop and machine sizes. This year also saw the retirement of Murray Hergott after 45 years.
In 2015, a new 3200 sq ft parts warehouse was constructed to again make more room.
In 2019 the shareholders decided to sell. Murray Hergott’s sons, Chris and Curtis Hergott chose to buy the dealership and keep the Hergott name on the building! Chris Hergott is now the General Manager and Curtis is the Shop Foreman.
In 2020 Hergott’s saw the retirement of past shareholders Joe Fischl (Sales Manager) and Darryl Hushagen (Controller). Joe had been with us for 36 and Daryl for 44 years. Mike Gabriel took over as the Sales Manager and Renee McKinnon took over as Controller.
Hergott Farm Equipment has grown from it’s humble beginnings to currently cover 18 acres, with over 36,000 square feet of facilities. It employs 37 staff including 5 in sales, 6 in parts, 20 in service and 5 in administration.
With our exceptional staff, long-term employees, upgraded facilities, additional service space, quality equipment, and a long-standing commitment to the community, Hergott Farm Equipment will be able to meet the demands of the next generation of farming.
We have been an independent dealer serving agriculture for over 75 years. We are proud to be of service to you and our community. Hergott Farm Equipment Ltd will be here to serve our customers for years to come.
