RDO growing with Dickinson

The ribbon cutting ceremony for RDO in east Dickinson was just held last week, yet the business is already moving forward with construction of another facility.

"What we've realized is that we're getting so many more requests from our customers and that we need a larger facility," said Scott Seiler, RDO marketing specialist for the Midwest. "We've run out of space."

The company purchased 10 acres in north Dickinson to build a 20,000 square foot facility which is three times the size of the existing building, said Patrick Frohlich, store manager.

The Dickinson business offers parts and service for construction equipment, he said.

"RDO is the largest John Deere dealer network in the nation," Frohlich said. "We do have a pretty impressive parts network. We can get just about any part overnight."

The expansion could bring a truck center which would service semis, he said.

"Even though we're in nine states with over 60 locations, we understand that in each community there may be different needs and that's why we give so much attention to the feedback that we get from our customers," Seiler said.

That feedback is what brought an RDO location to Dickinson in the first place, Frohlich said.

"Dickinson has actually always been a part of our territory that we cover," Seiler said. "(Customers) actually wanted a physical store location there because of everything that's been happening and the growth in Dickinson and western North Dakota area."

The name RDO is the initials of the company's founder and chairman, Ronald D. Offutt, Seiler said.

Frohlich said the company will be in the area for years to come.

"We have a lot of long-time customers in this area," Frohlich said. "Obviously we're working with a lot of oilfield business, but we've been in the market here for quite some time."

There are nine people working out of the Dickinson office, but the company continues adding employees, he said.

"We have found fantastic employees," Frohlich said. "We operate as a family unit even though we're separate stores ... we share people and equipment."

They hope to have a new facility running within two years, he said.