Les Olson, CEO of Plains Ag LLC, is pleased to add Central Plains Equipment to the Plains group, with the purchase of the Ag Power Equipment Case IH dealerships in Holyoke, Burlington and Sharon Springs, Kansas.
Central Plains Equipment owners grew up on farms
Les Olson grew up in a farm/ranch family near Max, North Dakota, population 302.
In 1980, he started sweeping floors in an equipment dealership. “I worked for good people,” he is quick to point out, adding that an older technician taught him to be a mechanic.
From there, he got into sales and store management. In 2002, Olson and his partner, Roger Gjelstad, founded Plains Ag LLC and operated a single store, Frontier Equipment, in Williston, North Dakota.
That evolved into three regional territories for Plains Ag Case IH dealerships: Border Plains Equipment in Williston and Stanley, North Dakota, and Glasgow, Montana; Northern Plains Equipment in the North Dakota communities of Minot, Garrison and Mandan; and West Plains Inc., also in North Dakota, in Dickinson, Beach, Bowman and Hettinger.
As of May 1, Colorado and Kansas have been added to the Plains Ag family, with the purchase of Ag Power Equipment from Ken Kuhlman, majority owner.
Former Ag Power Equipment stores in Holyoke, Burlington and Sharon Springs, Kansas, are now operating as Central Plains Equipment, under the Plains Ag umbrella.
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