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East Palestine area business retains its family presence

Morning Journal/Katie White C.H. McCutcheon serves as store manager of LandPro Equipment, formerly Elder Ag and Turf in Unity Township.

EAST PALESTINE — The family-owned business purchased by LandPro Equipment last year is still full of local faces.

The former Elder Ag and Turf company was presented with the East Palestine Area of Chamber of Commerce’s Presidential Award a few weeks ago.

The Elder Ag company was established in 1952 by Harry Elder Sr. and was owned by himself and his wife, Roberta, and Harry Elder Jr. and his wife Teresa, and C.H. McCutcheon and his wife Joyce.

The McCutcheons said the Unity Township store is being operated by many of the same staff and that it was, and remains, a John Deere dealer for agricultural, commercial, and lawn equipment.

LandPro — a John Deere retailer with businesses in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio — acquired the Elder Ag company in June of 2018. The acquisition included Elder Ag’s other two retail locations in Pennsylvania as well.

“It really was our pleasure and our pride to support the things going on in town. We raised both of our sons here. We are not planning on going anywhere,” Joyce McCutcheon said.

She added that her husband still serves as a store manager and that the sales teams, parts department, and majority of the service departments remain the same.

“We want to express our thanks to this community,” she said.

In a letter to sent out to Elder Ag employees around the time of the purchase, the Elder family explained the reason behind the sale.

“We firmly believe this merger will further enhance our value to our customers and continue to provide you, our staff, the job growth and benefits you deserve,” it said.

The letter also said the company will now be serving its customer with “more equipment, expertise, knowledge and enthusiasm than most dealers could dream of.”

LandPro said in a press release at that time that customers will have access to a larger inventory of new and used equipment as well as more aggressive pricing on equipment and parts, in addition to a broader base of service knowledge.

LandPro currently has 20 locations throughout New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Joyce McCutcheon said the Elder family is in the process of establishing a scholarship for students wanting to pursue a career in an agricultural or turf related field.

kwhite@mojonews.com

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