By Ben Thorpe – Equipment World – March 11, 2025
A recent Equipment World poll found that a majority of contractors are satisfied with their primary equipment brand and that much of that satisfaction is determined by their dealer.
Among 129 responding contractors, 55% said they were very satisfied with their current primary equipment manufacturer, defined as the brand that makes up the majority of their fleet. Another 33.3% said they were somewhat satisfied with their primary OEM.
Only 9.3% of contractors said they were somewhat dissatisfied with their primary OEM, and just 2.3% said they were very dissatisfied.
Among contractors who said they are very satisfied, 31% named Caterpillar as their primary OEM, followed by John Deere at 17%. Other manufacturers listed among “very satisfied” contractors included Kubota, Case, Komatsu, Hitachi, Takeuchi, New Holland and Volvo.
When asked to explain their current satisfaction level with their OEM, a key theme among “very satisfied” contractors was prompt communication and service. These contractors pointed to benefits like always being able to get someone on the phone when they needed help and good parts availability from their local dealer.