Takeuchi-U.S. welcomed Landscape Management to its new 37,000-square-foot Training Center in Pendergrass, Ga., during its recent Media Day on Aug. 24.

The company opened the center earlier this year. Located next door to the company’s headquarters, the Takeuchi Training Center serves as the site of sales and technical instruction for the company’s salespeople, dealer principals, dealer technicians and corporate dealer trainers.

Takeuchi President Jeff Stewart said the idea for the new space stemmed from a desire to improve the trainings the company provides. Previously, training was held in a smaller space that included various disruptions.

“Here, the dealers can focus on the equipment, and there are no distractions,” Stewart says. “They can be completely immersed in what they’re doing.”

With 300-plus dealer locations, Takeuchi runs multiple training sessions each month, with indoor and outdoor demonstration space. The center typically holds classes Tuesday through Thursday each week, with other days used for prepping the sessions.

In addition to answering dealers’ questions and going over machines’ features, the training center staff “bugs” several machines with issues, and the training center attendees work together to figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it.

“There are more and more machines out there, so we’re wanting to provide more and more support,” says Keith Kramlich, national product and training manager at Takeuchi.

All in all, the training center boasts six track loaders, three wheel loaders and 17 excavators on the property.
Lee Padget, product manager for Takeuchi, showcased key features of various machines, mimicking the walkaround training presented to dealers.

Kramlich says so far, feedback from dealers on the trainings, which began in late March, has been positive, but that the instructors are always looking for ways to improve upon the classes.

Additionally, Takeuchi hopes to hire more trainers — there are currently five, but there’s room for eight.