The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
By David Grimes for The Quill
When Floyd Link opened Link Motor Sales in Media, in 1932, he probably didn't know if his farm implement business would outlast the Great Depression, much less that it would grow and thrive for years to come. But it has.
Even the product line offered by the family business now known as Cole Implement Co. has not changed.
Allis-Chalmers has left an indelible mark on Link's son-in-law and grandsons.
"Our family has had an orange heritage since then (1932)," Mike Cole said of his grandfather.
Today, Cole Implement Company provides farm implement sales and service to a customer base that ranges from 100 miles into Iowa to Kewanee to the northeast and Rushville to the south.
Cole said round-the-clock service availability and competitive sales along with customer loyalty to the Allis-Chalmers line have helped the business grow.
"We've had no slack season in four years," he said.
And the Coles' willingness to go the extra mile to accommodate their customers' special needs.
The mechanics and the ability to go where the customer needs help keep Cole Implement Company's reputation in tact.
"If there's a problem during harvest, we get out and go to where the combine is in the field," he said.
The Link dealership in Media was continued by Mike Cole's uncle, Harvey Link, who ran the business from 1961 to 1965.
Chuck Cole bought the business, with assistance from his father-in-law, in 1965, moving the business to just outside of town in 1971, a half mile to the west along Illinois 116.
Cole had previously worked in the service department at the company's Morton site and took the chance to move to Henderson County.
Forty years later, Chuck and Phyllis Cole run an award-winning AGCO (the company Allis-Chalmers was absorbed into in 1990).
Product line offerings include everything from field tractors to golf carts and lawn mowers.
Despite fewer small farming operations in the area, the business continues to attract new customers as land tracts change hands and the need for labor intensive agricultural work continues.
Cole Implement Company caught fire Friday, April 13, 1990, but what could have brought the family business to an end instead spurred the Coles on to provide better customer service than ever.
In two days the Coles hustled to get phone lines up and working and in four days were back in business selling parts and providing service to their customers again.
Awards from AGCO for recognition as a top-volume dealership in 1995, 1999, 2000 and 2002 displayed in Mike's office attest to the hard work and dedication the Cole's have invested in their loyal customer base.
"We're the oldest implement dealership within 40 or 50 miles," he said.
But being the oldest isn't necessarily an indication of being the best.
That aspect of running a business successfully has its own secret ingredient.
"Determination," Chuck Cole said. "That's what it is."
More information on Cole Implement Company is available by calling 309-924-1191 or 800-243-2420.
You can also contact the Coles at their Website, www.coleimplement.com
Cole Implement Co. is a family-run business. Brothers Mike (left) and Ed work in management and sales, Phyllis is bookkeeper and office manager, and her husband Chuck is chief operating officer.