Our Story
Drummond & Etheridge has been built on a reputation of talking straight with customers and providing quality service long after the initial sale. It’s a simple, honest approach, which has seen us grow steadily for over 85 years.
Today as a family owned and operated company we have a presence from Nelson right through to Southland and over to the West Coast of the South Island – selling and servicing industry leading products and technology within the Agricultural, Construction, Forestry, Commercial, Lifestyle and Adventure/Recreation sectors.
“I’m proud of what we have achieved with the business; attracting some of the most talented people in the industry, delivering even higher levels of customer service, investing in state-of-the-art servicing technology, providing training and parts support, leveraging attractive finance packages for customers and attracting quality brands to its stable of franchises.”
– Mark Etheridge
How it began…
Arthur Etheridge started his mechanics apprenticeship in 1928 at the age of 14. He quickly became respected in his trade and was employed by Ashburton’s Furnace and Drummond, where he became the top mechanic. When the Furnace and Drummond partnership dissolved, Drummond offered Arthur a partnership and Drummond & Etheridge was formed. It was 1933 and Arthur was only 19 years old.
In 1962, Arthur’s son Peter started in the business and soon found his niche selling tractors – which he still does to this day. The Etheridge family has the business in its blood and these days, the next generation is at the helm. Mark sits on the Board, while one of Peter’s daughters, Suzanne is H & S Manager for the Group.
Drummond & Etheridge and the John Deere brand have been synonymous in Mid Canterbury since the company took on the franchise in 1975.
In 2004 it extended its business north, with the purchase of a second John Deere franchise in Templeton which later relocated to a purpose built facility in Rolleston. In June 2017 a further purchase of the Gordon Handy Machinery business extended the company into 6 more dealerships, almost doubling the number of employees and extending the John Deere dealerships to eight, from Nelson down to Oamaru and over to the West Coast of the South Island.
An extensive Distribution Store has also been added to assist the business in providing on-time parts supply.
Alongside the agricultural business is D&E Outdoors based at the Moore St premises in Ashburton, selling Polaris and Marine, D&E Repairs and Spares based at Chalmers Ave in Ashburton, providing used refurbishing, dismantling and selling used parts as well as D&E Track & Trail.
Mid Canterbury remains “home” and, the state of the art building was built to showcase its line-up of quality brands and to provide a centrally-located, up to date service facility for its South Island-wide customer base.
In 1962, Arthur’s son Peter started in the business and soon found his niche selling tractors – which he still does to this day. The Etheridge family has the business in its blood and these days, the next generation is at the helm. Mark sits on the Board, while one of Peter’s daughters, Suzanne is H & S Manager for the Group.
Drummond & Etheridge and the John Deere brand have been synonymous in Mid Canterbury since the company took on the franchise in 1975.
In 2004 it extended its business north, with the purchase of a second John Deere franchise in Templeton which later relocated to a purpose built facility in Rolleston. In June 2017 a further purchase of the Gordon Handy Machinery business extended the company into 6 more dealerships, almost doubling the number of employees and extending the John Deere dealerships to eight, from Nelson down to Oamaru and over to the West Coast of the South Island.
An extensive Distribution Store has also been added to assist the business in providing on-time parts supply.
Alongside the agricultural business is D&E Outdoors based at the Moore St premises in Ashburton, selling Polaris and Marine, D&E Repairs and Spares based at Chalmers Ave in Ashburton, providing used refurbishing, dismantling and selling used parts as well as D&E Track & Trail.
Mid Canterbury remains “home” and, the state of the art building was built to showcase its line-up of quality brands and to provide a centrally-located, up to date service facility for its South Island-wide customer base.