WESTERN PRODUCER — In late May, Bourgault released a short video on social media of one of its 50th anniversary air drill and cart combinations leaving the factory. It received thousands of views.
The brand announced its plan to build the special limited production models as far back as last January, so the video’s popularity was a little unexpected.
“That video on social media caught everybody’s attention,” says Colin Rush, Bourgault’s North American sales and marketing leader.
“There were over 250,000 views. It caught us by surprise.
“At the Crop Production show in January we announced, in conjunction with our 50th anniversary at Bourgault, that we were going to do something special.
“It’s called the Signature Edition. It’s a matching drill and tank. It’s black and gold for the cart and the drills are red, but instead of yellow rims and hydraulic cylinders, we’ve done them black as well. And then gold labelling. It’s something to really celebrate our 50th anniversary.”
The carts and drills carry the signature of Gerry Bourgault, who had headed the company until its recent sale to Linamar earlier this year. That signature was an important element to include because it was something many buyers had actually requested appear on the regular carts they purchased in the past.
“We always had quite a few requests from customers that they would like Gerry Bourgault to actually
“He’d take a sharpie and sign the cart. They wanted that connection to the company.
“For a lot of people that were connected (to Bourgault) over decades, second and third generations, it meant a lot to have Gerry’s signature displayed prominently on the side of the drill and tank as well.”
The anniversary models will make up a significant portion of the company’s production this year, but it will still be building drills painted in its standard livery as well.
The idea to create a special edition model for the anniversary, and its eventual design actually came from an initiative by staff at the company.
“This truly came from the ground up on the company employee side,” says Rush.
“Some of the employees showed us a mock-up. They brought it to sales and marketing management. It took a long time to make sure it was the right shades of gold and black and it also met all the criteria for fertilizer and UV protection.
“They also have a badge on them noting they’re part of the Signature Edition and a matching pair. We don’t sell just the tank separately. In order to get the Signature Edition you have to buy both the drill and cart.”
Special edition drills are available in high float 60-foot widths and up in either coulter or parallel link hoe models up to 86 feet.
“9000 Series carts both leading and trailing could be Signature editions,” he adds.
“The only carts we’re not making (Signature Edition) are the 8000 Series. A lot of those are more export market based.”
The order book for the Signature Editions was almost full at the end of May, with only about 10 spots left, but Rush believes those will likely be filled within a few weeks.
“We’re just about closed out. I know there are some dealers working on it, so I think we’re right at the end. It’s kind of a thank you to customers out there that wanted something a little bit different.”
Bourgault will display a Signature Edition model at the Ag in Motion farm show near Langham, Sask., in July.
