Podolinsky Equipment Ltd. is a family owned and operated John Deere dealership that has been in business since 1964. Started by Ludvik and Anne Podolinsky, with the help of their children, this family run business has grown in size and product offering.

Today Podolinsky’s is still operated by Rick, Louie, Dave, and Anne Podolinsky, as well as approximately 50 dedicated employees, including third-generation family members. It continues to offer John Deere products and has also been an Arctic Cat dealer since 2006.

Expansion History

In March of 1964, the Podolinsky family opened shop in an old garage and grocery store on the northwest corner at the intersection of Petrolia Line and Forest Road, across the road from its current location.

In 1971, the Podolinsky’s decided to relocate across the road, to the southwest corner of the intersection (the current location). The first building, of many over the next 40 years, was built. All of the inside work, shelving, shop areas, and the two offices were built by Ludvik’s father and his uncle, Martin. The old parts shelves from across the road were slid over the snow-covered roadway and into the new building where Anne proceeded to put each part away into the new parts bins and recorded all the parts locations manually. The grand opening of this new building was held March 13, 1971. Wes and his Country Kings played the music and the dancers polished up the cement floor in the workshop all evening. Even the OPP stopped in for a short period of time to make sure everything was running smoothly.

In 1973, Podolinsky’s purchased a building at the Plowing Match which they had moved and attached to the rear of its current building. Not only did they require additional space for the expanding operation, but they also required a larger door to fit the new John Deere cab tractors and combines that were too wide and tall to fit in the original overhead door.

By 1981, Podolinsky’s simply outgrew their space again and built the large building west of the old blue building. They moved into the new building by December of 1981. This new building had a large showroom and offices around the showroom. The parts department was at the south end of the showroom and the south half of the west side of the building was a parts warehouse. A repair shop covered the east half of the new building. In 1993 Podolinsky’s added on the large combine shop to the south with overhead doors from three sides as the equipment by this time had reached very large proportions. Over the years, various other storage sheds have been added around the property for equipment storage.

In 2002 the current and very large showroom was added. This showroom is capable of displaying the biggest of combines. It contains a huge retail section for the parts department including a large toy corner where big and little kids are entertained. What was previously the showroom in the last addition is now a new Arctic Cat showroom, displaying ATVs, snowmobiles, and Arctic Cat merchandise.

Throughout the 40+ years of history, Podolinsky Equipment Ltd. has expanded not only its physical location but also its product lines. Still primarily offering John Deere, it now also offers Arctic Cat, Exmark, Frontier, Arctic Blades, Snow Ex, and more. We sell to a variety of consumers ranging from agriculture to golf courses, and residential to commercial customers.

John Deere Days History

Podolinsky Equipment Ltd. held its first John Deere Day in April of 1964. This was held at the Inwood Fire Hall where a full crowd was in attendance. This event continued at this location for about 15 years. In those years, there was only one really bad snow storm that prevented half the crowd from attending, leaving the staff with a lot of leftover donuts. John Deere Days was a social time for the agriculture community in the winter months and most came out to see the new John Deere products and to view the John Deere movie. At that time the movie also featured some cartoon movies for the children as this was always a family day.

In 1980, John Deere Days needed more room for the vendors and crowd. Therefore it was moved to LCCVI, the high school in Petrolia. New emphasis was put into the film around safety awareness.

In December 1985, Podolinsky’s started hosting its annual John Deere Days at the dealership where it is now called Farmer Information Days. This two-day event has grown immensely. It now offers a number of educational seminars on agriculture related topics, trade show displays, and the movie is still being shown. In 2007 we held our first ever Ritchie Brothers Auction. A memorable moment in John Deere Days history was in 1995. Podolinsky’s shipped in a John Deere cotton picker and filled it to the top with beach balls. A contest was held to guess how many beach balls were in the tank. The cotton picker was an unusual sight to see in Southwestern Ontario.