TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Kevin Vivian is passionate about agriculture and working with growers, and he flat out loves the equipment business.

That enthusiasm will no doubt serve him well as the new president of Agri-Service — one of the largest AGCO dealerships in North America.

His 25 years in the business won’t hurt any either.

Vivian took over the reins in July and now oversees 11 Agri-Service locations in Idaho, Washington and Utah and 270 employees.

He comes to the job with a wide range of experience in equipment sales and service working with the Quinn Co., a large dealership serving central and southern California.

Relationships, with customers and employees, drive his business style.

“It’s still a handshake business,” he said.

People in agriculture and the allied equipment business are dedicated and excited about what they do. Being able to work full time on the agriculture side of the equipment business is a big bonus and was a real attraction to the job with Agri-Service, he said.

The company’s track record and reputation as a premier dealership, as well as that of its partner AGCO, was another big draw, he said.

“They’ve always been on the leading edge of doing good things,” he said.

But he doesn’t intend to sit on Agri-Service’s laurels.

“Improvement is always important. You’ve always got to be striving to do better,” he said.

He also wants to make sure Agri-Service is a place employees want to be, and he embraces a safety culture at the workplace.

“Highly engaged, happy employees lead to good customer service. At the end of the day, the customers are our employers,” he said.

He wants himself and his team to be trusted advisors and partners to their customers rather than a vendor of supplies, he said.

“Kevin is a great fit for Agri-Service goals and values,” Tom Terteling, Agri-Service owner, said.

“Our primary focus is our customers, and Kevin’s well-rounded experience in finance, administration, sales, parts and senior management gives him the knowledge to give our customers the best experience possible,” he said.

Vivian’s most recent position with the Quinn Co., where he spent his career until now, was director of product support. He was also a member of the company’s strategic team for the past 13 years, leading many projects.

The Quinn Co. was also an AGCO partner, and Vivian said AGCO pushes the envelope to improve and bring better value to its customers.

“I think Agri-Service is the right company and AGCO is the right partner,” he said.