17.06.2026

CTE adds to US dealer network

CTE North America, has appointed the tree care equipment sales and rental company Vermeer Heartland as an authorised dealer for CTE Traccess spider lifts across Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

Vermeer Heartland clearly has a focus on Vermeer tree care and trenching equipment, such as wood chippers and trenchers, but also offers some of the products that it sells for rent. Until now, it did represent an aerial lift line, in spite of the fact that spider lifts, trailer lifts and bucket trucks are now widely used in the North American tree care business.

CTE chief operating officer Marco Govoni said: "We are honoured to welcome Vermeer Heartland to our dealer network, joining Vermeer Midwest and Vermeer Southeast as valued partners of CTE in the United States. Expanding our presence across North America is a core part of our commitment to providing exceptional sales, service, and support to our customers, and we are confident that Vermeer Heartland is the right partner to help us achieve that goal. We look forward to a long and successful collaboration."

Vermeer Heartland president Stephen Farrens added: "We are excited to add CTE tracked aerial lifts to Vermeer Heartland’s product offerings. This is a product that our tree care customers have been asking us to carry for quite some time. CTE makes high quality, safe, and reliable products. We are always looking for ways to better support our tree care professionals, and combining CTE with our product support network will give our customers a solution they can truly rely on."

Vermeer Heartland dates back to December 1980, when founder Rich Farens moved his family to Ohio and opened the first Vermeer Heartland store.
He had originally worked at Vermeer Midwest in Eureka, Illinois, initially in the parts department, and then as an equipment salesman. Just as his father had done before him. His employer spotted his potential, though and offered him the opportunity to start a new dealership, He seized the chance and thus the move to Ohio.

He started out with three employees, but today the business, based in Washington Court House, Ohio, roughly halfway between Columbus and Cincinnati, with almost 100 employees across six locations, with branches in West Chester Township, Ohio, La Vergne and Knoxville in Tennessee, Elizabethtown, in Kentucky, and St Albans, West Virginia. It also runs a dozen service trucks. Rich’s eldest son, Stephen Farrens runs the business today.

In the following video the Farens talk about the business and its history- it’s certainly worth a look