Rowmec: From Equipment User To ForestryTrader Seller

Rowmec, which stands for Right-of-Way Maintenance Equipment Company, has its roots in a contract land clearing company, O’Hagan’s Tree Eater Service, Inc. That company concentrated on right-of-way maintenance for oil, gas, and power lines and eventually began manufacturing its own mulching attachments before deciding to sell the clearing company and go all-in on equipment.

Today, Rowmec specializes in selling, renting, and servicing mulching equipment. Rowmec staff members gained extensive experience actually using various types of mulching equipment, and they take pride in sharing their knowledge with customers.

“We have spent a lot of time and resources to build up our sales team, parts department, and service/repair shop,” says Rowmec CEO John O’Hagan. “We want to be a one-stop shop for our customers in the mulching industry.”

Reaching Customers

To reach more customers, Rowmec has advertised with Machinery Trader for over 15 years. More recently, the company has been advertising with ForestryTrader, where every ad in ForestryTrader magazine comes with a for-sale listing on ForestryTrader.com. That powerful print-plus-online combination yields results. “My salespeople tell me that 60% of our calls and emails start with ‘I saw your ad in ForestryTrader online,’” says O’Hagan.

A Comprehensive Plan Yields Big Results

With the help of its Sandhills Global sales representative, Shayne Campbell, Rowmec developed an advertising strategy that uses priority pages, banner ads, and email blasts. These ads not only bring attention to Rowmec’s equipment listed for sale in ForestryTrader magazine and on ForestryTrader.com, but also drive more traffic to the company’s Sandhills-hosted website, thereby generating even more leads.

Priority pages—including front and back covers, inside covers and facing pages, and the centerfold—bring premium exposure in print because they’re the first pages buyers see when they flip through the magazine. They also drive more exposure online, where corresponding for-sale listings appear near the top of search results on ForestryTrader.com and other Sandhills trade sites.

Rowmec also runs banner ads on the ForestryTrader.com mulcher category page. The ad is seen by users browsing listings on that category page, and any buyer clicking the ad is directed to Rowmec’s website showing the company’s full inventory and services. Rowmec also uses email blasts to highlight specific equipment or specials. These email blasts are sent to everyone on the ForestryTrader marketing list.

Tangible results from these ad campaigns have been immediate. After moving from a full-page ad to a front cover ad in ForestryTrader magazine in July 2023, Rowmec saw a 312% increase in listing impressions and a 20% increase in detail page views in just a week. Also, a back cover ad that ran in January 2024 generated 48 calls in one week.

Always Up-To-Date

Another key to Rowmec’s success online is its hosted website. By hosting through Machinery Trader, the company can use Sandhills’ Inventory Management system. A chief benefit of this system is that whenever inventory is updated, that information is automatically updated across Sandhills platforms and Rowmec’s website. This allows Rowmec to devote its time to serving customers rather than repetitive data entry.

Branching Out

Rowmec recently marked their first year in a brand-new facility that took three years to complete. As they continue to settle into their new digs, they work to continue their growth. “Our new location and facilities are a huge game changer for our overall workflow,” says O’Hagan. “We look forward to continuing to get our name out there in the mulching industry and helping more people.”

A version of this article first appeared in Sandhills Magazine. You can find the current issue and back issues in the Sandhills Magazine Archive.