John Hunter DeMott, left, and Terry DeMott, Sr., with DeMott Auction in Colquitt County.
When the gavel falls, Terry DeMott, Sr., owner of DeMott Auction in Moultrie, knows he has provided clients with the ability to liquidate used farm equipment to regional and international buyers.
From farm and construction equipment to trucks and all-terrain vehicles, DeMott Auction is a leader in onsite and partial liquidations of farm equipment and agribusiness assets.
A true entrepreneur, DeMott started his company in December 1994, with the goal of holding one auction per quarter. Now 25 years later, DeMott Auction holds an average of 13 major auction events a year in Georgia, Florida, and Texas.
“When I started the business, it was me and my wife, Theresa, handling everything,” DeMott said. “As we built relationships with large farming companies in Georgia and Florida, then we began to grow.”
With decades of experience in the maintenance and selling of farm equipment, DeMott has earned a stellar reputation in the industry.
DeMott said auctions create an air of expectancy and excitement. “At each auction, we create a level of interest that puts potential buyers in a place where they feel confident in making a purchase.”
With a more global outreach, DeMott Auction now incorporates internet bidding along with the traditional onsite process for each auction.
“People are now able to bid at the site or online,” DeMott said. “We have had buyers from all over the world participate.”
DeMott said having online bidders helps to enhance the competitive market.
“In this day and age, it is important to communicate with potential buyers by computer or phone,” DeMott said. “There are still a lot of people that want to come to the site and view the equipment in person, but the online process gives our clients a larger potential buying audience.”
After graduating college in 2015, DeMott’s youngest son, John Hunter, joined the family business and is proving to be an integral part of the company’s continued growth.
For John Hunter, learning to be a salesman came at an early age.
“When he was five-years-old, John Hunter would come to the auctions and sit on an ice chest on the back of a John Deere Gator and sell water bottles for a dollar,” DeMott said. “He would take the money and stick it in his pocket. He doesn’t just know the business; he has lived it. He went to auctions with me all over the country in his youth.”
Like his father, John Hunter is a certified auctioneer and appraiser, and is actively involved in all aspects of the auction business and managing the used equipment inventory. In the process of expanding the business to include real estate, John Hunter became a licensed agent, along with his sister, Mary Beth DeMott Brown, in selling commercial, recreational, and agricultural property in Florida and Georgia.
“If you look at our company with the auctions and selling equipment, it was a natural progression to include real estate to our business plan; this provided exponential growth,” DeMott said. “The real estate allows us to fulfill the complete marketing package for our customers. We are a full-service auction company, dedicated to providing top-notch personal service to our customers.”
DeMott said the company’s goal is to continue focusing on excellence in life and business while providing customers with the best return on their assets in a rapid amount of time.
“Our company’s logo is an oak tree, which is exactly like the one we have in our backyard at home,” DeMott explained. “It represents our family. An oak tree can outlast a storm, hurricanes come through, and there might not be any leaves left. The tree might look beaten and battered, but it comes back with vibrancy and new limbs.”
DeMott said like the oak tree, the company’s success comes from standing the test of events of life through resilience and commitment to putting God and family first and creating long-lasting positive relationships with customers.
“We value the relationships we have with our customers,” DeMott said, “and see them as individuals, not just a number; this equates to on-going relationships and future business opportunities.”
DeMott said the company’s goal is to continue, through progressive strategies, to be at the forefront of new technologies and business improvements, and on the cutting edge of what their customers need.
“We are looking forward to continued relationships with our long-term valued customers,” Demott said, “and providing the same quality of service to new customers as well.”