About Us
HISTORY OF CASTONGIA TRACTOR
Castongia’s was established in 1939, by Archie J. Castongia in Morocco, Indiana. Archie took over the family farm near Beaverville, Illinois in 1930 and farmed for several years. He realized that farms were becoming more mechanized, and saw the need for a farm equipment dealership in the area. In early 1939, he sold a load of hogs off of the farm and paid the freight on his first load of 6 tractors, and our dealership took its very first steps.
As farmers converted from animal power to mechanical power, Archie often took livestock or teams of plow horses in on trade for machinery. He would then take them to his farm in Beaverville to keep until he could re-sell the animals. Archie would also take in grain on trade for machinery. In fact, Roger Castongia’s first job at the dealership was to haul and clean out a crib of corn that Archie had taken on trade!
In those early days, parts were shipped in burlap bags and spread out on the floor for farmers to pick through to find what they needed to complete their repairs.
During World War II, when equipment was in short supply, Archie took on the Case franchise along with John Deere to satisfy the need for equipment in the area. At one time, Castongia’s also sold hardware, GMC Trucks, Frigidaire appliances and DeLaval Milkers.
Archie’s oldest son, Ezra ran the dealership with Archie after serving in the military during World War II. He left the dealership in 1966 to pursue other interests. Archie’s youngest son, Roger joined the business in 1961 after serving in the Air Force. Roger acquired the business from Archie in 1967.
In 1988, Roger Castongia took on a major expansion project moving into nearby Rensselaer and DeMotte, Indiana, acquiring the dealership from Bob Butler. In 1993 Roger added a third store in Fowler, Indiana, which was formerly Nally Brothers. Roger’s son Jon acquired the business from Roger in 2000. Castongia Tractor now operates five full service John Deere dealerships in Rensselaer, DeMotte, Fowler, Valparaiso, and Crown Point, Indiana.
In February 2016, Castongia Tractor purchased A& M Farm Center in Valparaiso and Crown Point Indiana. In 1939, Archie Castongia founded Castongia Tractor & Equipment. From 1988 through 2015 we were known simply as Castongia’s.
As both a tribute to the past and a vision for the future, we are rebranding our 5 dealerships to Castongia Tractor.
Situated in the heart of the corn belt, our region primarily consists of corn and soybean farms, therefore we specialize primarily in Combines, Row Crop Tractors and Seeding Equipment. We sell and service John Deere Commercial Worksite Products. We carry several high quality short line products including Unverferth, Brent, Landoll, Grouser, Frontier, Trac Vac, Stihl, Fast, Honda and Haybuster.
We are well known in the area for having a large selection of high quality, clean, and well maintained used equipment.
With five fully stocked parts warehouses, experienced, factory trained technicians and a commitment to quality customer service our field support is second to none in the industry.
MISSION STATEMENT
Castongia Tractor is a team of professionals focused on helping our customers grow by providing accurate, timely and valuable solutions for our Agricultural, Commercial and Residential partners’ ever-changing needs through new technology and continued education of our customers and employees.
CORE VALUES
Our core values are beliefs, principals, and qualities that are the foundation upon which our lives and our business is built. They provide a framework through which we conduct ourselves. They influence our actions, behaviors, decisions and ideas. These values are an important part of not only our company but the people within it.
