A RED carpet entrance, guests having their names ticked off the VIP list before being offered a drink and then being ushered into a room that was pumping with upbeat music, flashing lights and even smoke machines.
This was an event more akin to an exclusive concert or fashion show than the grand opening of AFGRI Equipment's new headquarters in South Guildford last Thursday night.
Guests were able to tour the new showroom, workshops and offices and mingle with the head honchos from John Deere and AFGRI Equipment, who had travelled from South Africa, the United States, Singapore and Finland to network with local suppliers and customers.
And the proud ringmaster on stage greeting everyone was AFGRI Equipment operations director Gollie Goetzee who, along with a committed workforce, transformed the 11,000 square metre facility in just months to showcase the full suite of John Deere products - for use in the agriculture, turf, golf, forestry and construction industries.
"We are a dealership that has reached an agreement for all the product lines John Deere supply," Mr Coetzee said.
"We are very proud to have accomplished this because we are still, in the southern hemisphere, the only company that has all the franchises that Deere has to offer."
Mr Coetzee said AFGRI Equipment had grown the business tremendously since establishing itself in Western Australia in 2004 and the opening was an exciting time for staff.
He said AFGRI Equipment wanted to be market leaders and that would only be possible by showcasing the right equipment that customers would be proud to own.
"Only a few years ago we were 79 employees and three branches and since then we have grown the business and we have now got economy of scale," Mr Coetzee said.
"We have moved to more than 322 employees over a matter of five years.
"Without the board and the direction we got from the board members, this could not have been accomplished."
Mr Coetzee said the new head office was the new standard that clients could now expect.
Chris Venter, group chief executive officer of AFGRI Holdings Group, was one of the keynote speakers at the opening.
AFGRI Holdings Group is a company that is positioned in South Africa and has a footprint in 14 countries around the world.
Mr Venter said the company's focus was primarily on the food value chain.
"It is important for us to make sure that production and food production is key," Mr Venter said.
"We have a big food processing business, we are one of the biggest suppliers to Kelloggs in South Africa and to KFC in Africa - we employ about 6000 people around the world and we focus very much on our passion and that is food security."
Mr Venter also spoke on the group acquiring a bank in South Africa in the past two years, saying it was critical for farmers to have access to the right financial products.
Mr Venter said he was excited to further invest in Australia and the latest venture was a good opportunity.
"We can see that the team has done really well and can see things grow," he said.
"If you stand still you are going backwards," Mr Venter said on the investment.
