National Group is a locally owned business that has experienced constant growth since it started as National Supply in 1993.
The company, which now includes National Supply, Service Rentals & Sales, National Concrete Pumping and Beta 1 Filters, moved to its current location on Sackville Road in 2009.
The National Group has deep roots in the Sault, giving back to the community by supporting numerous youth sports teams and non-profit organizations such as the Sault Area Hospital Foundation and ARCH.
“We do a lot of sponsorship for youth sports. Hockey, swimming, soccer, you name it, we've probably sponsored it," said Darrin McGonegal, Service Rentals & Sales general manager, in an interview with SooToday.
"We do sponsorships for events like Laird Fair which is coming up next month. We've donated to the Soup Kitchen. We're constantly looking at helping the community.”
The company started selling Mahindra tractors roughly 13 years ago. Before that, no one had ever heard of those tractors in the Sault.
“I run into people I’ve sold Mahindra tractors to at the mall. We talk. We’re on a first name basis.
"They call me on my personal cell phone if they have questions or if they want to purchase something more. It's truly become like a family to me,” McGonegal said.
The National Group’s Service Rentals & Sales division now wants its family of regular customers to enjoy a new line of products.
“We've added power sports to our portfolio,” McGonegal said.
The business now sells four wheelers, dirt bikes, side by sides and motorcycles as well as fishing boats, deck boats and pontoon boats.
“It complements the equipment side of things that we've been doing. Now we want to go one step further and start selling some fun,” McGonegal said.
The recreational vehicles come from well known manufacturers such as Suzuki and AODES. The boats are from Starcraft.
“It was a collaborative idea of ours. We talked about what we should be moving into.
"Some of us who work here are getting into the later stages of our careers and we like to enjoy ourselves on the weekends, so we thought ‘why don’t we look into products that we love to use and enjoy and have fun with?’” McGonegal said.
Service Rentals & Sales began the process of adding power sports equipment last year and started getting inventory in the last four weeks.
“I do truly feel that our customers who buy equipment like tractors are family and now we want to do the same thing for customers who buy Suzuki and Starcraft products.
"Power sports are fun,” McGonegal said.