TIFTON —  Heavy equipment supplier Tidewater Equipment has begun development on a new location in Tifton.

Tidewater officials broke ground on the site of their new facility Thursday morning, beginning the construction phase of a state-of-the-art Tidewater dealership in Tifton.

The new building, set to be stationed at 104 Windy Hill Road, will serve as the company’s primary Tifton location, replacing the site on U.S. Highway 82 they’ve operated out of for decades. 

Trent Senkbil, Tifton branch manager for Tidewater, reported that the supplier’s extension in the Friendly City was in need of a new base of operations, prompting the relocation, and was eager to bring a top of the line dealership for heavy agricultural and construction equipment to the community.

“I think this will be great for our ag community, our construction community,” Senkbil said. “Those guys will have a new dealership to walk into — fresh, state-of-the-art shop. Everything in there will be brand new, and we’ll be able to service them and get them up and running quicker.”

In addition to the dealership, the 52-acre site is planned to sport an area for demonstrations of agricultural and construction equipment available at the facility, which Senkbil referred to as a “playground,” as well as a training center meant to serve as a centralized location for educating Tidewater employees for any of the branches around Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.

Following the groundbreaking, Senkbil expressed high hopes for the growth and impact the new facility could have on Tifton, surrounding counties, and the local agricultural and construction industries.

The sitework of the location has mostly been completed, and steel infrastructure is expected to begin within the next three weeks. Currently, the facility is planned to finish construction in May next year.