Donna, Charles Jr., and Brad Baldwin of Baldwin Unlimited in Pennington.
Some 60 years ago, Charles Baldwin opened Baldwin Tractor on Reed Road in Pennington, and for more than half a century, he provided repair services for tractors and mowers.
His son, Charles, Jr., helped him on weekends, but spent most of his time at his full-time job — running his own elevator drilling business. It wasn’t until his dad retired in 2004 that Charles, Jr. decided it was time for a career change.
“By the end, Pop only had a few customers,” said Donna Baldwin, wife of Charles, Jr., about her father-in-law, who passed away in 2009.
Basically, Charles, Sr. was only doing as much as he alone could handle, which was mostly just selling parts, said Donna.
Meanwhile, some 25 years into his drilling career, Charles, Jr., along with his son Brad, were fed up with the fact that more and more drilling jobs went to bigger and bigger companies. A small company like the Baldwins’ didn’t stand much of a chance.
So the father and son decided to take over and rebuild the mower and tractor business.
Donna was a bit reluctant to get involved at first, but that soon changed. “I said, ‘That’s fine, but I’m not going to have anything to do with it,’” she said. “(But) 10 years later, here I am.”
She added that while some people might find it difficult to work with other members of their family, that is the part of the job she likes the most.
Brad said that although he and his parents have certain defined roles, as with any family business they all pitch in to whatever job needs to be done at any particular time.
“Officially my title is president, but really, I wear a lot of different hats,” Brad said.
Charles, Jr., Donna and Brad are the three owners and sole employees of Baldwin Unlimited. As president, Brad is head of operations, but he also works as a mechanic and serves as the company’s sales force. His father is head mechanic, and Donna, a former medical receptionist, meets and greets customers, answers the phone, and handles administrative tasks.
The business itself services “pretty much anything with a motor,” Donna said. Anything non-vehicle that’s built for yard-type work, anyway. The company fixes ZTR mowers (that’s “zero-turn radius”), push mowers, snow blowers, and tractors, of course. The company also sells equipment by Bad Boy, Tenaka, Mighty Mac, Kawasaki, Koeller, and Briggs and Stratton.
With the business celebrating its 10th year in its new incarnation, Donna said business itself is steady and smooth. The company will introduce its new spring lines in April, but past that, it will be business as usual.
And that steady hand — and a reputation for being honest and upfront — is what keeps loyal customers coming back.
“We have a lot of repeat customers,” Donna said. “Word of mouth treats us well. And we have some older customers who could come in and have coffee for 25 minutes.”
Baldwin Unlimited is located at 1627 Reed Road in Pennington. More information is online at baldwinunlimited.net. Phone: (609) 737-8348.
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