"Location, location, location” best describes why LS Tractor USA picked a site in to Battleboro to open its U.S. headquarters nine years ago.

The plant at 6900 Corporation Parkway is in an industrial park beside Interstate 95, an idea location considering that the interstate is critical corridor for trucking out the tractors to wholesalers nationwide, CEO Deryk Johannes said.

“Logistics-wise, the location is good for us,” he said. “North Carolina is a friendly state, and it’s located where you basically can get (products) to the north and northeast and south as well, so location is extremely important. Labor is very, very productive.”

At the plant, the company has an assembly line to assemble compact tractors, backhoes and loaders.

“We sell wholesale to dealers,” Johannes said. “We have 200 dealers all over the country.”

LS Tractor is a wholly owned subsidiary of LS Mtron Ltd., a heavy equipment manufacturer based in South Korea. In 2009, the international company decided to open its U.S. headquarters in the Whitaker Industrial Park.

The company was lured to the park with the help of a state grant and an undisclosed contribution from the Carolinas Gateway Partnership, a public-private industrial recruiting agency for the Twin Counties.

“We’ve done pretty well,” Johannes said. “We’ve surprised the industry with our growth.”

LS Tractor manufactures five series of tractors to accommodate needs from hobby farmers to medium-sized farming operations.

It sells compact farm and utility tractors in North America under the LS brand. For many years, the company manufactured tractors under other names. LS Tractor was born from the LG Group, which has more than 160,000 employees worldwide. LS Tractor has more than 30 years experience in manufacturing farm and utility tractors under the Montana, McCormick and FarmTrac names.

Q: What products or services do you provide?

A: We assemble tractors and sell them, usually the compact tractors used by farmers usually on the weekends.

We are basically a subsidiary of the LG Group. The LG Group manufactures TVs, washing machines, cell phones, electronic parts. We are part of the engineering section.

The LS group is huge. It has LS Cables, other divisions. We’re the tractor division, to put it in a nutshell.

Q: Who are your key leaders?

A: CEO Deryk Johannes.

Q: How many people do you employ?

A: 38

Q: What is your business philosophy?

A: To deliver customer satisfaction. Our value system is extremely high. We treat dealers as extension of our family.

Q: What makes business unique?

A: It’s ready to sell. What makes it unique in a sense is we have tractors ready to sell to dealers. (Dealers) don’t have to do anything.

Q: How has your business grown last few years?

A: We’ve been growing at rate of 25 percent last three years and we expect the same growth.

Q: How has your business grown last few years?

A: 25 percent. We offer excellent quality and value for the money.