It started with a tractor. In 1965, the late Ralph Perilli Sr. parked his uncle’s tractor in the front yard of his West Middlesex home and hung a for sale sign from the steering wheel. The rest is history.
Buyers started showing up almost immediately. At that time, tractors were gaining popularity and quickly becoming a staple necessity for the average middle class homeowner. It seemed as though everyone was looking for their very own riding mower.
And while Ralph Sr. was slightly surprised by the unexpected influx of customers to his home, he did not write off the success as a fluke. This was no accident; this was an opportunity.
In 1967, Ralph Sr. and his wife Mary bought six tractors from John Deere and converted their garage into their first showroom. This time when their customers showed up, they were not turned away for a lack of inventory. The Perilli’s named their shop M&R, for Mary and Ralph.
Ralph Sr. continued to work full time at the Westinghouse factory, while he and Mary managed the shop with the help of their oldest two sons, Ralph Jr. and Ron, and a handful of other employees.
Over the next three decades, M&R continued to outgrow their locations and moved from the Perilli’s garage to a building next to their house to an even larger more commercial location on
Then in the early 1990’s, after working 40 years at Westinghouse and 20 years at M&R, Ralph Sr. retired, making way for Ralph Jr. to take over the responsibility of running the family business alongside his mother Mary.
By 1999, M&R was ready to move one more time. After three location changes, M&R purchased a large, two acre lot on Route 18. The lot was finally big enough to provide M&R with the stretching room it needed to grow.
As predicted, M&R has thrived in its new location. The new building houses over 25 employees and a 15,000 square foot showroom, a vast expansion from the Perilli’s garage and three employees.
Amidst all the growth, M&R has continued to stay a family business. The Perilli’s youngest son Rod and grandson Dustin have stepped in alongside Ralph Jr., and of course, Mary still comes to work everyday.
Now, over forty years after Ralph Sr. and Mary sold their first tractor in the front lawn of their home, M&R and the Perilli family are still selling tractors, amongst dozens of other types of power equipment and products, and maintaining customer relationships decades olds. It all started with a tractor.