Today, M&H Equipment serves a diverse customer base across the Northeast. The dealership has become a trusted partner for a various range of clientele. From homeowners and municipalities to professional contractors across various trades, customers rely on M&H for top notch equipment, service and support. As a result of this growth and commitment to excellence, the company has been named the 2026 Rural Lifestyle Dealer’s Dealership of the Year. Beyond this honor, the company has also grown into one of the region’s top-performing dealerships, earning recognition as one of Altoz’s leading dealers while becoming Exmark’s top dealer in New England.

However, M&H Equipment didn’t start with a large team or even a shop. It began with two dealer technicians, a home garage and a commitment to help customers who needed someone they could trust.

The Origins of M&H Equipment

Before M&H Equipment existed, Neil Mongeau and Patrick Howell were two technicians whose friendship evolved while working together. 

The pair first met around 2005 at work, and spent the following years working together throughout the industry. Although their careers took different paths at times, they always found themselves back working alongside one another.  This partnership became the foundation for what would eventually become M&H Equipment. 

In 2014, the dealership where they both were working closed unexpectedly. Employees were informed the business would be shutting down that day. While most of the staff left, Howell stayed the rest of the week to help disassemble the service department. 

As he was helping shut the dealership down, he realized there were approximately 150 jobs still sitting in the service department. Rather than leaving those customers to find another option, Howell asked the owner if he could finish all the services himself.

With the owner’s approval, Howell immediately called Mongeau, and they got to work. 

The early days of M&H Equipment were far from a traditional dealership operation. They worked out of Mongeau’s home garage and traveled to customer locations to complete repairs. 

“I had a Volkswagen Jetta that we took the backseat out of and put plywood down,” Howell says. “We put the toolbox in it, and we drove around servicing mostly commercial landscape guys.”

The company began with approximately 10 commercial landscape customers, focusing entirely on service. 

There was no large parts department or extensive inventory. What M&H did have was a deep understanding of equipment and a willingness to go wherever customers needed them. 

That approach helped them form relationships that ultimately showed Mongeau and Howell that there was another opportunity in front of them. 

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