Media coverage of Brexit seems to have taken a back seat for now and Coronavirus (COVID-19) has taken its place. What a difference two weeks can make.

Since my last blog, stock markets and oil prices have taken a tumble, Italy is in lockdown mode, the Irish government has cancelled all St. Patrick’s Day Parades and, since last Friday, all Irish schools and colleges remain closed until March 29th. Sport fixtures and concerts are also cancelled. Even Donald Trump has imposed a travel ban from mainland Europe to the U.S. which was subsequently extended to the U.K. and Ireland. What does this mean for the service dealer sector in Ireland?

The Coronavirus has sent fear and panic in the stock markets. Why should this be? Investors are worried that this virus will stall world economic growth and may even cause it to go into recession. Slow economic growth means less product sales. This includes manufacturers of farm and garden machinery and equipment. If some of these companies have large debts then the slowdown in business could make loan repayments difficult and may force some to go bankrupt. Not a nice thought.

Another cause of concern is the supply chain of raw materials that is used to manufacture these items, especially if they have to come from China.

Many Italian tractor manufacturers are very concerned right now and may feel the effect of the Italian government’s decision to put a travel ban in and out of Italy. Companies such as Argo, Landini, SAME, and equipment makers Muratori attachments, to name but a few, may find it difficult to export their products. However, many of these companies have manufacturing facilities in other countries. Time will tell how long this lockdown will last for. If other European countries decide to follow Italy’s lockdown style then this market will find it hard to recover. The good news is that China seems to be coming out of the crisis but can western economies afford to lock down as they did?

On top of all this, oil prices have fallen because of a production cut disagreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia. It would be great if these lower prices will transfer to the petrol pumps, which would mean cheaper running costs for farmers, landscape contractors and groundsmen. It remains to be seen but so far the drop in fuel prices to the consumer has been tiny.

All these events have put pressure on dealers and distributers around the country. Farming life should go ahead as normal. We are now in the Spring season and soon farmers will be getting their machines ready to till and sow the land. Groundsmen are facing into the growing season which means that groundcare equipment will be soon back in action. Will service dealers be able to have a sufficient supply of spare parts in stock in anticipation of breakdowns? As I mentioned earlier, many spare parts for tractors are manufactured in China so there could be a supply concern here.

There is also the issue of self isolation. If employees decide to stay away from work, how will this affect the service dealers? Will premises be forced to temporarily shut down? Can they afford this, just as the busy sowing and growing season begins?

There is no doubt that the Coronavirus has done a lot of damage to the global economy. It has affected energy prices, supply chains, restaurants, hotels, airlines and autos to name a few. My personal opinion is that this virus will fade out with the onset of warmer weather, just like the flu does. If that is the case, normal life should resume in the next few weeks and business will, hopefully, pick up.

In the meantime, observe the precautions and guidelines for Coronavirus. Visit the HSE website www.hse.ie for information on COVID-19.

Below are some links that also may be of help

https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/coronavirus.html
https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/guidance/
https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/c36c85-covid-19-coronavirus/

Overton (UK) have announced that Dublin Grass Machinery have become the Mean Green electric mowers dealer for the Republic of Ireland.

L-R: Richard Overton (Overton UK) & Robert Mitchell (md of Dublin Grass Machinery)

After successful demonstrations with Robert Mitchell, the Dublin Grass sales team, along with some of their customers, decided to invest in the range of demonstration mowers.

Richard Overton says he and Robert's father Stan go back many years which was a factor in taking on the range -  combined with confidence in the knowledge that the commercial mowers have been in the UK for the last five years and manufactured in the US for 11 years.

Robert said, "Many of our customers have already bought smaller battery powered grounds maintenance equipment from us, but they are now asking us to supply large commercial electric mowers. With the Mean Green walk behind, stand-on and zero turn mowers we can now meet those requirements."

The annual Glas exhibition will take place this year at the Citywest Hotel on Thurday 16th July.

Some of the machinery on display from GLAS 2019

Opening times are from 9am to 5pm and the organisers say there will be ample free parking available on site. Admission is also free but registration is recommended beforehand or at the door.

GLAS is the lead exhibition for the horticultural, garden retail, and sportsturf industries and attracts many visitors each year.

Along with its core focus on amenity horticulture, GLAS continues its expansion into sports surfaces, grounds maintenance and related industries. The Irish Institute of Sports Surfaces Sportsturf Village is now an established feature of the event, connecting suppliers and specialists in this sector to a targeted list of invited sportsturf and parkland professionals.

Many stands will be on display in the Sportsturf Village and Machinery Park section including aeration and machinery equipment.

There are still spaces available for those who want to take an exhibition stand. Contact Eamonn Maguire on 01 2947765 or visit the GLAS website

Kuhn Farm Machinery say they have strengthened their commitment to the Northern Ireland farm machinery market by appointing a dedicated territory manager and parts and amenity sales specialist for the region.

David Sharp and Rhea De Souza

Experienced area sales manager David Sharp will be supported by newly appointed parts and amenity sales specialist Rhea De Souza.

They will work across Northern Ireland in support of KUHN’s two official stockists, Ballymena-based D. S. Logan and Benburb-based Alexander Mills.

The Chicago Athenaeum Museum recently presented Cub Cadet with a Good Design award for its new XZ5 Ultima Series zero-turns - for 'innovative and cutting-edge industrial product design' in the tools category.

The organisers of the awards, which have been presented for 70 years, say they recognise “design of the highest form, function and aesthetic . . . a standard beyond ordinary.”

Phil Noble, divisional ,manager, Lawn and Garden, E.P. Barrus in the UK says, “These new XZ5 Ultima machines have been on sale in America which leads the market on zero-turns and have smashed all sales records. The sales have been so successful that they have not only increased the line-up of Ultima machines but have also had to increase the production lines to keep up with demand.

"Cub Cadet has been at the forefront of the zero-turn market in the UK because our tractors have enabled customers to have zero-turn performance but with traditional steering wheel controls. However, in the UK, lap bar tractors are becoming more and more popular, so we are excited to add these machines to our range.

"We showcased these machines at the end of last year and our dealers have really got behind them, our sales have already increased dramatically.”

Cub Cadet say the full journey of the XZ5 Ultima took six months, including input from 1,300 customers and more than 63,000 hours of engineering and testing. 

“We knew we had something very special [on] our hands based on how the project came together," said Dennis Fowler, industrial design lead for MTD Products Inc. “We’ve already expanded the line up to reach new audiences for 2020, and we look forward to continuing our quest for innovation within this product line.”

Today’s farmers and contractors have to manage a large amount of data. With the cloud-based John Deere Operations Centre, not only can documentation and John Deere machine data be exchanged, but also data from external applications such as field maps and weather stations or from competitive equipment. Additional functions can also be easily integrated into the Operations Centre, just like using an app store.

Farmers prefer to manage their farm and machine data using as few different software solutions and web portals as possible – they want an overview of all their information and direct access to their files. As a cloud-based platform, the John Deere Operations Centre is ideally suited for this purpose. With the MyOperations app, users can view, manage and analyse all their operations from any location. In addition, both the Operations Centre and the MyOperations app are free of charge.

At the same time, the range of applications that can be used are continually increasing in number. With the recent launch of DataConnect, for example, machine data from other manufacturers can also be transferred cloud-to-cloud. Agronomic data is available on a larger scale as well, since more and more providers of software solutions, field maps, weather stations etc are connecting to the John Deere Operations Centre.

Currently 168 external partners and their solutions are connected and within the last 12 months, on average one company has been added every week. This gives customers access to the largest digital ecosystem in the agricultural industry. All the solutions offered and countries represented by these connected companies are listed in the Operations Centre under the heading ‘More Tools’ and users can easily access this from their account.

In order to continue these advances, John Deere has recently hosted its second developer conference in Europe. With 121 companies attending from the agricultural sector, this event saw an increase of 83 on the previous year. John Deere sales partners were also present to learn about the digital solutions and customer service processes of the participating companies.

As the Operations Centre network continues to expand, an open ecosystem is growing that can be used by farmers and contractors across different manufacturers. Customers can decide for themselves whether, and with which of the connected companies, they wish to share their information from the Operations Centre. Data ownership and management of access rights are controlled by the customer and require the individual’s express permission.

Campey Turf Care Systems says the 100% electric AllTrec Tool Carrier has made weed control CO2-emissions free.

Campey Alltrec with weed brush

Weed control is an essential task for turf professionals, and Campey believe the AllTrec with Air E-Variator or Weed Brush has made it quicker, easier and emissions-free.

The E-Variator is one of four attachments currently available for the AllTrec Carrier and it has been specifically designed for weed management on large paved and semi-paved surfaces. It works both preventively and repressively, saving up to 70% of its own energy through re-use – better known as the patented advanced air recycling system.

The unique variable airflow function (ADS) enables the machine to work in corners and around obstacles in just one pass, with operators able to fully control the attachment using the digital control screen. LPG tanks used for the E-Variator Weed Burner can be mounted to the back of the AllTrec, with a connection available for the automatic tank heater to prevent them from freezing. The closed burner system with heat recovery has gas reduction of no less than 60% and an automatic temperature regulation of 380degreesC.

Weeds can also be removed using the 70cm Weed Brush, which is electrically powered with three brush speeds and controlled using the onboard joystick. It can be hydraulically adjusted to any angle and used for a full day without any worry of batteries running out. All batteries come with a three-year warranty and have a lifetime of + - 2500 charge discharge cycles. The 48VDC battery uses LifePO4 technology with a capacity of 20kwh or an optional 30kwh, with onboard charging taking 4-8 hours.

The power produced from the battery means the AllTrec can also be operated using the mower or hedge cutter attachments. The hedge cutting attachment has a 75cm working width with electric motors directly powering the blades, which have speeds from 2000-3000rpm. The deck is controlled using a joystick and is easy to manoeuvre for a comfortable and effective days work. The mowing deck comes in optional cutting widths of 130cm or 180cm with a variable height of cut from 30-110mm, making it perfect for use on regularly maintained grass or overgrown vegetation. When cutting with the four-blade 180cm deck, the battery will typically last for 6-8 hours and 7-9 hours using the three-blade 130cm deck.

A large-action radius and highly efficient attachments combined with low operation and maintenance costs make the AllTrec perfect for use in urban environments, sports complexes, holiday resorts and parks by contractors, local authorities and landscapers.

The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) is giving one lucky reader plus their guest, the chance to visit GIE+EXPO, the international landscape, outdoor living, and equipment show in Louisville, USA, in October 2020.

The winner of this amazing free to enter competition, who must currently work at a dealership, will win two tickets to the show as well as travel to the US, transfers and accommodation.

SUPPORTED BY

Between the 21st-23rd October, GIE+EXPO will showcase the hottest products and technological innovations in the global outdoor power equipment industry - and you could be immersed in the latest developments plus be able to network with peers from across the world.

Throughout the three days you will be able to visit over 1000 exhibitors across the showfloor. There is even 20 acres of outdoor space for demonstrations and test-driving, so you can put the equipment through its paces.

You’ll also be able to attend a raft of insightful seminars aimed at boosting your efficiency and bottom line.

This really is an incredible opportunity to get away from the business for a few days and to come back with a wealth of new ideas from across the globe.

To enter the competition and for full terms and conditions click here.