I was surprised to hear how much the cost of renting cars in Ireland has gone up over the last number of weeks. I was equally surprised to learn about how the cost of second hand cars has also increased. This is all down to the shortage of new vehicles. This rings familiar sounds to us as some of the tractor dealers around the country are experiencing supply shortages of new tractors. The dealers are filling the order books but converting these to sales is a bit trickier.

Another area that is in short supply is staff, particularly in the workshop department. It is hard to find a qualified mechanic these days. One major dealer has taken the initiative of offering a Tractor Mechanic Apprentice scheme in association with the Education and Training Board (ETB). This is a 4 year programme which leads to a QQI Level 6 certification. This is something other dealers could consider as it may be a way of encouraging promising up and coming mechanics in your place of work gain a formal qualification. 

Having a perk like this to offer your employees might not be a bad thing. If your business can’t afford to pay for the full cost of the course over the four years, then maybe you could offer to pay for half of the course, should an employee be so interested in obtaining a qualification.

The real problem, however, is retaining good staff. It’s all very well offering expensive training to employees. What good is that if they leave to go work for another business soon after getting qualified, or worse, leave the industry altogether? All that investment will seem to have been wasted. Some terms and conditions would need to be put in place such as employees must work for a minimum period of time with your business. 

Already some of the major tractor manufacturers are offering mechanical and workshop training throughout their dealer network. This training however is generally product specific, particularly in the area of electronic diagnostics.

Only last week the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) debuted their Certified Turf Equipment Manager (CTEM) programme The CTEM designation was developed by turf equipment managers and educators and is the highest recognition that turf equipment management professionals can achieve in the US. The CTEM programme is the first certification program in the world for turf equipment manager professionals. 

Perhaps trade associations and organisations in Ireland would consider adopting a similar approach to encourage more people getting involved in professional certification.

As we are now in the summer season, this means that more machines are out and about. I would encourage you to make your customers aware of the dangers using farm and garden equipment. Also try and keep your own work environment as safe as possible. Let’s aim to keep accidents on the farm, garden and in the workplace down to a minimum. Farmers4Safety and AgriKids have joined forces to launch a farm safety sticker competition entitled ‘Stick 2 Safety’. You can visit www.farmers4safety.ie or www.agrikids.ie for more details.

Thursday 24th November 2022

Conference theme: Sustaining Dealerships

Recruitment, Retention and Succession. These three topics come up time and again when speaking with dealerships.

How can we get fresh blood in? How can we keep great talent? And, when retirement is pending how do we best address the issue of succession in the family-owned business?
 
Our conference speaker line-up will offer new insights for employers, supporting them in preparing for the future and creating a motivated workforce.

We’ll address the full life cycle of an employee from the start of a career at a dealership, right through to their potential take-over.  
 
Our full speaker line-up will be released soon. Keep an eye out on this Ireland Update and Service Dealer's website.

STIHL Inc. and Briggs & Stratton have announced a new manufacturing relationship that will expand the offerings of STIHL products.

In an official statement, STIHL say these products will be available in the U.S.

Service Dealer approached STIHL GB to ask if UK or Ireland dealers would see these new products and were told "There is no current plans to launch in GB or EU."

Through this relationship in the States, STIHL say they will launch a line of zero-turn mowers for professionals and homeowners. The new products will be available in select authorised local STIHL Dealers in the U.S, beginning in January 2023.  

This will be the first time STIHL has offered a zero-turn mower. The official announcement said, "Combined with the existing gasoline and battery-powered handheld outdoor power equipment range, the addition of zero-turn mowers allows STIHL and STIHL dealers to provide one of the broadest ranges of outdoor power equipment in America. Briggs & Stratton will manufacture the new line of zero-turn mowers to meet STIHL specifications and quality standards."

Terry Horan, STIHL Inc. president and CEO added, “The introduction of zero-turn mowers allows our network of authorised local STIHL Dealers to offer an even greater breadth of product solutions for our customers who turn to STIHL for world class products and support to meet their garden and landscape needs.

"Working with Briggs & Stratton, a well-established leader in this product category, allows us to bring a superior product to market for both demanding professionals and discerning homeowners.”

Steve Andrews, Briggs & Stratton president and CEO said, “We take great pride that STIHL has seen in Briggs & Stratton what we have known for years - we design, engineer and manufacture the best zero-turn mowers on the market. With a 114-year legacy of power application and manufacturing expertise, Briggs & Stratton is a trusted leader in this industry, and we look forward to applying our superior product and manufacturing capabilities to produce STIHL zero-turn mowers.”

Service Dealer has made contributions on behalf of the industry to two further organisations who are offering assistance to Ukrainians.

Following our industry partners raising £4000 in April, we announced support of Project Linus - and now we have unearthed two further scehemes based locally to our UK HQ that we know from personal experience will directly benefit from the industry's generosity. 

Firstly a proportion was given to Animal Couriers who are offering resources to Ukrainian pet owners who are relocating to the UK - and to the UK sponsors of Ukrainian families. 

Pictured above is Service Dealer owner Duncan Murray-Clarke (right) meeting Ray from Animal Couriers at Dover docks, who was delivering a refugee family alongside their dog and cat.

Duncan said, "Animal Couriers did this collection free of charge, so we are making a donation out of the Ukrainian fund raised by industry members to support them. They are another organisation showing real kindness."

Also receiving a donation were Trowbridge Homes for UK, who are doing marvellous work with supplies for Ukraine and transporting Ukrainians.

In a statement they said, "We are bringing back refugees on a weekly basis as well as taking supplies out to the Ukrainian border. We are delighted with the donation through Service Dealer magazine and it will really help.

"Many thanks, Simon Beck and Christine Holden."

CNH Industrial has announced it has acquired Specialty Enterprises LLC (Specialty), North America’s largest manufacturer of aluminum spray booms for agricultural applications.

The company says this acquisition will provide New Holland customers with access to a product offering that includes longer booms.

Specialty has been a supplier to New Holland for over a decade.
 
CNH Industrial said in a statement that the direct ownership of spray boom production is their latest step in a strategic roadmap for its sprayer product platform. The transaction includes the retention of key strategic personnel to ensure continuity.
 
Carlo Lambro, New Holland brand president, said, “Our customers already know the outstanding performance of these spray booms. These solutions will be implemented across the New Holland brand product portfolio delivering more efficiency and productivity.”
 
Founded in 1987, Specialty is based in Wautoma, Wisconsin, USA where it operates a manufacturing facility.

Due to the increased demand for its range of Green Harvest products and to allow for future growth, Claas has announced it is to invest 40 million Euro in its Bad Saulgau, Germany production plant.

Home to the Green Harvest product range, it is where everything from mowers through to the chopping system and crop flow for Jaguar forage harvesters is manufactured.

To accommodate current and future demand, the plant infrastructure is being considerably expanded and upgraded the company says, along with production logistics, assembly optimisation and the energy infrastructure.

Claas say they have seen particularly high demand for the new Orbis maize header, in particular the 900 model, necessitating the need for increased production space to meet this demand.

As a result of this and in view of the global decline in demand for forage wagons, the decision has been made to cease production of the Cargos loader wagon as from the end of the 2022 season.

It has been announced that tractor maker TYM Group's North American subsidiaries, TYM-USA and Branson, plan to expand their North American market share through large-scale investment into production facilities in the United States.

On May 20th, the South Korean based TYM revealed its plans to invest more than 20 million dollars into manufacturing facilities in Georgia, USA by joining forces with its two North American subsidiaries.

The investment plan announced included the construction of a 142,500 square feet factory equipped with the latest cutting-edge manufacturing technology on TYM's 900,000 square feet factory grounds in Rome, Georgia. The expansion of the current parts centre and the establishment of the TYM Technology Institute (TTI) for service education were also included in the investment plan.

TYM announced that it has completed negotiations with the Georgia state government and that it will begin the factory design work in May, with the goal of completion in June 2023. "We expect to create more than 150 jobs within the state of Georgia through this investment," a TYM representative said.

TYM, which currently has production facilities in four states in the USA, plans to increase its annual tractor production in North America from 30,000 to 50,000 units through this newest investment plan. 

TYM Group is currently among the top five tractor manufacturers in North America, with total manufacturing market share of more than 10% in the North American tractor market under 100HP. 

The company say it is their ambitious plan to take the leap into becoming a top three brand in the North American market by launching the new TYM North America and expanding its production facility through this investment to support its growth in the market.

With zero emissions and lower running costs, the Kress range of battery power tools and robot mowers is the only way forward. The new range of Kress robotic mowers and outdoor garden tools combines power and quality, with intelligence. An unrelenting spirit of innovation puts Kress years ahead of the competition.

With annual growth that has reached tenfold, robotic mowers are becoming ever more popular with businesses and homeowners. However, their basic design had not changed significantly since they were invented in 1995, until now. The Kress robot mower range has been designed from the ground up, featuring a raft of innovative technologies, that will set the industry standards for the coming years.

In addition, Kress’s advanced, fully interchangeable, 60V battery technology, provides the most powerful and durable range of outdoor green power tools available, extending from the range of self-propelled  mowers, to hedge trimmers, blowers, chainsaws and more.

The new 60V max battery system from Kress sets new standards in operating comfort, features and design. The quality-manufactured tools are driven by high-performance brushless motors and exceptionally powerful Kress 60V max batteries. As a result, they are a green alternative to cable-based and petrol tools, even for challenging jobs.

As the only supplier of 60V tools to the specialist retail trade, the Kress 60V max range is unique.  Many competitors continue to rely on low-voltage solutions despite the limited power they deliver. In contrast, Kress is already committed to futureproof 60V technology.

The Kress range is ideal for Landscapers, Commercial contractors, Sports Clubs and Landowners looking to reduce emissions, fuel and the operating costs to manage sports pitches, lawns and large grounds. Contact Kress to become a supplier today!

CONTACT

Mobile: +447432202872  

Email: gary.tully@positecgroup.com