An interesting report was published this week, regarding the importance of family businesses to the UK economy.

We know from experience that the UK independent dealer sector, is one which is populated by more than its fair share of family run and owned businesses. I'm not sure if there's any actual figures available which could categorically put a number on it, but I'm confident to wager my hat that it's officially 'a lot'.

With that impressive maths in mind, this new report by the Institute for Family Business Research Foundation made fascinating reading, revealing the sizeable contribution family firms continue to make to the UK economy.

The headline statistic from the report is that more than 13 million people work in family firms. A sector which the report focuses on, which they term "agriculture and extraction", apparently contains over 155,000 family-owned businesses, employing 400,000 people.

In total family businesses contributed £598 billion to UK GDP in 2017, which impressively was 28 per cent of the whole UK economy in that year.

Speaking about the new report which you can read in full here, Institute for Family Business Director General Elizabeth Bagger said, “Family businesses are at the heart of communities across the country. And this new report shows they are a vital force in our economy too - and how their continued growth will benefit the UK as a whole."

Elizabath Bagger also identified a problem inherent in family businesses though - succession planning. She said, "As a country we need to help more of our smaller family firms to overcome the barriers they face, and support them in scaling up and successfully transferring ownership through the generations.

“For those first generation family businesses looking at succession for the first time, it’s important too to realise that you aren’t alone. There are successful, multigenerational family businesses all around the country who you can learn from."

We know that this issue of succession is one which can prove problematic and is a very real concern for many dealers. For all the examples in our sector of dealerships with a family name which has stayed above the door, with family members still at the helm for multiple generations, there are of course countless examples over the years of companies closing their doors for good because there was no succession in place.

You may remember last year at the Service Dealer conference, Sara Hey tackling this subject in her breakout session. I know through subsequently speaking to several dealers who attended this workshop, that it left a real impression on them - prompting them to start taking a serious look at their own dealership's circumstances.

Sara talked about the fundamentals of getting the next generation interested in coming into the family business. She said, "Engage your children early and often in conversations about the business, to help pique their interest, and don’t just talk around the dinner table about the bad things that happen in a day’s work.

“Remind them why you or your family started or joined the business, and as they grow older find some ‘entry-level’ things for them to do to start joining in. Talk openly and often about what your succession plan is."

Sara went on to explain, "Whether you’re passing on your company or selling it, consider how you can effectively transfer its legacy and values. Succession planning is an integral part of two bigger conversations – business planning and training planning. A unified plan should address these interlinked subjects."

She also warned, "Established customer relationships won’t automatically transfer easily, while employees may be more loyal to the people who started the dealership rather than the business itself.

"Ensure there is a handover plan in place: if there isn’t this can be one of the most challenging aspects of transferring a business."

Listening to Sara last year, there was no doubt that whilst succession is a complex and potentially difficult hurdle which many dealers will need to negotiate - it's by no means impossible. Through being open and honest with your potential successors, a mutually agreeable onwards path can be found.

Like many problems though, it's probably one best facing up to and addressing now rather than letting it fester on the back-burner, until it's too late.

A new British company, BOSS ORV, has been formed to introduce, distribute and support the Spanish-made Corvus 4x4 off-road utility vehicles in the UK.

Headed by managing director, Phil Everett, ex of Polaris Britain, Boss ORV will officially launch three models at the outset: TerrainDX4 EPS, TerrainDX4 PRO EPS and TerrainDX4 CAB EPS.

The company will launch these vehicles in early September but there will be an opportunity for a preview on the Ace ATV stand this weekend at the Royal Three Counties Show (14th -16th June) and next week on the ATV Services (Scotland) stand at the Royal Highland Show (20th - 23rd June).

Speaking to Service Dealer this week, Phil confirmed they currently have three dealers signed up, the aforementioned Ace ATV and ATV Services (Scotland) as well as Johnston Tractors.

“In the meantime,” said Phil “we will be building a small, specialised dealer network throughout the UK to offer customers the highest level of service and support. We've already had some great conversations with several dealers and we'll be looking to make some more key appointments."

Phil continued, "We’re proud to be able to offer the Corvus range in the UK.”

The Corvus main construction facility is in Murcia, Spain with an area of 25,000m² dedicated to manufacturing and assembling, using their own parts and components: gear box, transmission, chassis and technology systems. The company is part of the Tuxton/Yanmar group so it’s a natural fit to marry up the normally aspirated, inline 3-cylinder 993cc Yanmar Diesel engine. The engine is Euro 6 compliant, leading the Corvus programme of designing systems for reducing emission levels. All the above mentioned Terrain models are homologated to T1b tractor regulation and have a top speed of 40mph/65kp/h.

Corvus are building the Terrain for work primarily in agriculture, livestock, forestry, turf care and construction but say they are highly adaptable vehicles ready for any demanding off-road workout.

Honda’s Mean Mower has re-entered the record books after setting a brand new Guinness World Records title for the ‘Fastest Acceleration 0-100 mph for a Lawnmower’.

The new record was set at the Dekra Lausitzring, near Dresden, Germany, on May 6th 2019. Under the watchful eye of a Guinness World Records adjudicator Honda’s all new Mean Mower V2 averaged 0-100 mph in just 6.29 seconds; driven by Jess Hawkins experienced stunt driver, kart and car racer - who appeared with the record-breaking machine at last November's Service Dealer Conference & Awards.

Check out the action in the video below:

As well as hitting the straight-line speed to set the new record, Mean Mower V2 also had to demonstrate that it could still do what it is actually designed for - to cut grass - which it does. The ability to still cut grass is thanks to slight revisions to the cutter deck to house the chain driving the rear tyres and the two batteries required to power electric motors which spin carbon fibre blades to mow. Under the regulations of Guinness World Records, the mower must also ‘intrinsically look like a lawnmower’ - in this case the Honda HF 2622 lawn tractor– which it does by carrying over its front cowl, grass box and body panels.

Unveiled in summer 2018, Mean Mower V2 set out to build on the success of the original Mean Mower, which became the world’s fastest lawnmower on 8th March 2014 when it hit 116.87mph. But this time Honda say themselves and their British Touring Car Championship partner, Team Dynamics, took the development to a new level, using computer aided design, bespoke parts, advanced materials and even 3D printing.

At the heart of Mean Mower V2 lies its engine. This time a 999cc four-cylinder unit taken from the company's CBR1000RR Fireblade SP motorcycle - producing 200bhp at 13,000rpm. It packs almost double the power of the original Mean Mower, with a super-light frame and engine dry weight of just 69.1kg, which overall results in a power-to-weight ratio in excess of that of a Bugatti Chiron.

The official acceleration figure was measured using a VBOX on-board recording device, which was fitted, set-up and verified by independent and accredited timers, Timing Solutions Limited. To meet the requirements of Guinness World Records, the mower had to record the same run, in both directions, within an hour - with the average acceleration of these two runs taken as the official time. With an average of 6.29 seconds, Honda set the new Guiness World Records title for ‘The fastest acceleration 0-100 mph for a lawnmower (prototype)’.

Driver, Jess Hawkins, with the Mean Mower V2 at last year's Service Dealer Conference

The team also took the opportunity while at the Lausiztring to put Mean Mower V2 through its paces on a longer run to see what it is really capable of, recording an incredible top speed of 150.99mph. The time was once again independently recorded by Timing Solutions Limited using the VBOX data.

Dave Hodgetts, managing director of Honda (UK) said, “The original Mean Mower was an incredible machine; but this time we’ve taken it to a whole new level with version two. After taking the top speed record in 2014, we wanted to do something a little different by setting an all-new record for acceleration, and the result is fantastic.

"Team Dynamics have gone above and beyond in developing and building this real feat of engineering, and hats off to Jess for being brave enough to get behind the wheel!”

Don't forget, dealers can now nominate their own businesses to be in with a chance of winning a Dealer Of The Year award via the Service Dealer website.

As well as this, a dealership can also be nominated by customers, suppliers and manufacturers.

Winner of last year's Star of the Dealership award, Jess Parks of AF Wiltshire with Mike Cameron of award sponsor Catalyst Computer Systems, plus Service Dealer owner Duncan Murray-Clarke (l) and comedian Charlie Baker (r)

Entries have been pouring in since we opened nominations a few weeks ago, with a spread of dealers large and small joining in. Specialising in all machinery types, nominations have been taken from dealers located across the country.

But do not fear, there's still plenty of time for your business to be in the running for national recognition.

Many factors are taken into account when judging the categories, but the most important is customer feedback - which will once again be acquired online, between now and October. The judging panel will meet later that month to assess entries.

As last year, the core dealer categories for the 2019 competition are:

• GARDEN MACHINERY DEALER OF THE YEAR
• PROFESSIONAL TURFCARE DEALER OF THE YEAR
• FARM MACHINERY DEALER OF THE YEAR
• FORESTRY EQUIPMENT DEALER OF THE YEAR
• ATV/QUAD DEALER OF THE YEAR

There are also two other award categories:

• Star of The Dealership
• Apprentice of The Year

With these categories we want you to tell us who really goes that extra mile to help make your business a success. This is a great opportunity to nominate an employee who exceeds expectations within your business.

Visit www.servicedealer.co.uk/nominate-2019 to enter.

Over 900 school children spent the day at Sparsholt College near Winchester yesterday (June 13th), as the College invited year 8 and 9 pupils from surrounding schools to take a close look at the huge range of land-based courses and qualification on offer. The focus was very much on science, technology and a digital future for sectors ranging from Agronomy to Zoology.

One of the most eagerly attended exhibits was staged by STIHL with their roadshow of chainsaws and arb equipment as well as robotic mowers. The new STIHL Virtual Reality helmet and timber cutting software proved particularly popular – and by mid-day most of the pupils were wearing STIHL caps on a dank and dismal day.

Other demonstrations were staged by John Deere through local dealer Hunt Forest Group who showed off the interactive technology on tractors, T H White put the Spider Robotic bank mower through its paces whilst the Small Robot Company demonstrated its emerging robotic field technology.

The Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE) was represented not only by current CEO Alastair Taylor, but by Edward Hansom who takes over the role in September.

“Much of the interest from the pupils stemmed from their involvement in science and environmental studies,” said Alastair Taylor, “and we must surely harness that interest to recruit into our broad sector over the coming years.”

Service Dealer are pleased to announce that BAGMA are returning as a Networking Sponsor of the 2019 Service Dealer Conference & Awards which returns to the DoubleTree by Hilton Oxford Belfry this November.

BAGMA's Keith Christain (l) and Alasdair Straker (r) with Service Dealer founder Chris Biddle at last year's Service Dealer Conference

Taking place on Thursday November 21st, the theme for this year's Conference has been announced as Turning A Profit.

Service Dealer owner, Duncan Murray-Clarke, said, "We are very pleased that BAGMA will be joining us once again this year. We have a fabulous line-up of speakers for November and I know the day will prove to be of great benefit for our dealer delegates."

Keith Christian, director of BAGMA said, "As the only UK Dealer Trade Organisation BAGMA are delighted to once again be sponsoring and attending the Service Dealer Conference and Awards Dinner.

"The event provides a great opportunity for like minded people from industry to get together and recognise the successful and unique industry they work in."

For more details about this year's event click here.

Tuesday June 11th this week saw the launch of the Bernhard Academy at the company’s factory facilities in Haverhill, Suffolk.

Guest of honour, Samantha Stutt, head of membership development at BIGGA, officially opening the Academy, alongside Stephen Bernhard  - pic Laurence Gale, TurfPro editor

The company said the Bernhard Academy is set to become a hub of knowledge for the turf industry and a centre promoting learning and development across the globe.

In addition to promoting education to UK turf specialists, the Academy will develop a training programme for Bernhard’s distributors from across the US, Asia and Europe to help enhance their knowledge of turf health solutions.

Working in partnership with Mow-Sure Training Ltd, the Academy aims to train customers, technicians and distributors’ sales team to promote turf health, cutting precision and superior playability and eventually to get the most out of Bernhard’s product portfolio.

The accredited training will be delivered in several formats at the purpose-built facility at Haverhill, hands-on training, theory or via online learning. A wide range of modular and short courses is planned, with the two signature courses being a Turf Technician Course and a Turf Manager’s Course.

The Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) is celebrating 20 years of taking the ‘classroom to the countryside’ this week by travelling 600 miles to 12 Scottish schools in a Massey Ferguson 7718 S tractor wrapped to look like a Highland cow!

L-R: Hamilton Ross Group Perth Depot general manager Sam Mercer, Massey Ferguson area sales manager, Hamish Brown and RHET chairman, George Lawrie see the tractor off at the Royal Highland Centre

The eye-catching tractor, which has been supplied by farm machinery dealers the Hamilton Ross Group in partnership with Massey Ferguson, left the Royal Highland Centre on Wednesday this week (June 12th) to embark on a week-long tractor tour to schools in each of the 12 Countryside Initiative (CI) areas around Scotland before returning to the Royal Highland showground in time for the show.

George Lawrie, Chairman of the RHET board, will be driving the tractor over a 600 mile route with the aim of raising £10 for every mile travelled for the trust to reach a target of £6,000.

Before he set off, George Lawrie said, “We are delighted to announce that we have already reached our target of £6,000 and we are hoping to raise even more funds once the tractor tour is underway. RHET are happy to be working alongside the Hamilton Ross Group and Massey Ferguson and would like to thank both companies for their continued support.”

Accompanying the tractor is a branded trailer, supplied by Allison Enterprises and the Binn Group, and a Highland cow sculpture made from recycled farm metal by Kev Paxton of ArtFe.

During the tour, each school will be given the opportunity to enter a competition run by Massey Ferguson and the Hamilton Ross Group to name the tractor. The winning school will be awarded a RHET Farm Visit. In addition, there will also be various games and a colouring competition.

Hamilton Ross Group Perth General Manager, Sam Mercer said, “We are delighted to support this fantastic fundraising initiative. RHET provide young people with an invaluable understanding of Scottish agriculture and the countryside, something which is crucial to the future of our industry.”

Arguably one of Britain’s finest stately homes, a master piece of English Baroque architecture and residence to the 12th Duke of Marlborough. Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, is now home to a British-built Husqvarna Automower.

The robotic mower was installed recently in its very grand location to tackle a newly reclaimed area of grass that was previously very challenging to maintain using conventional means.

Blenheim Palace is a UNESCO World Heritage site and was the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. It is the only non-royal residence to carry Palace status in the UK. The 2,000 acres of gardens dating back to the 18th Century were designed by renowned landscape architect Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown - a small section of which the Automower will now maintain.

The mower was recommended to Blenheim Palace’s head gardener, through another high profile Stately Home. Hatfield House in Hertfordshire employs a fleet of the units to maintain the formal lawns around the house. The Blenheim Palace enquiry was handled via local Husqvarna Dealer, Toad Hall Garden Machinery, Oxfordshire and supported by Husqvarna UK.

Installed in early June, the robot is now maintaining the sloping grass area leading down to the Palace’s 160 acre lake, dating back to 1768. The low noise levels ensure that the machine can work away without disturbing paying customers visiting the Palace.

Blenheim Palace joins a growing list of high profile UK commercial locations adopting the Husqvarna Automower to maintain areas of grass. Andrew Lees, UK category manager for lawn products commented, “We are seeing a real appetite for Automower from the commercial sector and Blenheim Palace is another high profile example which has adopted robotic mowing for green space management.”

Andrew added, “We have a strong belief in our robotic range and high profile commercial installations like Blenheim Palace and others only help reinforce this with end customers. This can only have a positive impact on the development of both the commercial and domestic markets for Husqvarna Automower and for our Authorised Dealer network.

"What is really pleasing is the diversity in the type of commercial customers that are now using Husqvarna Automower to maintain green spaces. The product itself and the results it produces have a very positive impact in marketing the concept, a lot of the interest has been driven by word of mouth and recommendation. The conversations between Hatfield House and Blenheim Palace are very good examples of this and we have more in the pipeline off the back of this.”

John Hall, technical director at Mower Magic, has been tinkering around in his back garden and has created a Thunderbirds-inspired, secret bunker for his Ambrogio robotic mower.

Paul Chandler, marketing manager at Mower Magic, told Service Dealer, "John has built from scratch this custom lift system, to bring his Ambrogio 4.0 from a hidden underground garage, up onto the lawn ready for the mower to depart.

"Following a passing comment from John`s wife in August last year, that his new bright white Ambrogio Robot 4.0 Elite could do with a little garage or shelter, John thought about it for a while and set about building something a little more special. Starting in December 2018, the project has taken John five months of tinkering and testing in his spare time before it was finished.

"This lift system is not something we plan to offer as a product, but we hope it inspires a few people to get creative themselves with their own robot mowers."

We are recruiting for an experienced garden machinery Area Sales Manager (based in the South East) to work within our Lawn & Garden Division, representing our premium brands Cub Cadet and Lawnflite, amongst others.

You will have exceptional industry knowledge and technical ability with proven in-field experience. You will be self-motivated, customer orientated with a ‘can-do’ attitude.

A full UK driving licence is essential.

To apply please send your full CV to recruitment@barrus.co.uk or for more information click here

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