Agricultural engineer Andrew Downing has realised a long-held ambition to represent a major international tractor manufacturer - his dealership has been selected to handle the McCormick range in Cambridgeshire.

From premises at Gorefield near Wisbech, heis now supplying McCormick tractors to farms from the Wash coast above Wisbech and Spalding, southwards past Peterborough to beyond Chatteris, bordering established dealers Robert H Crawford, Stamford Tractors, Johnsons of Fakenham and Catley Engineering.


Tim Lawrence (left), area sales manager at national McCormick distributor AgriArgo UK, welcomes Andrew Downing to the dealer network

"It's been an ambition to become a new tractor dealer for many years and now it's happened I couldn't be more pleased," says Mr Downing. "The response has also been great, with many more enquiries than I expected at this stage."

Better still, those enquiries have already resulted in two sales - a 25hp McCormick X10.25 for horticulture and a110hp X60.40 for turf production.

Andrew Downing runs his agricultural engineering business with his two sons:Charles works in the service department and George is involved in the specialist haulage arm of the business.

Andrew Downing's own career started in the workshop as a technician at an International Harvester dealer. He then diverted into teaching as an agricultural plant and engineering lecturer at King's Lynn technical college before returning to commercial business as a dealership branch service manager.

When that business closed 23 years ago, he set up on his own as 'one man with a van' and the company has grown ever since.

As for tractor sales, Tim Lawrence of national distributor AgriArgo UK points out that it is a perfect time to become a McCormick dealer because the line-up is being transformed with up to eight new rangesfollowing a big investment in R&D by McCormick manufacturer Argo Tractors in Italy.

"We've already launched the X50 livestock tractor and bigger X7 Pro Drive models, and the smaller X4 series 90-107hp tractors were unveiled at the Cereals Event," he explains. "In future, we'llbe getting the first McCormick tractors with stepless CVT drive and bigger tractors up to 300hp."

That will only enhance the current range of McCormick tractors that catersfor farming, fruit and horticultural enterprises in Andrew Downing's territory.