Do not adjust your calendars, it is indeed only Wednesday.

We are two days earlier than our regular Friday lunchtime arrival with you of course, in preparation for the Jubilee double bank holiday weekend.

As such, I wont take up much of your time today. I'll keep it brief to give you all time to get your bunting in order and your trifles made.

It will be interesting to hear if this bonus time off for the country results in a bonus, bumper weekend for our dealer readers? Obviously in a traditional year the industry talks about the Easter long bank holiday weekend as being the kickstart - and perhaps even a barometer - to the season ahead.

But are you expecting this extra holiday to offer your business a further bite of that (Jubilee celebration) cake?

If the weather holds out will the country be out in their gardens, continuing the love affair with their outdoor spaces that we've seen emerge over the past couple of years?

Or has the cost of living crisis and the stocking situation put paid to those hopes?

Indeed, are you even opening the dealership across these next couple of days? I've had a quick scout around a number of dealers' websites and social media channels this week and there does appear to be a mixture of those choosing to close completely and take advantage of the holiday for the duration; those on limited hours; and those who don't seem to be doing anything different.

So please, if you have any thoughts on how this holiday might affect dealer business, please leave them in the comments below.

We'll be back with you in our regular Friday at noon slot next week - so until then, enjoy the festivities!

To celebrate the company’s 75th anniversary, 55 employees from dealers Lister Wilder have pledged to cycle 55 miles by taking part in this year’s London to Brighton Cycle Ride to raise money for charity.

The team of cyclists will be raising money and awareness for blood cancer research charity, Leukaemia & Myeloma Research UK (LMRUK) after an employee was diagnosed with blood cancer.

Group service director, Neil Davis put forward LMRUK as one of the charities to support throughout the year, following his diagnosis. “I’m extremely passionate about supporting on-going research into treatments for blood cancer," he said. "I personally take medication for my Leukaemia that was only developed 20 years ago, so it proves that we need to be constantly supporting this research to ensure that more effective treatments or even a possible cure can be found.

“The Lister Wilder cycling challenge is also a great opportunity to raise awareness. I’m looking forward to taking part with my colleagues and hope we can raise lots of funds for this fantastic charity."

LMRUK invest in specialist research into stem cell therapies as a more effective treatment for blood cancer to help protect the next generation. The charity actively raises awareness of the signs and symptoms of blood cancer and encourages expectant parents to bank their newborn baby’s umbilical cord blood stem cells through its Model Cell Biobank service.

Dr Joanna Tilley, operations director at LMRUK said, “Our work investing in potentially life-saving research into more effective methods to treat blood cancer simply wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of our volunteers and fundraisers. They make a real impact in the fight against blood cancer – whether it’s raising £50 or £500, it all makes a difference.

“We’re so grateful to the team at Lister Wilder who are busy training for this epic challenge to help raise vital funds and awareness of our charity and we can’t wait to cheer them on over the finishing line!”.

The Lister Wilder team have set themselves an ambitious fundraising target of £20,000, which it aims to hit before joining over 4,000 other keen cyclists taking on the 55-mile challenge in September this year. The fundraising has been kicked off generously by Kubota UK with a donation of £1500.

"Kubota are very pleased to support Lister Wilder in their 75th anniversary London to Brighton Bike Ride" , said David Hart, managing director of the Thame based machinery company. " What better way to add to the Lister Wilder anniversary activities than to also support this great charity, which in addition, also has significance to our team at Kubota (UK) Ltd. We wish them all the very best in this great team challenge."

Phill Hughes, sales director, has taken on the role of team captain as well as leading the fund raising. He said, “It’s fantastic that 55 team members have signed up to the challenge in order to raise money such a worthy charity. Every year we do some smaller events for charity, but we haven’t done something of this scale since 2017 when we raised nearly £20,000 for that year’s chosen charity, a figure that this year we are hoping to beat!

“We are asking the manufactures of the products we support as well as our suppliers if they are able to make a donation, as well as anyone else that would like to pledge some money for this great cause” All donations large and small will be received with thanks from both ourselves and everyone involved with LMRUK, who rely on these type of events”

"Donations can be made on our Just Giving Page 'Wild Wheels'"

The London to Brighton Cycle Ride challenge takes place on 11th September 2022 and starts at London’s Clapham Common and takes riders through passing towns and countryside before reaching the finishing line at Brighton’s Madeira Drive.

Suzuki GB have announced the winner of this year’s Apprentice of the Year title - Carl Devonport of MKM Agri, Bedford.

Carl Devonport, centre, receiving his award

In an official statement the manufacturer said, "The winner was nominated by his Apprentice Trainer and demonstrated exceptional performance through the Suzuki Apprentice Programme especially with the challenges that the pandemic has brought."

Anthony Deacon, owner of MKM, told Service Dealer, "I’m immensely proud that Carl completed his three-year program with Suzuki at the Bosch training facility in Doncaster and has now been awarded the Apprentice of the Year title.

"Carl is an inspiration and our new apprentices will have big shoes to flll!"

You can read more about Carl's journey in Anthony's Diary Of A Season entry in the next issue of Service Dealer magazine.

The organisers of SALTEX say this year's event is exceeding expectations with the number of exhibitors already booked for the 2022 show surpassing that of the 2021 show with five months to go until the event.

 
Sarah Cunningham, director of commercial and events at the Grounds Management Association, says, “Stand sales have already surpassed those of 2021 and we have a bigger and better floorplan designed for the 2022 show."
 
With 140 companies having already confirmed, Sarah added, "We can guarantee that number will only increase.”
 
Companies already on board from 2021 include Dennis, ISEKI, Origin Amenity, Redexim, Reesink UK with Toro and Sisis. And coming back to join them after a break away are Barrus, Gianni Ferrari, Ransomes, STIHL and STM.
 
Sarah continued, “If companies are serious about reaching new and potential customers then SALTEX is a must for the calendar."
 
SALTEX takes place at Birmingham’s NEC from 2-3 November.
 

Following a pilot introduction, Bobcat has launched ‘Bobcat Certified’: the company’s new Certified Pre-Owned Program.

In a statement the company said this new scheme offers "customers a dependable route to procure a quality used machine, in a market where the supply of construction machines is being rapidly outpaced by demand."

The new scheme has been launched first in the UK and Ireland, France and Germany, with Bobcat Certified machines available from Bobcat Authorised Dealers in these countries. Further countries are being added in the course of 2022, starting with Italy, Spain and Sweden. 

The manufacturer says the new program ensures customers are offered premium class certified used machines backed by up-to-date condition, safety and operational checks carried out and certified by Bobcat dealers. 

The official statement went on to explain, "Bobcat Certified aims to deliver machines of the highest quality and reliability, providing customers with a ‘like new’ experience, while demonstrating Bobcat’s commitment to maintaining the highest residual value for the entire Bobcat range."

Machines have to meet a series of preset criteria to be eligible. These machines are then inspected and if approved as Certified, are then updated to adhere to Bobcat’s latest quality and safety standards. Each certified machine has proven reliability with Bobcat’s two-step inspection process, the latest service schedule using Bobcat genuine parts, oil checks, all necessary software upgrades and a 12-month/1000-hour manufacturer’s warranty as standard.

The company's financing solutions are also available on Certified machines.

Josh Ward has been appointed to the role of product support technician for manure spreader manufacturer, G T Bunning and Sons.

Josh Ward
 
Josh is based at the company’s factory in Gressenhall, Norfolk, and gained his practical knowledge through a John Deere apprenticeship at Ben Burgess in Beeston, Norfolk. He started there when he was 16 years old, and says this experience has provided a sound technical base for his current position.
 
“I completed my four-year apprenticeship to become master technician and worked on all equipment sold by the dealer from tractors to combines, irrigators, potato equipment, manure spreaders and Manitou telehandlers.
 
“I joined Bunning in 2017 and was recently offered the opportunity to take on the service engineer role for the spreaders.”
 
Josh’s training in engineering, and familiarity of attending breakdowns and call outs in the field, were key attributes in making him a fit for the role.
 
“I work with a lot of our end users, talking to them about any issues they may have and diagnosing them over the phone. I’ll talk the customer through steps to fix the issue which can range from a hydraulic fault to assistance with weigh cell, Isobus and variable rate systems. If it can’t be fixed over the phone, I’ll find out the cause of a problem and as much information as possible before sending a technician out,” explains Josh.
 
Another part of Josh’s role is dealing with warranty claims and supporting dealers to become more knowledgeable on the products so they can fix problems and provide machine updates autonomously.
 
“One of the best things about working for a tightknit company like Bunning is that problems flagged up by customers are fed straight back into the drawing office and directors, so everyone is aware of what is going on in the field and changes can be made very quickly to rectify issues."

Regular host of our awards, stand-up, actor, radio presenter, singer and friend of Service Dealer Charlie Baker is playing Tony Blair in a new musical co-written by Harry Hill.

Starting tomorrow (Thursday 2nd June) at the Park Theatre in Finsbury Park, London, Tony! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] is described as "A reckless reappraisal of the life of former Ugly Rumours front man and Britain’s first pop Prime Minister Tony Blair."

Charlie says of the show, "It's a hybrid of stand-up, sketch comedy, and musical theatre - with brilliant songs and massive laughs."

You can watch Harry Hill interview Charlie Baker and other cast members below

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