November 1st this week marked a new era in Rea Valley Tractors’ 38 year trading history as they embarked on new franchise agreements, and an extended territory.
L-R: Andrew Petrie (NH area sales manager); Pat Smith (NH UK business director); Steve Petford (RVT group managing director); Simon Clarke (RVT chairman); Matthew Clarke (RVT / Dunstall Holdings); Matthew Mulligan (RVT operations director)
Making them one of the biggest agricultural machinery dealers in the country, RVT is opening three new branches in Middlewich (Cheshire), Ormskirk (Lancashire) and Denbigh (North Wales). This is in addition to existing branches in Welshpool (Mid Wales), Sudbury (Derby), Newport and Shrewsbury (Shropshire).
This means RVT will now more than double its trading area for its new franchise New Holland, and enhance the coverage for JCB and Kuhn Farm Machinery and the other agricultural brands it already supplies.
Their Sudbury depot moves forward as a JCB Centre of Excellence and has also secured an enhancement to their current Kuhn portfolio as a dedicated Kuhn Baler Centre.
RVT say the changes have created more than 60 job opportunities throughout the company, whilst retaining 95% of their current workforce. Alongside the introduction of dedicated product specialists for harvest products, JCB, and in-field parts, the dealership says they have invested heavily in their people and workplaces to maximise their customer service levels.
The dealership says they recognise that these changes and consolidations to the UK agricultural dealer network, which are happening throughout most areas of the UK, can be both exciting and unsettling for some customers.
Steve Petford, RVT’s managing director, addressed their customers, saying, “New relationships will take time to build, but in a relatively short time, RVT’s aim is to provide all customers both established and new, with a much more enhanced service than ever would have been possible before. Through our seven depots we will have dedicated specialists in your field, who will be operating with local support by local teams and we look forward to showcasing the outstanding service RVT has to offer."
RVT’s chairman Simon Clarke added, “This is a new dawn for Rea Valley Tractors. After 38 years, we are really excited by the opportunity not only for our business, but customers alike by supplying and servicing machinery from world-class British manufacturers. Combined with our skilled workforce, knowledge of the area and drive to move our business forward, the future is tremendously exciting."
