Further evidence of our sector opening up again following two years of disruptions, was the in-person AEA AGM & Conference which took place in London on Tuesday.

Back in the salubrious surroundings of One Great George Street in Westminster - just a stone's throw from the Tesco where as a junior civil servant you are taught to fill suitcases with booze - this event followed on from 2021's Zoom version and 2020's cancellation. I got the impression that the representatives of manufacturers and the handful of dealers in attendance were pleased to be back together for what is always an enlightening and social occasion.

As ever the event kicked off with a series of presentations by invited experts. This year there was a focus on the economy, on the efforts to achieve Net Zero and a discussion on where the next gen of tech developments will take us. All fascinating stuff that engaged the delegates in the room and lead to some interesting conversations over lunch. I will include more detail in a subsequent issue of Service Dealer magazine.

What I found particularly interesting though, were the thoughts of the incoming President, David Withers of Iseki, regarding where he thought our dealer network could be heading over the coming years.

Future for dealerships

In his inaugural address David considered what the situation is like for different areas of the network and posed the question of what is going to happen to dealers in the future?

For example he spoke about how some dealers have been consolidating over recent years. How for certain dealerships this has been driven by their manufacturers, with the desire for them to be bigger and to absorb neighbouring dealers’ areas, spreading fixed costs across larger territories.

"We have seen some of these larger dealers become importers and distributors in their own right – blurring the lines between dealing and distributing," he said. "I imagine this approach will only increase in the future."

David went on to say that much of what we do in our country, follows on from what happens in the largest market in the world, the USA. "In the US," David explained, "the corporatisation of dealers is further forwards. Large venture capital outfits have been buying dealerships and then expanding their operations both geographically and in breadth of lines held. I think we will see more of that here."

An astute observation as we certainly have seen the creation of various so-called 'super dealerships' over here in recent years - with particular manufacturers clearly favouring this route. 

David also spoke on an area we've touched on in this Weekly Update in recent times, and indeed will be featuring in the next issue of the magazine, that of dealership succession.

"As dealer principals age out and look to retire, succession plans are not always there for family members to continue the dynasty," he said. "And so to monetise the going concern, rather than simply close and liquidate, must be a potential way forward for some dealerships."

David acknowledged  there will be divergence in dealers though. As some move to become larger, more corporate, under new ownership structures, he believed, others will stay family-owned, with low overheads – "Not wanting to be everything to everybody, but specialists in their niche," is how he put it. "Nurturing their relationships in their chosen customer base – which can be very successful."

Where are the new dealers?

But what really intrigued David he said - and I agree this is absolutely the million dollar question - is where will the dealers of tomorrow come from?

David felt that dealers who started in the 19th century, in the pre-internal combustion engine age, were often blacksmiths before they become farm equipment dealers. 20th century dealers, he proposed, often came out of the automotive trade and were still at heart, internal combustion engine specialists and engineers - with hydraulics and diesel their core backgrounds.

"But where will the 21st century dealer start-ups come from?," he asked. "Will they spin-off from software developers? Mobile phone repairers? AI developers?

"If the future products can be diagnosed and fixed remotely, with the key items in the toolbox a laptop and a mobile phone connection, rather than the more traditional spanner and a hammer, what does a physical dealership look like?"

I think David really did identify a key question here that the industry will need to address in the coming years. He didn't have a simple answer to the conundrum but he did believe that for those companies that embrace these changes, they will most likely succeed in this evolving world.

But what do you, our dealer readers think? From where do you see new dealers emerging in subsequent years? Let us know in the comments below.

David Withers, managing director of Iseki UK & Ireland, was inaugurated as the AEA's new President this week at the Association's AGM and Conference that took place at the Institution Of Civil Engineers building in Westminster, London.

David Withers photographed by the AEA

In his address to delegates, David said, "It’s truly an honour and a privilege to take on the presidency of the AEA. I’m very grateful to my colleagues in the AEA who’ve made this happen. I never thought when I came into this industry that I’d have this opportunity."

David continued, "Like so many others I came into this industry by accident. There aren’t many kids that leave school, begging to be a turf machinery salesman!

"But having got into this industry, I’ve never in 35 years considered leaving. It really is a great industry, where people still matter – and where the products make a difference to people’s lives. Whether that’s for growing food or for use in the beautiful environments that we maintain for recreational activities. I’ve also had the opportunity to visit customers in over 50 countries around the world, in beautiful settings, explaining the benefits of my turf machinery and mowers. It’s been amazing."

David looked back on his career, saying, "For me, I started in the late 80s, working as a demonstrator for Charterhouse Turf Machinery, demonstrating VertiDrains. Followed by 24 years at Ransomes, including 6 years working in the States, which was an amazing privilege. And now I'm in my 5th year working with lovely tractors and mowers at Iseki - and I’ve enjoyed it all. I’ve worked with some great people and made lasting friendships."

Talking about what he hoped to achieve in his new role as AEA President, David explained, "I’m really looking forward to this next year, working with Ruth and her fabulous team at Samulson House, to continue the progress that has been made over recent years. I also really want to thank Les and Shaun for their leadership over the last few years where the AEA has really made great progress – particularly I think, with the acquisition of BAGMA, which is a huge step forward for both organisations. I think it’s beneficial for all members. For so many years this has seemed like a great fit, so it has been wonderful to see it finally brought over the line.

"One of the many benefits of the AEA’s acquisition of BAGMA is the ability to talk to stakeholders and the government in particular, representing the entire supply chain rather than just parts of it.

"It will become even more important to keep talking to government as we move into further regulatory changes and possible divergence from European standards - as well as into new technologies in AI, autonomy, electrification and power sources."

The organisers of May's LAMMA exhibition have announced that making its debut at the show this year will be the LAMMA 365 Dealer Zone.

They say the area will showcase " . .some of the country’s most influential and market-leading dealers." In association with BAGMA, the area is designed to give visitors the opportunity to see a wide range of new and used machinery, aftersales promotion and farming technology.

In an official statement, LAMMA said, "Created in recognition of the key role the UK dealer network plays in the agricultural sector, the zone also increases purchase options for visitors looking to buy machinery at the show."

Dealers in the zone will be showcasing machinery from a range of manufacturers including: Fendt, Massey Ferguson and Valtra, John Deere, Zetor, Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki, New Holland and more to be announced.

Dani Richardson of one of the exhibiting dealers, Cornthwaite Group, said, "As one of the largest John Deere dealers in the UK, we want to spread the word that we have even more to offer. Whether it be new or used agricultural equipment, our range of machinery from premium brands offers something for everyone - farmer, contractor or trader."

Accompanying the display of new and second hand equipment, also newly announced for this year is the LAMMA365 Speaker Zone supported by AEA, BAGMA and the NAAC.

Visitors to this will be able to hear from a number of industry experts on a range of topics including servicing, maintenance, connectivity, financing, farm safety, legislation and the hotly anticipated Red Diesel panel debate.

LAMMA takes place at the Birmingham NEC on Wednesday 4th and Thursday 5th May 2022.

Positec UK & Ireland has taken the decision to streamline the route to market for its range of Kress products, by working directly with its dealer network across the island of Ireland. 

Newly appointed Kress brand and business manager, Gary Tully said, “We have an excellent, established dealer network across Ireland and this new and more efficient structure will help us all to fully maximise the distribution of the exciting range of Kress mowers and power tools”. 

Gary continued, “Demand for Kress products has outstripped supply over the last 2 years and we are keen to ensure that stock availability in Ireland meets demand in the future. During April we will make contact with each dealer to communicate our plans in detail”. 

Tony Macer national sales manager for Kress added, “In order to provide a better and more efficient service to both dealers and consumers, we have streamlined the supply chain to improve dealer support and get closer to our customers. With exciting new Kress products streaming onto the market, we want our valued dealers across the island of Ireland to enjoy the same benefits and margins as the rest of the UK & Europe”.

Organisers of SALTEX are looking for the best speakers in the grounds management industry to showcase their knowledge at the show, which will take place at the NEC, Birmingham on 2 and 3 November 2022.

Learning LIVE, the show's education programme, provides advice, insight and solutions to issues that the grounds management industry cares about most. Organisers say they aim for the seminar programme at SALTEX to be engaging, informative and educational for attendees.

Since its creation in 2015, the most popular Learning LIVE sessions have been case studies and presentations from companies or individuals who are prepared to share personal experience and learnings, but the submission of presentations on new and emerging trends, technologies and innovations that will benefit the sports turf industry are also encouraged.

Each proposal will be evaluated and those that most closely match the needs of the attendees will be selected.

To submit a proposal, click here.

Nearly 230,000 'tractors' were registered across Europe in the full year 2021, according to numbers sourced from national authorities.

Of these registrations, just under 30% were of vehicles of 37kW (50 hp) and under and the remainder were 38kW and above. The European Agricultural Machinery Association (CEMA) considers that just under180,000 of these vehicles are agricultural tractors. The rest are made up of a variety of vehicles, which are sometimes classified as tractors, which includes quad bikes, side-by-sides, telehandlers or other equipment. 

Agricultural tractor registrations for the full year 2021 increased by around 17% in comparison with 2020. Even allowing for the fact that the market in 2020 was disrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly in the second quarter, this growth represents a significant improvement in market conditions. Indeed, the number of tractors registered was the highest recorded in comparable data, which date back over a decade. These strong results were achieved despite widespread disruption to global manufacturing supply chains and staff shortages due to high Covid-19 infection rates.

Agricultural machinery manufacturers underline that disruptions to the smooth running of their production activities have multiplied over the last few months. Across the board, the situation has been worsening since the summer of 2021. Even before the crisis in Ukraine, in the February 2022 CEMA Barometer, 51% of the responding manufacturers said they expected some production stoppages due to supplier side shortages in the next four weeks. The issue is even more widespread among manufacturers of tractors and harvesting equipment, with respectively 64% and 71% of respondents reporting that they expected production stoppages. The war in Ukraine has triggered even more supply bottlenecks, as already apparent by early March in the latest CEMA Barometer.

CNH Industrial has announced that it has opened a new engineering centre in Scottsdale, Arizona. The company says this facility will support the growth of their Raven precision agriculture technology business.

“Our industries are undergoing a significant tech transformation and CNH Industrial wants to attract a growing talent pool of engineers and digitally-focused professionals that will shape this future,” said Kevin Barr, chief human resources officer, CNH Industrial. “Our new Scottsdale hub will be an attractive, dynamic and innovative workplace where we will accelerate progress in the digital, automation and autonomous spaces.”

In addition to the new Scottsdale location, CNH Industrial also say they intend to invest in the expansion of Raven’s existing Innovation Campus in Baltic, South Dakota, located minutes away from its headquarters in Sioux Falls. These facility upgrades will provide more space and resources for engineering, testing and research. They say these investments in Scottsdale and Baltic will bolster their engineering talent base, support the demand for aftermarket solutions, and further Raven’s technology integration and advancements for the Case IH and New Holland Agriculture brand platforms.

These sites complement CNH Industrial’s current footprint in Arizona, which includes its nearby R&D facility in Casa Grande and proving grounds in Maricopa.

“Our integration with Raven is rapidly accelerating technology delivery to customers. It allows our engineering teams to efficiently go from ‘code to cab’ to develop and deploy new technologies. These sites combined with our existing activities will reinforce our commitment to have engineers work closely with our customers,” said Parag Garg, chief digital officer, CNH Industrial.

Organisers of this year's Cereals say visitors will be able to compare the latest spraying technology which will be demonstrated in the central Syngenta Sprays and Sprayers Arena.

“The Syngenta Sprays and Sprayers Arena is a key highlight for many Cereals attendees and we are excited to showcase the latest in application technology and innovation for 2022, says Scott Cockburn, Syngenta business manager and application lead.

“The arena will also host the awards ceremony for the Farm Sprayer Operator of the Year competition where we will crown the winner from our six finalists. We look forward to seeing everyone and sharing knowledge on practical application tips and techniques.”

The event is well-known for its emphasis on sprayers, says James Dixon, managing director of spray component and parts manufacturer Cleveland Alliances. “It is a mainstay for us - the best one in the UK because of the real sprayer focus which works for us. And attendance is good too.”

Given the tight cost pressure they are under, arable farmers will want to improve efficiency - and there are plenty of developments in spray equipment technology that will enable them to do just that, says Cereals event director Alli McEntyre.

“Farmers have a second-to-none opportunity to see the latest spraying kit from all the major manufacturers in action and compare it to decide what would work best on their farms,” she says.

Sprayer exhibitors this year will include, Househam Sprayers, John Deere, Chandler Fendt and Chafer Sentry amongst others.

The Cereals Event will be held near Duxford, Cambridgeshire on 8-9 June 2022.

The new 60V* Recycler models offer all of the legendary performance and durability you expect from Toro, without having to deal with petrol. Best of all, the 60 volt battery is compatible with several other products in Toro's Flex-Force battery-powered line-up.

Toro, the brother brand to Hayter®, has been a worldwide provider of innovative solutions for the turf and lawn maintenance sector for over 100 years and has developed the Flex-Force Power System™ technology in conjunction with both our European and US design and engineering teams. 

Designed specifically for UK and European gardens, the 36cm (14”) push, 43cm (17”) push and 43cm (17”) self-propelled are ideal for compact lawns approximately the size of half a tennis court (up to 300m2).

 
 
Homeowners who are looking for ultimate convenience with the best in technology should be directed toward Toro’s Recycler range due to these key features;

EARTH FRIENDLY, GARDEN FRIENDLY

Spend less time emptying the grass box with Toro's Recycler Cutting System. This unique design chops clippings into a fine nutrient-rich mulch, efficiently nourish the soil, feeding roots for a healthy, lush garden.

FREE UP MORE SPACE IN YOUR SHED/GARAGE WITH SMARTSTOW®  

Save up to 70%* floor space by storing the mower upright – with easy grass box storage.

POWER AT THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON

Easy push-button start gets you mowing fast. Personalise the mower speed to your desired pace with the variable speed control (model 21844 only).

SMART POWER

Intelligent RunSmart™ Software maximises run time and performance by automatically adjusting the speed of the motor to match the conditions and optimise runtime. Engage MAX mode for tougher mowing conditions.

What’s better is that Toro’s 60V Flex-Force line up is just going to continue to grow as more and more homeowners make the switch from petrol to battery in the coming seasons. 

 
Other products in the 60V Flex-Force line up include, 48cm Super Recycler lawnmower, 52cm Recycler Steel Deck lawnmower, 55cm Recycler lawnmower (now with new Vortex Technology), Leaf Blower, Grass String Trimmer, Hedge Trimmer, Chainsaw, Pole Saw and Power Clear Snow Blower
For more information on Toro, please visit www.toro.com/en-gb or to become a dealer of Toro U.K. Limited, please email our sales team: sales.uk@toro.com

*Space savings are in relation to the space consumed by a Toro 36 and 43 cm Walk Power Mower stored with the handle in the standard operating position.

The new 80V cordless range of lawnmowers from Cobra packs double the punch, with twin 40V Lithium-ion batteries delivering 80 volts of pure cutting power. 

Cobra has the UK’s largest range of powered lawnmowers and is constantly expanding its range and developing its products to further its position as the expert in the lawncare market. The 80V range is the latest extension of this, with its three models being packed with innovative features and technology. 

The three mowers in the range offer 17”, 20” and 21” cutting widths, generous run times and even rear rollers on the 17 and 20” models for a traditional, striped finish. Each machine is powered by two 5Ah 40V Lithium-ion batteries that drive the 80V brushless motors. The Cobra 40V Lithium-ion technology means the mowers are always ready to use, will hold charge capacity and have no memory effect. 

The RM43SP80V is the most compact of the three, with a 17” cutting width, and it is a great all-rounder, with a 50 minute run time. It is self-propelled, so it’s ideal for sloping gardens and has seven different cutting heights ranging from 17mm for a super low finish, up to 75mm for tackling longer grass. The mower also benefits from a 50 litre grass bag to hold more cutting for a longer time between bag emptying. Its rear roller means that a professional, striped finish can be created too. 

The RM51SP80V keeps all of the impressive features of the RM43SP80V, including a steel rear roller, but increases the width to 20” and the grass bag to 70 litres. With the ability to run for up to 45 minutes between charges, the mower can complete medium to large sized lawns in one run. 

The final, and largest, mower in the range is the Which? Best Buy MX51S80V. Again, the mower features a self-propelled drive system to allow for ease of use, and has a 20” cutting width and a running time of 55 minutes. This model benefits from a mulching function, allowing the grass to be recycled by finely cutting and re-cutting the clippings. As the clippings decompose, nutrients and fertilisers are returned to the soil meaning grass can be cut and fertilised at the same time – creating a healthy, green lawn. 

Peter Chaloner, managing director of Cobra, said, “The 80V range sets a new standard for battery powered garden machinery, providing more power and convenience than ever before. Cobra prides itself on being at the forefront of innovation to help people maintain their gardens with the minimum of effort, and this range is the epitome of that.” 

Each of the models comes complete with two 40V 5Ah Lithium-ion batteries and two Fast Chargers. The 40v batteries are compatible with Cobra grass trimmers, chainsaws, hedge cutters and garden vacs. 

For more information on Cobra visit: www.cobragarden.co.uk 

or to become a Cobra dealer, please contact Andy Marvin on: 07771 581 296 or call our sales team: 0115 986 6646 today.

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