We're running one of our short reader surveys today, which we'd really appreciate your insight on.

It's a similar survey to one we ran, roughly this time last year, so we're interested in comparing the results to see if 2019 is turning out to be markedly different for our readers.

Around this time in 2018 England had been knocked out of a World Cup at the semi-final stage, we were in the midst of one of the longest, hottest and driest spells the country had encountered for many years and Brexit was both looming and uncertain.

Fast forward to this summer, England have won a World Cup, we have thankfully had a bit more of a mixture when it comes to the weather with some longish hot spells, punctuated by rain and as for Brexit . . . well that's still looming and possibly breeding more uncertainty than ever! You can't have everything I suppose (and I'll take Buttler smashing those bails off every day of the week!).

So right now, how confident do you feel for your business? Do you have a sense for how the rest of the year might pan out for you? Please take our survey to let us know.

We of course always talk about how it's the weather more than anything which dictates a season's fortunes - and that's not in dispute. However, one has to presume that this on-going Brexit situation can't in anyway actually be helpful?

The William Goldman quote about Hollywood that "nobody knows anything" couldn't be more applicable when it come to the discussion surrounding Brexit at the moment. It's unprecedented. However the never-ending parade of pundits on the TV and think-pieces in the papers and online, all espousing how they believe the country will fare following an exit from European Union - is merely that discussion giving consumers pause for thought? It doesn't seem unreasonable to surmise that, even if customers believe everything will be fine and dandy once we leave, there could be that little nagging doubt in their mind telling them they should be hanging on to those pounds in their pockets?

This is not to say it's all doom and gloom out there at moment. A season without the 'punch' of last year, as one manufacturer I was talking to put it, must be welcome following the swathes of burnt grass we saw in '18? Also, signs might indicate that the season will have legs?

What also seems to be common this summer is that many dealers across the country are experiencing very busy workshops. I'm sure many of you have been dealing with vocal customers who want their mower back yesterday because surprise, surprise, the grass is growing for them too! Obviously it would be churlish to complain of being busy, but these swings from one extreme to another must be the bane of dealers' lives?!

When we canvassed our readers this time last year about how confident they were feeling, the message we received back is that it was clearly very hard out there, but on the whole confidence was just about holding up. Hardly a ringing endorsement, but 56% of respondents did describe themselves as ‘confident’ for their business – although it should be noted that barely anyone (3%) who responded described themselves as ‘very confident’, compared to 29% who did so when we asked the question in 2017.

But how confident are you feeling about your business at the moment? Are you planning on expanding the premises, taking on more staff, more franchises? We'd really appriciate hearing from you today so we can build a picture of how our readers are feeling this year.

As ever we'll publish the results and selection of your quotes in the next issue of Service Dealer magazine. Thanks for your help.

TAKE THE SURVEY

Hayter and Toro have appointed a new sales and marketing manager, Craig Hoare.

Craig will oversee the sales and marketing operations for the brands and manage day-to-day activity.

Craig Hoare

Prior to his role at the company, Craig gained a wealth of sales experience through roles both within and outside of the gardening industry. With an early career in the retail and service sector, Craig worked his way up into the role of general manager at Garden Machines Northampton. During his 17 years at the firm, Craig gained a great understanding of the workings of a garden machinery dealership, overseeing showroom sales, service, workshops and spare parts. Alongside the running of the retail store, Craig was also responsible for the wholesale, insurance and e-commerce aspects of the business, with a focus on developing the marketing and promotion of the dealership.

In 2017, Craig made the move to EP Barrus Ltd, where he worked as the sales manager for their Garden Division. He was responsible for the UK dealer network, where he oversaw the entire gardening division including profitability, stock management and marketing.

In his new role at Hayter and Toro, Craig will work closely with both the sales and marketing teams to strengthen and streamline the companies’ presence in dealerships, online and through its marketing communications.

“I was really excited to join the Hayter and Toro team, as they are both significant cornerstones within the gardening sector," said Craig. "Having worked in organisations supplying Hayter and Toro’s products, I feel I am in a great position to drive the brands forward, increase sales and expand our market share online and within dealers.

“My role provides me with a unique opportunity to bring the Sales and Marketing teams closer, with an aim to strengthen existing relationships between the companies and their dealers to support our overall growth and success.”

Julia Campey has been appointed as the new managing director of Campey Turf Care Systems, with former md, Richard Campey, taking the position of chairman.

As part of the company restructure, John Campey and Lee Morgado have been appointed directors and Neil Armstrong, who joined Campey in 2010 as accounts manager will take up the position as company secretary.

L-R: Lee Morgado, Richard Campey, John Campey and Julia Campey

Julia has been a key figure at Campey since 2004 and has been the sales and marketing coordinator for the last ten years. The company says in this role, she has developed the corporate presence of the company throughout the UK, Europe and other parts of the globe, including the USA, Australia and Asia. She has organised exhibitions as well as educational tours for overseas visitors and provided invaluable support to the sales team in product development, sales and back-up services.

Richard is stepping aside from his previous role and handing over the day to day activities to his daughter, but he remains an integral part of the company, and he will still be involved in many sales and educational events.

Speaking about Julia’s appointment, Richard said, “I’ve had a lot of successful years at this company, and I’m very proud of what we have achieved. Julia has been a part of that success for many years and has extensive knowledge of our product range and the industry, and I’m very confident in her ability to take Campey forward."

He continued, “Lee has worked his way up through the company over 13-years and has a great understanding of how we operate and has a brilliant relationship with our customers and dealer, not just here in the UK, but throughout the world. Lee and John have been great assets to us, and I think both will use their practical experience to great effect in the boardroom.”

Lee, who started with Campey in 2006 in the workshops, has seen his role in the company grow and change direction over the years. He started life in the workshop and progressed to be a sales demonstrator before taking on numerous renovations across Europe and further afield before becoming product specialist for southern Europe and has also seen his sales area expanded to cover Denmark.

Along with John, Lee has a vast amount of experience from the field and the company says they will work actively in the new structure to maintain the founding principles of the company, ensuring that Campey continues to innovate, educate and provide excellent customer service.

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 the ATV / Quad Dealer of the Year 2018, Huw Owen of Llyn ATVs And Garden Machinery, with Steve Morris of sponsor Honda Power Equipment, plus Service Dealer owner Duncan Murray-Clarke (l) and comedian Charlie Baker (r)

Since nominations opened entries have been taken from dealers large and small, specialising in all machinery types, located across the country.

However, 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.

OPICO Ltd has announced the appointment of R C Dalgliesh Limited to their Strautmann dealer network.

Andy Mitchell , sales manager, RC Dalgliesh; Colin Grigor, OPICO territory manager; and Robbie Dalgliesh, managing director, RC Dalgliesh

R C Dalgliesh Limited is a family run agricultural engineering business that specialises in the sale, service and repair of new and used agricultural and horticultural machinery. Based in Lockerbie, the dealership has gained a wealth of experience over the past thirty five years and enjoys an excellent reputation in the area. Opico say they are ideally located to grow the Strautmann franchise in South West Scotland.

Commenting, Charles Bedforth, OPICO’s sales manager said, “Robbie Dalgliesh and his team have a proven history of selling and servicing forage and feeder wagons. They cover a mixed farming area, with a strong dairy tradition, and we are delighted to have them on board.”

Robbie Dalgliesh, managing director for R C Dalgliesh added, “The Strautmann range of forage wagons and diet feeders is a valuable addition to our machinery portfolio. We pride ourselves on supplying our customers with first class service and support. Our fully trained mechanics are already fully up-to-speed with the Strautmann product range and personally, along with my team, I’m looking forward to getting the machines out to our customers for demonstrations

Hertfordshire’s Hatfield House has deployed a number of robotic lawnmowers over the past year in order to maintain the property’s lawns - a decision which they say has proved a terrific success.

Built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to King James I, Hatfield House is a beautiful Jacobean property and popular tourist attraction, meaning the grounds of the house must be pristine at all times.

It is here where head gardener, Andrew Turvey, saw an opportunity in 2018 to galvanise the house’s gardens through the installation of Husqvarna Automower, following a Husqvarna demo day in North London organised by long-term machinery suppliers and authorised dealers RT Machinery, and then an on-site demonstration by the RT Machinery and Husqvarna teams.

Andrew took the opportunity to test two Automower products on the north side of Hatfield House - a location which was challenging for the grounds team to maintain due to a number of islands and a water feature. After seeing the robotic mower successfully manage green spaces in Edinburgh, Andrew felt it was time to see what the product could bring to Hatfield House.

RT Machinery completed the complex installation in April 2018, which meant them installing guide wires and circling no short of 20 trees on the lawn. The complex installation meant the robotic mower was able to map out the lawn and optimise its mowing pattern in order to achieve the best finish possible, even in areas with poor drainage and the spaces which the Hatfield House team historically found it challenging to mow.

A little over 12 months since the installation, Andrew speaks glowingly about the impact Husqvarna’s product has had.

Andrew commented, ”The robotic mowers have performed beyond anything we could have expected and have truly changed the way we go about our gardening here at Hatfield House. By using these products we have reduced the amount of petrol and diesel we use. The areas which our robotic mowers are working see high footfall and customers are often amazed by them - wondering where the grass goes and commenting on how quiet they are. Grass quality has actually improved as the mowers provide a very even and consistent finish across the lawn - the regular mowing encourages the sward to stand up rather than lay down, making our lawns look fantastic.

”The two mowers we currently have cover 90% of the grass on the north side of the house and save us roughly 4 hours per week. This means we can redeploy our highly skilled workers on more technical and enjoyable jobs. Our horticulturalists, for example, can work more on making the garden look stunning for visitors.

”We are so impressed with Husqvarna Automower we have recently increased our fleet to nine machines and it’s expected that by the end of the year we will have 11 managing lawns around Hatfield House. This is the best commendation I can give.”

With the additional robots now installed, Hatfield House was the first UK commercial user of the newly launched Automower AWD, with 2 machines cutting areas that had to be managed by teams with grass trimmers previously.

Andew added: ”Each morning I check the status of the mowers from my phone, making sure I’ve not received any notifications. This again saves so much time and gives me peace of mind that the lawns are being taken care of without having to watch what is happening at all times.”

Andrew has also taken advantage of Husqvarna’s battery equipment, benefiting from the Fleet Services applications to remotely manage each machine.

LH Agro, Topcon Agriculture’s preferred dealer for its precision farming systems in the UK, has appointed Jack Harris to the newly created role of agricultural electronics specialist.

Based from his home in the Cambridgeshire Fens, Jack will provide UK-wide technical and software support and training to ensure LH Agro’s customers are getting the maximum benefit from their precision farming systems.

“Jack’s appointment represents a significant and exciting time for LH Agro and the precision farming community as a whole,” explains Richard Reed, managing director of LH Agro. “While many growers have embraced precision farming technologies, not all farmers are getting the absolute best out of these systems.

“We’ve therefore recruited Jack to ensure our customers are able to fully appreciate the power of their RTK and GPS based guidance systems, application rate and section control technologies, implement height controllers, crop sensors and yield monitoring systems, and to ensure their cropping systems are operating as efficiently as possible.”

In addition to his role as LH Agro’s electronics and software specialist, Jack will also work alongside the wider LH Agro installation team to fit bespoke Topcon Agriculture precision farming systems to customers’ new and existing machinery.

Jack, who is BASIS and FACTS qualified, has worked for the last 18 months as an independent precision farming consultant providing specialist support to farmers and advisors throughout the UK. He also fulfills a similar role for HMC Peas - a 5,000 acre vining pea co-operative based in the Holbeach Marsh area of Lincolnshire - where he is responsible for managing the boundary, crop scanning and harvest yield data from more than 30 growers.

The GGM Group have taken a staggering 551,252 combined steps in the name of their new company charity!

A team from the firm were up very early on the 6th July to take part in the gruelling Yorkshire 3-peaks Challenge, as part of the GGM Group’s wider commitment to the Greenfingers Charity.

The nine-strong team from GGM Groundscare hiked up the famous Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, three “peaks” in a triangle formation, taking in the stunning scenery and putting into practice weeks of training. The total walking distance is 24.5 miles and they all completed the challenge in just 10 hours and 10 minutes, taking 61,250 steps each.

The GGM Group recently selected Greenfingers as their group charity for 2019, and employees are taking part in many different activities to raise vital funds for this worthy cause. Greenfingers is a charity dedicated to supporting children who spend time in hospices around the UK, along with their families, by creating inspiring gardens for them to relax in and benefit from.

The GGM Group consists of two businesses across two depots. PSD Groundscare is the national distributor of specialist landscaping equipment, including AS Motor and Eliet, Koppl and TS Industrie. Both businesses will be supporting Greenfingers Charity this year. GGM Groundscare is a specialist supplier of tractors and professional land-based equipment for commercial and domestic use. Servicing the North West and Yorkshire, it supplies a range of products from franchises including Kubota, Baroness and Amazone.

Chris Gibson, managing director of The GGM Group completed the challenge. He said, “The Yorkshire 3-Peaks Challenge was a one of the toughest things we have ever done but it was great to pull together as a team for this fantastic charity.

“It’s a key part of our ethos at The GGM Group to give something back to the community and we are delighted to be working with the Greenfingers charity this year. The charity creates beautiful gardens for children to enjoy during their stay in hospices and it’s particularly important to us as grounds maintenance is at the core of our business.”

The GGM Group has set a target of £10,000 over the next year. The 3-peaks challenge has already raised over £2,500. Donations can be made here.

Agricultural Tyres – Probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Tyre-Line, but did you know their Aftermarket division have extensive experience within the Agricultural & Horticultural sectors? Experience that means they can give size and pattern recommendations, advise on load and inflation pressures and offer specialist services including pattern conversions (Agri to Turf & vice-versa), bespoke fitment requests and even have wheels designed and manufactured to customers own specifications.

JD Compact on Turf

Being the UK Sole Official Distributor for Carlisle tyres also means that they have an expansive tyre portfolio to draw from which includes fitments for Compact Tractors, Trailers, Hay Turners, Bailers, Access Platforms / Cherry Pickers, Tedders and Skid Steers. Well known pattern names such as USA Loader, Ultra Guard, Multi Trac and the extensive Farm Specialist range of patterns including Flotation Implement, HF-1 and R-1 are all available with complete product support and backup.

Specialist patterns including the WT300 (designed for use on small skid steer machines used for landscaping and light turf / bank work), the excellent Turf Pro R3 (designed for compact to mid-sized tractors used for grounds maintenance) and the ever popular Trac Chief R4 (designed for skid steers and compact tractors and an ideal hard surface tyre) are popular alternatives for pattern conversions, where O.E. machinery tyre fitments don’t fit the user / application needs or demands.

For more information on Carlisle’s Agricultural & Horticultural range, or any of the specialist services Tyre-Line Aftermarket can offer, contact the team on 01458 250350 or email them aftermarket@tyreline.com

Garden Trader is a product and dealer search website/directory only for specialist garden machinery dealers in the UK. It has been designed to support and promote our dealer industry to consumers who are specifically searching for garden machinery products and services.

It is easy and quick to register and costs just £96 + VAT per year to be listed and all revenues in 2019 will be reinvested into promoting the site online.

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