We feature a number of industry business stories today, that with our optimistic hat on, hopefully point towards positive things to come - especially for the commercial groundscare sector.

As we have discussed plenty of times this year, it is this area of the outdoor powered equipment market that appears to have felt the affects of the pandemic most acutely. We've heard from manufacturers and dealers how golf and local authority customers in particular, have reined in their spend these past months. 

From what we've been hearing anecdotally, the commercial market can't be said to have faced the utter devastation that perhaps was feared back in March and April, but it's certainly not been much better than an OK season. Whilst these business stories that we include today might not be the first evidence of some green-shoots of recovery, I think looking for any upside certainly helps amidst all the doom and gloom.

Firstly, it's always encouraging to read stories about new personnel joining companies. Taking on new staff is a sign of a healthy business. So it's good to hear from Iseki, Suzuki and John Deere on that front.

More significant is the big news that Textron has chosen to move all their production of the Jacobsen commercial turfcare machinery products to the UK facility in Ipswich. This is a major step and one which the team at Ipswich should be rightfully proud of. The development could be a stimulus for the local jobs market and it's always heartening to see international corporations put their faith in the expertise of the UK's manufacturing base.

I looked it up and it's pretty much exactly a year ago that we were reporting in this Weekly Update about Ariens choosing to move all their zero-turn production to the UK at Great Haseley. We were excited then about the belief that was shown in the abilities of the factory teams here in the UK - and this move by Textron feels similar.

Beyond this gesture of faith in the UK as a manufacturing hub though, is the wider faith that these corporations are showing in the sectors which they serve. Simon Rainger, vice president, Turf for Textron Specialized Vehicles talks about being able to expand on the legacy which their machines have built up. The company is also speaking bullishly about the slate of new products they have planned for release in the coming months - clearly predicting, or at least hoping for, a resurgence in the pro-sector.

David Withers appears to sum up this feeling today, explaining why Iseki UK & Ireland is taking on both new people and new plant. He says, "Whilst this year has been difficult we are looking to continue our market share gains and so are happy to invest further in the company."

Investing further in the company is also what Generac and their DR Products division are doing - specifically in the field of commercial, battery-powered grass cutting equipment with the purchase of Mean Green.

We know that alternatively powered machines have been finding increasing favour amongst professional end users - in an ever expanding variety of applications. Councils, landscapers, golf, sporting facilities, etc - all of these customers are switching on to electric for all of the reasons that have been well-documented.

Overton, who we heard have been reassured of their continued distributorship of Mean Green in the UK, have been steadily building a dealer network for these commercial battery powered machines over the past few years. Indeed, dealers across the UK have been finding that whatever manufacturer brands they deal in, grounds staff and greenkeepers have a desire to try electric machinery that stands up to the rigours of professional usage. 

There is no doubt the commercial grasscare machinery sector has taken a real hit in 2020 and there is certainly a long way to go to get fully back on track. The cancellation of shows and the difficulties faced in demonstrating kit to the pro-users, has made life tough for both dealers and manufacturers. 

However, looking at these developments, there is a genuine belief that demand will return and the sector will recover.

DR Power Equipment, a division of Generac Holdings Inc., announced this week the closing of a purchase agreement to acquire the assets of Mean Green Products, the maker of commercial, battery-powered turfcare equipment, headquartered in Ross, Ohio.

In the UK, the Mean Green range is distributed by Overton (UK) Ltd, whilst DR Power Equipment is distributed by AL-KO Gardentech.

Joe Conrad, president and owner of Mean Green Products, pictured at 2019's GIE+EXPO

Service Dealer spoke to Guy Overton, director of Overton, this week who told us that he and his brother Richard had spoken to Joe Conrad, president and owner of Mean Green Products, who had confirmed and reassured them that nothing will change regarding their distribution agreement for the UK and Ireland.

"After speaking with Joe we are looking forward to new electric mowers to come, now they have the investment," Guy told Service Dealer. "Hopefully we will be able to exhibit them at SALTEX next year,"

Matt Bieber, president of DR Power Equipment, said, “Entering the commercial turf care category has been a target of ours for years, but we wanted to do it in an innovative and differentiated way. The improvements in battery technology have now enabled the electrification of large commercial turf care products and Mean Green is leading the way.

"We have watched the Mean Green team grow and develop new products and technologies, which led us to proactively pursue them to become part of our portfolio. Mean Green products will supplement our expanding battery-powered, chore products line up and support our goals to integrate and develop new battery-powered solutions.”

Joe Conrad, president and owner of Mean Green Products said, “We are extremely excited for the opportunity to further expand on our vision to provide consumers with meaningful battery powered equipment.

"The DR Power and Generac teams are an excellent fit for our company and our employees."

The acquisition closed on September 1. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

John Deere has announced a change to its senior management affecting the leadership in Region 2 (Europe and the CIS).

Alejandro Sayago has been appointed vice president, Ag & Turf sales & marketing, Region 2, replacing Denny Docherty who is retiring on October 31, 2020.

Alejandro Sayago

Deere says in his new role Alejandro Sayago will continue to manage the team responsible for execution of their 'Grow Time' strategy across the region, ensuring the successful implementation of what they term their 'Smart Industrial Operating Model'.

The company say he will also focus on the transition of the central sales and marketing organisation from Mannheim to Walldorf in Germany. In addition, he will drive the company’s continued efforts to build a strong dealership network for agricultural and turf equipment in the region. Alejandro’s appointment will take effect on October 1.

Alejandro (Alex) Sayago joined the company in 1992 as an engineer at John Deere Industrias in Mexico and later held supply management and operations roles there. He had subsequent assignments in marketing, sales and strategy in the US, Uruguay and Brazil.

In 2012 he was named director, Corporate Business Division for the Ag & Turf Division. Two years later he became director, sales & marketing for operations in Latin America (Region 3). Since February 2019 Alejandro has been director, Corporate Strategy & Business Development.

“Alejandro has been one of my trusted advisors who helped to develop our Grow Time strategy, which fully aligns with the Smart Industrial Model,” said Denny Docherty. “I’ve known Alex personally and professionally for 15 years and I promise you, the region and John Deere dealers are getting an outstanding leader and person to work with.”

Denny Docherty

Denny Docherty joined Deere in 1998 and has held numerous leadership positions in sales, marketing and strategy. In January 2019 he assumed his most recent duties, heading sales and marketing in Region 2. He has elected to retire for family reasons.

Suzuki GB has announced that Mark Beeley is the new head of its ATV and Marine Divisions, along with several other new roles within the department.

Suzuki's ATV & Marine leadership team now comprises of Mark Beeley, Neil Disbrey, Harvey Day and Charlotte Dyson

Mark has been with Suzuki for 13 years and his role has changed from that of national sales manager for Marine, to now encompass responsibility for the ATV product range as well.

A former member of the Royal Air Force Regiment, Mark joined Suzuki in 2006 and has previously looked after some of Suzuki Marine’s key dealer and boat builder accounts throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland as well as successfully increasing Suzuki’s sales and market share within the marine market.

Neil Disbrey will continue to support the team as Marine & ATV coordinator and Charlotte Dyson fills a new role as sales operations administrator focusing on specialist Marine and ATV knowledge.

Neil says “I’m looking forward to working closely with Harvey, Mark and the team and helping to support our dealer network.”

Suzuki say see their dealer network as key to their future success. This restructure allows Harvey Day, now ATV sales manager, to focus on sales and dealer Support.

Paul de Lusignan, director for Motorcycle, Marine and ATV at Suzuki GB, said, “Mark has past experience with ATVs and we feel that ATV & Marine have worked well together so this change will keep the continuity to help us grow sales over the coming years. Mark has worked closely with Harvey over the past 15 months, so we see this as a seamless transition for both. Our network will see very little change as Harvey will remain the primary contact for our dealers and will continue to support them as he has done in his previous role.”

On his promotion Mark said, “I am excited about this new opportunity and can’t wait to reacquaint myself with the agricultural sector and our utility ATV customers. I am looking forward to supporting Harvey and helping him continue the fantastic work that he has already done.”

Richard Harris, managing director of Reesink Turfcare IRE, has announced his retirement from the company.

Richard was instrumental in the development of the Lely, Reesink and Toro brands in Ireland and leaves a career which spans 31 years in the turfcare industry.

Richard Harris

Richard joined Toro distributor for Ireland, J C Distribution, in 1989. In 1994 he took on the management and development of Lely Ireland (as a sister company of Lely UK) into a combined agriculture and turfcare machinery business. He has played a leading role in helping develop the Toro brand and reputation for quality products.

A past president of the Farm Tractor Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA) in 2014, when the agriculture and turfcare divisions separated within Lely, Richard moved with the turfcare side of the business which then joined the Royal Reesink Group in 2016.

The last few years have seen Richard spearhead considerable investment by the Royal Reesink group in both Toro and other brands (such as Trilo and TYM) in Ireland through their base in Nurney, Co Kildare. Focusing on establishing a stand-alone business, the Reesink Turfcare sales team has been together for many years moving along with the company changes. This allowed Richard to focus on building up the customer service, parts and technical support areas to enhance Reesink’s support for Toro and Trilo fine turf and grounds customers in Ireland. Reesink say Richard hands the business over in a strong state to maintain and build customer satisfaction levels on a par with all Toro European distributor operations.

Roon Hylkema, managing director of Reesink Turfcare BV and a colleague of Richard’s since 1991, said, “Richard and I have worked together for a great many years. We were originally from different companies, I was with Jean Heybroek BV and he was with Lely UK, but we had the Toro brand in common. Then in the last four years when Reesink acquired Lely, as Reesink had acquired Jean Heybroek in 2010, much more closely as we worked together to raise the Reesink profile in Ireland. He’s the type of colleague, employee and friend you’d want in your professional life, honest, straight-forward, loyal and reliable, and he’ll be greatly missed for the contribution he has made to the development of the business in that time and throughout his career.”

Richard says, “During my career I have had the privilege of working with so many great teams of people both within our own companies in Ireland, the UK, The Netherlands and Denmark, as well as within The Toro Company and more recently Vanmac/Trilo. I have shared some great experiences and relationships with many colleagues and contacts within these companies and the turfcare and agricultural machinery industry at large over the years. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working within this industry.

“While looking forward to now having time to focus on other interests, I will certainly miss it all and will keep an eye with interest on the future development of the business and the turfcare industry. While COVID-19 has affected the whole industry and will bring many challenges and changes to the way we do business in the future, I have no doubt that Reesink, Toro and the turfcare industry will bounce back over the next couple of years and grasp the opportunities that will present themselves.”

Iseki UK & Ireland has appointed the well-known industry figure Phil Self, as technical sales demonstrator to increase the support for the dealer network nationwide.

Phil Self

Phil has over 20 years of experience within the municipal, golf and sports turf industry having previously worked at Ransomes Jacobsen in a variety of roles. He started his career working in the factory, followed by a variety of technical roles before spending the last 10 years as a demonstrator.

Commenting on the announcement David Withers, md of Iseki UK said, “Phil will be a great asset to the business. Having worked with most of the dealers previously and having demonstrated ISEKI equipment over prior years, he will be able to hit the ground running. We are very fortunate that Phil was available”.

David continued, "As part of this new investment we are also buying a suitable truck and trailer for Phil to use. Whilst this year has been difficult we are looking to continue our market share gains and so are happy to invest further in the company”.

Commenting on the new role Phil added, “I am looking forward to supporting the dealers with high quality demonstrations and technical support for our customers.”

According to figures released by the AEA, UK agricultural tractor registrations (over 50hp) remained below last year's level in August but the year-on-year decline was the smallest since March, at just 7%

620 units were registered in August, with the year to date figure being 6683 units (a -26.7% change compared with January-August 2019).

Stephen Howarth, agricultural economist at the AEA, explained that as August 2019 saw a relatively low number of registrations, the figure for this year was still well below the average for the time of year. He said, "The lingering effects of the adverse weather conditions earlier in the year and the Covid-19 pandemic are still likely to have been the main drivers of the trend.

"So far this year, nearly 2,500 fewer tractors have been registered, compared with the same period last year, a drop of more than a quarter."

Bob Clements International, the dealership training professionals based in Missouri, have published a new book entitled You’re the Problem (and the Solution).

Bob and Sara will be familiar to Service Dealer readers through their appearances at the Service Dealer Conference and through Sara's regular column in the magazine. They say they wrote the book to help dealers who have ever wondered why some dealers are in a never-ending, all-consuming stream of struggle day after day, while others seem to be successful regardless of what happened to them or their dealership.

Through sharing real-life dealership stories, Bob and Sara say the book looks at what separates the dealers who are just trying to survive from the ones who are truly winning.

Sara said, “Our team spent a year, taking an in-depth look at this, and what we found were seven proven habits that all of these dealers exhibited. We knew that we had to find a way to share these with any dealer who was willing to put in the work."

The book is available for pre-order now and will be released on October 15th 2020.

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