Despite talking last week about the industry getting back together for demonstrations and events, I attended another online product presentation this week.

It's difficult to asses whether events such as these are here to stay? I suspect for major, international manufacturers they most likely are - as the cost and time savings involved must be huge. In the past, dealers (or freeloading journalists) would be shipped from around Europe and the world to visit factories, sports stadiums, parks and the like, to watch the latest machine have a blanket pulled off it and put through its paces.

Now it's simply a question of mass-mailing out a Zoom link and tying people up at their desks for an hour or so.

From what I can gather via feedback from dealer readers, there is a palpable appetite to reconnect with peers and colleagues in the real world - but I suspect what we'll see is a blend of events taking place both physically and online. Perhaps on the domestic front we'll certainly see things pick up again this autumn. For travel further afield, that's probably not on the agenda for a while.

Entering the sector

But I digress. As you might have already read, the event that I attended on Wednesday was an announcement from the manufacturer Segway - who hitherto were best known for those two-wheeled scooter things you see tourists and cameramen trundling around on - saying they are entering the lawn and garden sector. Earlier this year we heard about their moves into the utility vehicle market, but this is the first time they have produced a grass care tool.

I thought it was a significant move by the company and reminded me of Karcher from a few months back. Again they are a company with a strong reputation and history in one sector, choosing to make inroads into the horticultural maintenance field for the first time. Like Karcher, Segway clearly must see a viable and profitable future in equipment that our readers specialise in.

What was quite striking to me was that the company made a point of stressing that this range of four robot mowers wouldn't be their only foray into the sector. Ryan Kong, their senior sales manager confirmed during the presentation, "Navimow is our first entry into the lawn care industry, but it will not be our last. We promise there will be more to come."

This could be read as both a statement of intent geared towards the established robotic mower manufacturers - whilst at the same time being a promise for interested dealers that there's a future with this brand. For those who may be looking to bring a new range into their showroom, there could be interesting times ahead.

The key to their success could of course, be the availability of stock. Ryan did say this week, "Currently Navimow is close to mass production and we are ready to fill orders," - so they appear confident of meeting that Spring 2022 in dealerships promise.

As everyone has discovered only too clearly from experience this year though, it's quite possible that even with all the best intentions, dates can slip. The media has been full of these type of stories just lately - from garden furniture, to toys, from building materials, to camping equipment - there are delays on anything and everything that is manufactured.

Hopefully for Segway and their potential dealers, Spring next year is far enough off for supply chains to fall back into place and for the stocking chaos of 2021 to subside. I'm aware of dealers who were wishing away this year back in January, so the thought that spring next year could still be bumpy is pretty awful.

But what are your feelings on the supply problems easing off as we head into the autumn and further ahead? Are you seeing improvements on where we were earlier this year? Do you think that spring '22 should be more normal for all your suppliers?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

In conjunction with their local dealers, Iseki UK & Ireland say they are excited to be heading out to meet existing and new customers in September and October this year on the ISEKI 2021 Roadshow.

The manufacturer says on show will be the full range of their compact tractors and mowers. Taking place at a variety of sites across, England, Scotland and Wales, Iseki say the events are an opportunity to come and ride and drive the machinery. They say every location will have plenty of space to test out the equipment, with full and professional demonstrations offered throughout each day.  

Machines on show will include sub compact  tractors from23hp to 67hp, mowers including the cut and collect SF and SXG ranges and the SRA brushcutters.

Iseki Roadshow dates so far:

• 7th & 8th Sept, AYLESBURY, RT Machinery, Brackwell Farm
• 9th Sept, CHESHIRE, Sharrocks, Woodside Golf Club, Crewe
• 21st Sept,  NORTH WALES, Llyn ATV, Glasyfrn Parc, Y Ffor
• 22nd Sept, SURREY, Ernest Doe Power, Staines Rugby Club
• 23rd Sept, READING, John Day Engineering Depot
• 28th Sept, CORNWALL, Nigel Rafferty Groundcare, Royal Cornwall Showground
• 29th Sept, DEVON, MST Group, Bicton College
• 30th Sept, DORSET, ABA Groundcare, Kingston Maurward College, Dorchester
• 5th Oct,  TURRIFF, Balgownie, Turriff Showground
• 4, 6, 7 & 8th Oct, SCOTLAND Gammies
• 11th Oct, EDINBURGH, Fairways GM
• 12th Oct, GLASGOW, Fairways GM
• 13th Oct, NEWCASTLE, Rickerby
• 14th Oct, COUNTY DURHAM, Rickerby, Knotty Hill Golf Club, Stock-on-Tees
• 18th Oct, WORCESTERSHIRE, TH White, Redditch
• 19th Oct,  LINCOLNSHIRE, Chandlers Farm Equipment, Belton Depot
• 20th Oct, OXFORDSHIRE, Turney Group
• 21st Oct, EAST ANGLIA, Ernest Doe & Sons, Tewin Bury Hotel, Welwyn                            

Iseki staff and dealer staff will be at every roadshow date to show visitors around the machinery and answer any queries. Food and refreshments will be available each day, plus some goodies for everyone that attends.  

Commenting on the roadshow plans David Withers, managing director explained, “As we start emerging from our Covid induced shells it is great to start reconnecting with people in a safe outdoor environment and having the chance to show off our lovely new products to customers old and new around the country, I hope we will see great turnouts and look forward to getting back out there again."

For more details visit www.iseki.co.uk/isekiroadshow2021, call 01473 599266 or contact the local dealer holding the event.  

Husqvarna Group has announced that Erik Winberg has been appointed as Senior Vice President of Strategy & Innovation and as a new member of the Group Management team, effective from October 18, 2021. 

Henric Andersson, President and CEO said, “I’m very pleased to welcome Erik to Husqvarna Group and to the management team. He has a strong track record and solid experience from strategic planning and digital transformation. Erik and the S&I team will play a central role in further positioning Husqvarna Group for future growth."

The manufacturer says the S&I function was formed in 2020 to accelerate their strategic transformation and drive alignment of key Group activities, connecting the dots between technology, business development and sustainability. The function is currently headed by Henric Andersson. 

Erik Winberg is currently a partner at strategy advisory firm NorrmannPartners, prior to which he was Vice President Strategic Planning at TetraPak International from 2011-2019. He held leading positions within management consultancy Bain & Company from 1996-2011. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden. 

Honda has announced a new partnership with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and England Rugby.
 
The multi-year agreement sees Honda become the Performance Partner and Official Vehicle of England Rugby.

 
To celebrate it, a team at Honda’s mass distribution centre at Portbury Docks, Bristol, created a rugby-themed image (above). A total of 49 models of varying size and colour were parked into the shape of a 100ft long set of rugby posts, with numerous other cars positioned below to spell out ENG.
 
Rebecca Adamson, head of automobile, Honda UK, said: “We are thrilled to announce this exciting new partnership with The Rugby Football Union.
 
“For a bit of fun, we thought we’d turn our large car park at Portbury into a giant set of rugby posts which could be visible from quite a distance.”
 
The long-term relationship, which officially kicks off on 1st September in time for the start of the new season, will see Honda align with England Rugby in several ways.
 
The Honda logo will feature on the England men’s U18 and U20 playing and training kits produced by Umbro.
 
Honda will also become the Principal Partner to the England Rugby senior men’s official training centre located at Pennyhill Park, to be named as the Honda England Rugby Performance Centre.
 
In addition, Honda will provide the official vehicle fleet to England Rugby and its employees. There will be a major focus in sustainability in this area with the majority of the cars supplied having a degree of electrification.
 
There will also be support for community rugby in England, with Honda coming on board as the first ever title partner for the Grounds Connected programme as well as support for volunteering in the grassroots game through the Honda Volunteer Recognition Programme.
 
In addition to becoming the Official Automotive Partner to England Rugby, Honda will activate across their Motorcycle, ATV, Lawn and Garden products.

RFU Chief Executive, Bill Sweeney, added, “We are delighted to confirm Honda UK as an Official Partner of the RFU and England Rugby.
 
“Honda is a massive global brand well-known for its innovation and we are certain it will be a great fit for us. Honda’s global brand positioning is enabling ‘the Power of Dreams’ and ‘challenging spirit’ which is synonymous with our own."

Amazone Ltd say they have continued to increase their level of customer support with two new appointments. Josh Rhodes joins the company as product specialist and Oliver Watson takes on the role as 3C specialist sales manager.

L-R; Josh Rhodes and Oliver Watson

Josh Rhodes, based at Orchard Farm, will liaise with end-customers and dealers on sales-related technical matters across the complete product range from groundcare through crop care to crop establishment as well as coordinating all national shows and demonstrations and supporting dealers with their specialist events and open days.

Josh graduated in agriculture with mechanisation at Harper Adams and says he is happy behind the wheel of anything agricultural, having had a wealth of practical farming experience.

Oliver Watson joined Amazone in 2016, completing his degree in agriculture at Riseholme Campus, and has been involved for the last 5 years both in service support and then, more recently, in product support as product manager. He now takes on the role as 3C specialist sales manager to offer growers advice on all aspects of crop establishment.

Oliver will be working closely with end customers, agronomy businesses, key accounts and dealers in the southern end of the country.

Royal Reesink, the international equipment distribution and aftermarket services company, recently announced that Gerrit van der Scheer has stepped down as Chief Executive Officer.

Gerrit van der Scheer and Boris Schoepplein 

Boris Schoepplein has started as Chief Executive Officer beginning August 1st 2021, and at the same time Gerrit van der Scheer has joined the Supervisory Board.

"My passion for Royal Reesink, with its 235-year history, the employees and suppliers have been the main drivers throughout the years. Together, we have achieved a good result and a financially healthy company. I believe now is the time for me to hand over the baton and use my expertise as a member of the Supervisory Board and as an advisor to the company”, said Gerrit van der Scheer.

In the almost 23 years that Gerrit van der Scheer has been involved with Royal Reesink, of which 13 years have been as CEO, the company say he has made a decisive and valued contribution to their success.

Cees Veerman, President of Royal Reesink, said "Under Gerrit van der Scheer's strong leadership, the company has grown from EUR 150 million to EUR 1 billion, with a good profitability. We are very grateful to him for this. He is a strong leader with a sharp eye for people, details and business. These capacities will be very useful in the coming period as a member of the Supervisory Board.”

The company says Boris Schoepplein has extensive management experience and a broad international background in the machinery, automotive and capital goods industries, with a proven track record delivering strong business results. His expertise in corporate strategy, business transformation and value creation programs fits seamlessly with the objectives of Royal Reesink in its new phase of further growth and professionalisation.

Boss ORV has announced that the latest addition to the Corvus 4 x4 dealer network is Chandlers Farm Equipment.

L-R: Boss ORV's Phil Everett; Les Butters, Chandlers' groundscare sales manager; Gavin Pell, Chandlers' md

The dealership will cover the East Midlands and eastern England regions for Corvus from their branches at Belton, Shefford, Horncastle, Spilsby, Holbeach, Barnack and Southam. Each branch will have their own demo unit Corvus Terrain 4x4 Utility Vehicle, providing sales and full service and support. 

"Corvus offers a big welcome to Gavin Pell, Les Butters, Guy Ward, and all the team at Chandlers," said Phil Everett, Boss ORV's managing director.

"The partnership ensures Corvus has full sales coverage of this considerable and important region."

Organisers of the Sports & Grounds Expo that took place for the first time this summer at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern, have announced when the show will take place next year.

Confirming via their social media channels this week, the dates for next year's show will be July 6 - July 7 at the same venue.

In an official statement the show said, "Set in more than 100 acres of parkland at the foot of the Malvern Hills, this event is the highlight of the year for the sports and ground maintenance industry."

Robert Bayliss has said goodbye to Weymouth Golf Club in Dorset after 42 years serving the James Braid-designed parkland course.

Robert Bayliss (centre) holding his Reesink/Toro decanter with Elliot Wellman of DGM (left) and retired Reesink Turfcare area manager John Pike

Now 65 years old, Robert originally came from a sports-ground maintenance and horticulture background, landing a post as head greenkeeper at the club in 1978 when he was only 22. Initially thinking of the position as he says, “another rung in the ladder”, he ended up enjoying his work so much he stayed until his retirement, over four decades later.

One of Robert’s biggest achievements while at Weymouth Golf Club has been his involvement in training and education, club accreditation and charity work, he says: “Training and education are paramount when it comes to staff improvement. In the early days, one of my priorities was to obtain funding for training and education from committees. Although challenging, once it became apparent that increased technical skills, as well as greater motivation and morale, resulted in an overall improvement on the work carried out on the course, getting support for these areas became a lot easier. 

In Robert’s long-run career he’s experienced many advances to the greenkeeping profession, some of which he calls “remarkable”. He says: “The evolution of mechanisation and machinery is remarkable and has made the lives of greenkeepers everywhere a lot easier and safer, not to mention more productive. There’s now an open world of possibilities when it comes to the maintenance and design of turf, which simply wasn’t there when I started out.
“I sometimes relay to younger greenkeepers how many of the machines they take for granted today didn't exist when I started, and when they did, it was only a few prestigious clubs that could afford them. The rise of technology means now we all have the machinery we need to do the job properly.”

Toro is the brand that Robert says he has worked with from the very beginning. “Bringing new equipment from the United States, it completely revolutionised the greenkeeping world,” he says. “One machine that, without a doubt, made my daily routine so much better was the Toro Greensmaster 3 riding greensmower; it did so much to cut maintenance time on the course.” 

With the club a Toro customer and considering Robert’s long-term relationship with local Toro dealer Devon Garden Machinery and his long-standing contribution to the greenkeeping profession, the news of Robert’s retirement was certainly a milestone to be marked. 

John Pike, previous regional manager at Reesink Turfcare, who has also recently retired after 48 years in the turfcare industry, was happy to be involved, he says: “I was delighted to come out of my retirement for the special occasion of marking Rob’s retirement. I worked with Rob for many years as did Dennis Lumley, who worked at Devon Garden Machinery before his retirement, so we arranged a surprise lunch meeting for Rob. There, Elliot Wellman, who is Weymouth’s current contact at Devon Garden Machinery, and I presented Rob with a Reesink/Toro decanter, plus a nice bottle of malt to fill it!”

Robert calls himself “extremely fortunate” to have been surrounded with individuals who would end up becoming long-time friends, one of which is deputy Rob Mabb, a most-trusted work companion of 35 years and recently promoted to the course manager position at Weymouth upon Robert’s retirement, is one of them. A choice that Robert couldn’t be “more pleased with”. 

We are looking to recruit a dynamic Sales Manager to join our busy Groundcare business, operating across three locations (Knockdown, Redditch, and Stockbridge).

Working closely with the sales team and our suppliers your focus will be to increase sales in our territory by nurturing and growing business from our established sales area, whilst increasing brand penetration and market share of our key partners, including Ransomes, Iseki, Amazone etc.

It is our aim to fulfil our customers’ every groundcare need, so maintaining excellent customer relationships, understanding their requirements, and having knowledge of the products we offer will be essential to your success.

Whilst Sales is fundamental to this role, you will also have the ability to fulfil the full range of managerial responsibilities to ensure the smooth running of the business i.e.

• Budget Setting
• Stock Control & Marketing
• Logistic control stock and demo equipment
• CRM control – Pipeline and lost deals
• Supplier Management
• Management reporting
• Succession Planning (Recruitment & Retention)
• Staff Welfare and development

All applicants should be IT literate, possess excellent communication skills and, ideally, be a successful negotiator.

APPLY FOR JOB HERE

DECLARATION

Please note that in applying for this position, you agree and confirm that all information provided within your application is accurate and up to date. In applying, you understand that any false information or deliberate omissions will disqualify you from employment or may render you liable for dismissal.

In submitting your application you also confirm that you consent to the organisation using and keeping information you provide as part of the recruitment process and/or personal information supplied by a third party (e.g. referees) relating to your application or future employment.

Taking place at the NEC, Birmingham on 3 and 4 November, SALTEX 2021 will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in style.

The show will feature over 400 brands including some of the biggest names in groundscare.

Our Summer research shows that on average, each Garden Trader dealer will be sent 114 new customers (or people with a buying intention walking through your door) per year.  This works out at 83p for each new customer. A subscription rate designed to be all inclusive delivering unrivalled online results.

This site was purpose-built just for skilled servicing ground care dealers by the team that bring you Service Dealer Magazine. It is easy and quick to register and costs just £96 + VAT per year for a full listing.  As this dealer site is designed to promote the UK dealer network, all revenues in 2021 will be reinvested into promoting the site online.

Join the country’s only independent specialist website, created by the team that bring you Service Dealer. Join our subscribed Garden Trader dealers now by clicking on “Register Dealership” and let's fight back against the zero value retailers.

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