It was International Women's Day on Wednesday this week. Described as a global day celebrating the "social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women", the day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality.

I saw countless examples on social media of businesses in our sector and its related industries, celebrating their female workforce. It all felt extremely positive and inclusive. Hopefully shining a light on the opportunities that can be afforded to anyone with enthusiasm for the industry will add to what I'm sure is everyone's goal, of encouraging wider and more diverse workplaces.

It was timely then, that we caught up yesterday with our panel of women who work in various roles at dealerships across the country. It was the first time we'd spoken together since we had publicised the informal group a month or so ago. As such, it was interesting to discover whether our panel had heard many reactions from within their own dealerships and indeed the wider world, to the establishment of the working group.

Thankfully it all sounded mostly positive and upbeat. Some of our panelists had been contacted by their supplying manufacturers for example, congratulating them for being part of something that has as its intention, doing some good where it can. Messages had been passed on that it was great that these things were even being talked about. Offers of help where and when they could, had been extended.

There had been encouragement via social media and online comments too - even from across the pond, with our good friend and Service Dealer columnist Sara Hey of Bob Clements International, posting, "This is a fantastic movement! What powerhouse team you have as part of this group Cheering you on from the U.S."

As I suppose is the nature of online discourse, there had been one posting that had stuck out. A defensive comment, perhaps indicative of the attitudes that could do with being changed if our sector is going to achieve its aim of appealing to a broader base. It's all about perceptions our panel said - and if the perception of the industry is that some individuals can get worked up and defensive as soon as these issues are simply raised in a friendly environment, then there is clearly some work to be done.

Looking ahead

The group spent much of its time yesterday, discussing how to proceed from here. There were some fabulous ideas floated, that will be made public in due course. It's no secret to suggest though, that all have as their guiding principal, raising the profile of the dealer sector in general - with a specific aim of hopefully getting a message across to younger women that dealerships could have plenty to offer as a rewarding career.

Everyone agreed that how and where these messages are conveyed, is absolutely key to cutting through to a section of society who most likely have little-to-no awareness of what may be broadly termed the land-based engineering sector. Again, without going into specifics at this stage, the group felt that humanising available roles within a dealership, putting a relatable face and real-life experiences in front of people, could be a productive avenue to explore - rather than just talking about jobs such as parts, sales, technicians etc in abstract terms.

Related to this, finding pioneering women to act as influencers to tell their stories and act as inspirational figures in the online space, is an area it was felt had great potential.

All of the ideas discussed, have at their heart the desire to increase the diversity of dealerships. And this desire isn't some grand, political ideal. No, it genuinely wants to be of practical benefit to businesses. The advantage of greater diversity in staff members was clearly illustrated with an anecdote that one of our panelists related yesterday, regarding a conversation she'd had recently with a female customer.

This customer had said how pleasant it was to be able to speak to a female member of staff in a dealership as she didn't feel intimated or out of her depth, as she wasn't a machinery expert. This led to the customer feeling comfortable in the surroundings of the showroom and kicked-off a productive, and hopefully long-term, working relationship. Which is of course, what being an independent specialist is all about.

Following all the positive examples seen this week of the integral roles women play in teams across our industry, let's hope a wave of enthusiasm can continue to build, finding ways of appealing to new entrants.

We'll have more to share soon about some exciting initiatives that will be kicking off - in the meantime, thanks again to our expert panelists who gave up their time to join us this week.

Boss ORV, the sole UK distributor of Corvus Off-Road Vehicles, has moved into new headquarters.

L-R: Phil Everett, md; Vanessa Robinson, operations manager; James Crawford, technical support and warehouse manager; and Matt Richardson, after sales manager

The company says the move is another major landmark for themselves, who started trading in 2019 importing the Corvus Terrain 4x4 side-by-side utility vehicles.

“We have had three years of extraordinary growth,” says Phil Everett, the Boss ORV managing director. “We have managed to outgrow our existing facilities in half the time we expected. The opening of new offices in Staffordshire puts us right at the heart of the UK and central to all the major road networks.

"All our dealer support functions will be based here, including a brand-new stores facility which allows us to stock a much larger quantity and diversity of spare parts and accessories.”

Phil attributes the expansion of the business to the rapid acceptance of the Corvus Terrain vehicles by both dealers and users as a major contender across a wide range of markets. 

“The Corvus dealer network has grown substantially to meet the needs of users in agriculture, groundscare, construction, amenities and private estates to name but a few,” says Phil.

Grange Machinery Ltd has extended its dealer network with the appointment of Peacock & Binnington to cover North Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire.

L-R: Oliver Beekes, Grange Machinery, national sales manager; Marcus Bourne, Peacock & Binnington group sales manager; Alastair Hall, Grange Machinery, area sales manager

A family run company based in Holderness, East Yorkshire, Grange Machinery manufactures agricultural machines and wearing parts, offering wha they describe as "affordable solutions" to farmers.

P&B, which has been serving farmers since 1894, will cover their territory from five outlets: Brigg, Corringham, Halsham, Selby, Kirby Misperton. 
 
 “Grange Machinery is delighted to welcome Peacock & Binnington to our network of dealers in the UK,” commented managing director Rhun Jones. “With P&B being local to Grange, we have worked closely with the company in the past and find them to be extremely professional and forward-thinking with a fantastic reputation amongst farmers in the local area.
 

Graham Main, managing director of Peacock & Binnington added: “We are pleased to be joining forces with Grange Machinery. The range of products very much complements our existing franchises and being a local company, suits the conditions in our area perfectly.
 
“Rhun and his team have developed a professional business and we are excited that we have been appointed."

PSD Groundscare recently held a dealer training event at Bonaly, just outside Edinburgh.

The event was led by the PSD team to showcase to dealers from Scotland, Northern England and Ireland, the recently introduced range of equipment that complements the existing offering from Eliet and Koppl. The event included supplier presentations that were followed by an opportunity to try out the machinery first hand. PSD say it offered dealer sales teams the opportunity to see for themselves the organisation's professional machinery range and innovations.

The new products ranges included the Grin range of  mulching mowers, along with the Stella and Canycom machines, both specialists in ride-on long grass and steep slope mowing. Also on show was EcoTech, a range of pedestrian string trimmers, brushcutters, multi-accessory systems and hydrostatic flail mowers.

Stuart Mercer, sales director for PSD said, “At PSD, training is of great importance and the aim of this dealer event was to bring our dealer partners fully up to speed with what’s new and to ensure that they are well prepared for the season.

“We’re absolutely delighted with how well the training event went. We not only had a great turn out from dealers who were very keen to see what’s new, we had some amazing feedback and it was wonderful to catch up with everyone.”

Kubota (UK) Ltd has approved use of the paraffinic fuels HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) and GTL (Gas To Liquid) in all its diesel engines, which they say will contribute to a lower carbon footprint for Kubota internal combustion engines.

Approval follows the company's internal evaluation of these alternative fuels. It has confirmed that any paraffinic fuel that complies with the European standard EN15940, is suitable for use in all its diesel engines. 

“This is a tremendous benefit for operators who are required to meet environmental conditions where CO2 emissions are monitored and measured,” explained Tim Yates, Kubota (UK)’s agricultural and ground care sales manager. “For those working in urban locations for example, or with county councils and environmental projects, achieving a lower carbon footprint is now possible with Kubota powered equipment.”

The manufacturer says they recognise that HVO, which is synthesised from vegetable oil and fat, and GTL which is synthesised from natural gas, are becoming increasingly popular as alternative fuels due to their environmental benefits that offer reduced emissions.

Tim continued, “This is another example of Kubota’s engineering excellence, to enable a change in approved fuel without any modification. It provides owners and operators with yet another fuel choice, to suit their operating environment.”

When using these fuels, operators should comply with any appropriate local regulations in the areas being used say Kubota. There is no requirement to flush fuel tanks or change filters, as HVO and GTL are safe to mix with diesel. Nor are there changes to existing maintenance intervals or warranty conditions when using these fuels. Operators may notice a slight degradation in engine performance from using the lower density paraffinic fuels, compared to diesel.

According to figures released by the AEA only 487 agricultural tractors were registered during February 2023 - 15% fewer than the same month last year.

Agricultural economist at the Association, Stephen Howarth, said, "February generally sees relatively small numbers of tractors registered, as buyers wait for the new registration plates from the beginning of March."

Stephen continued, "The higher level of registrations in January means that the total for the year to date was still 6% higher than in the opening two months of 2022 and was close to the recent average for the time of year."

Polaris UK have welcomed a new dealer, Halls of Bromyard, to their network.

Based in Bromyard, Herefordshire the family-owned business specialises garden and estate machinery and in motor vehicle repairs.

On top of offering the full Polaris utility and Youth line-up, Halls of Bromyard also offer servicing on site, collection and delivery of vehicles that need to be serviced, and service packages on new and used units. Additionally, they stock a range of Polaris accessories and parts. 

Rob Hall, owner of Halls of Bromyard, said, “After months of research and an increasing interest from our long-standing customers, we knew Polaris was the off-road vehicle brand we wanted to be a part of.”

It was 20 years ago, on the 23rd February 2003, that Helmut Claas signed the agreement to acquire a majority stake in Renault Agriculture.

Since then, Claas say they have gradually consolidated their position as a full system provider on the international stage and invested in efficiency and productivity-boosting innovations along with state-of-the-art production processes.

While the company's 150,000th standard tractor left the Le Mans factory in spring 2019, the 200,000 mark is expected to be reached in this 20th anniversary year.

Today Claas Tractor in Le Mans produces more than 60 different models from 75 to 445 hp as well as exporting tractors to 80 countries around the world, including North America as of 2019.

For more on the history of Le Mans click here.

Plant hire contractor MSM Hire based in Telford, Shropshire, recently increased its 150-machine fleet to diversify into agriculture with the arrival of six Kubota M7-153 tractors, supplied by local dealer Battlefield Machinery. Two are on long-term hire working with water and fuel bowsers for the nearby HS2 construction project, with the remaining models providing short-term availability to cover harvest and autumn cultivations for growers.

“Farming is the next phase of our business expansion,” explains Mat Smith, managing director of MSM Hire. “I worked on farms before starting my hire business, and it’s an industry that I’ve always wanted to be involved with.”

“I looked at a variety of mainstream brands, but settled on Kubota for many reasons,” he says. “Firstly, the long-stroke four-cylinder engine offers good fuel efficiency; secondly, choosing the right specification adds cost-effectiveness; and thirdly, service plans have fixed the cost of ownership.”

“And if that wasn’t enough, there is Japanese reliability backed up by a five-year/5,000-hour warranty. What more reassurance could I need?”

In addition to Kubota’s standard two-year warranty, Kubota Care provides up to five years/6000 hours extended warranty (depending on the model). Kubota Care offers complete peace of mind as a true manufacturer warranty, and is not an insurance policy with an excess payable per claim.

Any remaining warranty criteria is also fully transferable on resale.

For more information visit www.kubota.co.uk

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