It's interesting again today to note the emerging trend of major manufacturers either buying into or acquiring a robotic technology startup.

The latest case is Kubota and Yamaha investing in a company who are developing tech for the automation of strawberry harvesting. Having once spent a day as a student in the 90s crouched down in a field picking the fruit, before promptly quitting because it hurt too much, I have to say it's a job that a robot is welcome to! 

The pattern of large outdoor powered machinery manufacturers splashing the cash with these new tech companies is apparent though. Most recently we reported on John Deere acquiring Bear Flag Robotics. Other examples that spring to mind are Husqvarna buying into Franklin Robotics, Toro buying TurfLynx and Left Hand Robotics, or Claas backing AgXeed amongst others.

As discussed previously, it must be seen as an indication of where the big boys see the future of the industry heading - and across all markets, including domestic, commercial and agricultural machinery. Whilst robots here in the UK aren't there yet in terms of mass sales, I think most industry commentators would agree there's only one direction in which sales can go.  Which is of course, ever upwards.

Speaking at November's Service Dealer Conference will be Sam Watson Jones, founder of the Small Robot Company. Whilst he'll be addressing the event's theme of Smart Working, it'll be fascinating to also hear his take on how the robotics scene will disrupt the traditional marketplace - and what that could mean for dealerships.

Perhaps it'll be a similar situation to what we saw with battery-powered products? A few short years ago, cordless products could be argued to have been a bit of a niche. An area that certain manufacturers and dealers were cautiously dipping their toes into.

Now of course they are ubiquitous. And from what we're hearing, some great business is being achieved from the equipment. Customer demand appears to growing ever greater. Supply just needs to keep up!

On which front, we've heard from several dealers recently lamenting on what perhaps this season could have been, if only the supply had been there - both for wholegoods and for parts. From anecdotal feedback we've received from some dealers, we've been told that despite everything 2021 is turning out to be another profitable year for the business. 

However, some have been left with a sense of 'what if?'

If they had been able to get hold of more stock, there seems no doubt in their minds that the customer demand was readily available to make those sales, leading to a potentially bumper year. It's not every season that can be said.

One dealer told us, "Supply has hurt us. We would have been well up on last year had the supply been available."

Another added, "We have been losing sales and seeing customer dissatisfaction as a consequence of delays in obtaining parts for repairs. We have had a very good year overall, but it’s just a shame we could not convert the extra potential business that’s out there."

There can be no doubt that this industry has fared so much better than many throughout the pandemic. We've been told that both last year and this have provided truly successful returns for many businesses - whilst other sectors have been decimated. So in many ways, dealers are counting themselves lucky,

However, it is only natural for a business to consider what heights might have been achieved if supply could have kept up with demand?

Is this something you recognise within your own dealership? Do you feel you there was more to be done if you'd had the supply to hand?

Let us know in the comments below.

Time is running out to make your nominations for the 2021 Service Dealer Awards. The deadline is 8th October.

 
This year’s awards acknowledge the efforts of dealerships and their employees throughout the 2020-21 period. We want to celebrate their efforts in supporting their communities, the wider industry, their customers and their own businesses, during what undoubtedly has been a time like no other.

Charlie Baker at the 2019 Service Dealer Awards
 
Our categories this year are:

• Most Creative Communications
• Best New Initiative
• Extra Mile Award
• Star of the Dealership
• Apprentice of the Year
• Leadership Award

For dealers

We know it’s hard to shout about your own successes but now more than ever we feel it’s important for you to do so, thanking yourself and your team for their commitment.

It’s especially important to thank those members of staff and your apprentices, who have worked so hard over the last 18 months. And don’t be shy – you can enter as many categories as you like!
 
Nominate yourself and your staff for awards here
 
For manufacturers and service providers

You can nominate your stand out dealers as many times as you like for the categories listed above. If you think someone is deserving of an award, please tell us! We don’t need lots of information from you, as we can ask the dealership for some extra detail afterwards. We just need to know your reasons for nominating. And, nominations are anonymous!
 
Nominate here

Toro U.K. Limited, the manufacturer of Hayter and Toro equipment, have welcomed dealers to five separate ‘Dealer Day’ events throughout September.

Spanning the length of the UK, the events were hosted at venues in Cambridge, Worcester, West Yorkshire, Lockerbie and Newbury. 

Toro UK said after what has been an unprecedented 18 months of various challenges for dealers, it was a "breath of fresh air" to be able to give dealers the opportunity to get an exclusive first look at the new product launches for 2022 as well as network with the ever growing team at Toro U.K. Limited. 

Presentations on the day provided dealers with a review of the business year and new business developments, including the renaming of Hayter Limited to Toro U.K. Limited and the direction for both the Hayter and Toro brands to ensure their individual strong identities across its product range and marketing strategy. 

The theme of 'Partnerships', was a significant area of focus as Craig Hoare, sales & marketing manager laid out the new dealer terms for the 2022 season, where he challenged dealers to look at the brands they sold and ask themselves, who were the right partners for their business - offering, as he put it, not only the right product range, but market leading support and profit opportunities for their dealership.

Dealers were also introduced to Toro’s line-up of professional equipment targeted at the landscape contractor market, highlighting a potential new sales avenue for any dealer.

Attendees were able to get hands-on with the product rotations where they had the chance to experience the Toro MyRide Suspension System that’s found on the Zero Turn range as well as the ever growing battery range of Hayter and Toro products including the new eRider, launching to the UK homeowner market in Spring 2022.

Reflecting upon the events, Craig Hoare said, “It has been invaluable to be in front of our dealers, where we have been able to share with them our vision and strategy for the future, explaining where we have and will continue to invest as a company.

"There has been an overwhelmingly positive reaction from our dealers to our future direction as well as the new range of products we are launching. They especially relished the opportunity to test out the new products themselves.”

West Sussex firm Yeowart Agricultural have been announced as the latest dealer to sign up for a McCormick agency, as the ARGO brand continues to add to its roster of established family businesses.

L-R: sales manager, Ian Stevens and managing director Lewis Yeowart

From its premises at Tyes Cross Farm, Sharpthorne, near East Grinstead, the Yeowart business is now the McCormick main dealer for the counties of East and West Sussex and Surrey. The dealership previously represented Massey Ferguson.

“The change to McCormick has been a swift but smooth one, and we are really pleased with the support shown to us by our customers and provided by the UK McCormick team,” says dealer principal  Lewis Yeowart, the third generation to play a part in the family business, today operated alongside his father David. 

“We’re well underway with the switchover, with parts stocks in place, service training planned and our sales team up to speed on the McCormick range. We already have retailed our first tractor with many more on quote.

“As a family business, much like that of ARGO Tractors, we’re excited to be working with McCormick and look forward to making investments in tractor stock, service and parts support, and our Tyes Cross Farm depot.” 

The Edenbridge and Oxted Show in late August provided Yeowart Agricultural with the opportunity to unveil its new franchise, and Lewis reports that the response from both potential and existing customers was enthusiastic.

“We have a very loyal customer base, and were really pleased at the interest in McCormick tractors  from long-term customers. In addition, though, the tractors gained a lot of attention from potential new customers for our business, ranging from owners of large small farms to those who operate smaller units, fruit farms, turf-based facilities and equestrian enterprise owners. 

“We’ve a dedicated, experienced team of five service staff who have been looking after customers in Sussex and Surrey for many years. Along with our sales and parts teams, they are looking forward to supplying, servicing and supporting local tractor users with what we’re convinced is an excellent new franchise.” 

MKM Agriculture Ltd have announced that they are now dealers for Iseki UK & Ireland.

MKM posted a video of Iseki's David Withers (left) welcoming MKM's Anthony Deacon to their family of dealers

The dealership said they are looking forward to a successful working partnership with the manufacturer at both their Bedford and Bury St Edmunds branches.

Announcing the appointment via a video posted on social media from their stand at the East Anglia Game Fair last week, MKM's Anthony Deacon said, "We're very excited to be able to announce that we're now an authorised dealer for the full range of Iseki products.

"We can't wait to work with Iseki to get these products out there to our customers."

David Withers, md of Iseki UK and Ireland joined MKM on the stand and added, "It's really great to welcome MKM Agriculture to the Iseki family of dealers. I think they'll do a great job with the customer base that they serve. I think the products that we have are really appropriate for their needs."

Amazone Ltd have announced the appointment of Matt Smith to the company as national sales manager. 

Matt Smith

With a B. Eng. in Agricultural Engineering from Harper Adams University College, the company says Matt comes with a wealth of experience gained in the agricultural industry having cut his teeth with one of their own dealers during those years of education followed by time within the Househam Sprayers organisation, fulfilling various roles there before ending up as territory sales manager. He was then enticed by Horsch UK to become southern area specialist sales manager for the Horsch sprayer range where he has been for the last few years. 

In an statement, Amazone said, "We are delighted to have Matt on board as national sales manager and to be able to utilise those skills gained to the benefit of Amazone customers around the country."

Matt will take over the day to day running of the agricultural sales division as well as building on the company's relationship with their national key accounts in support of their territory managers at local level.

The Allett creative lawn stripes competition is in its ninth year with the company welcoming entries regardless of the size of lawn or where they are in the world.

The company says the standard of this year’s entries has again been incredible, with the top six entries coming from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the USA.

This year’s judge was Andy Wain, head gardener at Euridge Manor and last year’s winner. An internal vote was done by a specialist Allett panel with the top six entries forwarded to Andy to pick his overall winner.

First place went to Dennis West of Provo, Utah, USA, who was sixth in last year’s competition.

The winning lawn

The judges’ comments were: "This is a really clever design. The way the pattern flows around the house is fantastic - Incorporating both stripes and different cutting heights has come together to create a really outstanding piece of art. Congratulations! Beautiful."

Dennis works from home as an instructional designer for a telecommunications company headquartered in Maryland, and worked as a graphic designer for many years. He has a BFA in Animation and an MS in Instructional Psychology and Technology. A little over three years ago, he moved to a newly built house that had no landscaping and over the next two years, he set to installing sprinklers and managing the hydroseeded lawn. He watched many YouTube videos on DIY lawncare and became more and more impressed by what he saw could be accomplished in a lawn. In March 2020 he purchased an Allett Kensington 20H and began raking, sand levelling and conditioning the lawn to grow at a shorter length. For this year’s competition, he tried something different from his first entry but decided it wasn’t good enough. Following more experimentation, he saw online some Zen garden patterns and felt that was a good place to start. 

To design the pattern, he measured out the lawn and drew an outline in Adobe Illustrator. Accurate measurements were key to scaling down the lawn to make line widths equal to the 20-inch width of cut on the mower. Then, to get the pattern on the lawn, Dennis used a string and stakes to make the curves. He established the pattern over a few weeks using different heights of cut but felt it lacked something, so he experimented by adding directional stripes, but they obstructed the main design. To bring it all together, he used the mower’s brush cartridge, which helped the design stand out as if it was above the directional stripes. An additional challenge was that Utah is a high elevation desert, so accurately measuring and adjusting the watering was important. 

“I am so honoured and humbled by being chosen as the winner this year,” says Dennis, “so many great entries were finalists, I really had some great competition. My family, friends, and neighbours are all so supportive and pleased by this honour, it’s really a great pleasure!” 

Dennis now becomes the proud owner of an Allett Liberty 43 battery powered cylinder mower alongside the ALLETT Complete Lawn Care System of six interchangeable cartridges comprising an aerator, a scarifier, a lawn brush, a dethatcher, a verticutter and a 10-blade cartridge together with two cartridge stands. 

The runners-up in the competition were:

2ND PLACE
Tim Sanken USA

3rd PLACE
Dale Buchanan-Murtagh, Scotland

4th PLACE  
Tito Triana from East Sussex

5th PLACE
Dave Boyd Scotland

6th PLACE
Sammy Graham from Northern Ireland

Friends of Ferguson Heritage are planning a 75th anniversary tribute to the TE20 at the Newark Vintage Tractor and Heritage Machinery Show on 13 and 14 November.

The club are hoping to have as many early tractors from the first days and weeks of production in 1946, according to FOFH chairman Rob Sowden.
 
Among them will be the Number 33 from Colin Taylor in Northern Ireland which has been restored using almost all parts from its year of manufacture in 1946. Mr Taylor says that the only parts which don’t date back to 1946 are the fuel, oil and battery.
 
Also crossing the Irish Sea will be Raymond Browne’s newly restored Number 6 which rolled off the line in the first week of production. The vehicle was found in 2019 buried under brambles and its visit to England will be its first since restoration was completed just months ago. 
 
“It is a fantastic and rare opportunity for visitors to see two of the oldest Ferguson tractors which have been restored close to original production line spec,” Mr Sowden says.
 
Club secretary Peter Mitchell says the vehicles offer an insight into a war-torn Britain dogged by fractured supply lines and material shortages. For example, both TE20s on show have 20hp Continental engines because the planned Standard version was not available in time to meet the production schedule.
 
Facts like these - and others about the achievements of founder Henry George (Harry) Ferguson - will be displayed alongside the vehicles.

 
Aside from the old machinery there will be examples from every decade from the Ferguson stable. “We hope to have more than 100 exhibits on the stand in the John Eastwood buildings, grouped in order of model and year of manufacture,” says Mr Mitchell. “Along with the early greys, we know of 35s, 135s and 165s which are planning to make the journey to the show.”
 
The club is still finalising entries and would like to see vehicles like the iconic 1200s from the 1970s. Many people have a soft spot for this articulated tractor say the club, despite its unconventional hydrostatic steering system, pivoting between the two axles. “It was a modern design for the UK market which took its styling cues from the big American tractors of the era so it stood out,” says Mr Mitchell. 
 
Finally, to bring the whole exhibit range up to date, the club is in discussion with local Massey Ferguson dealers to bring a large current tractor to the show. FOFH says the inclusion of the modern vehicle will provide a contrast and will probably be located just outside the main shed due to its sheer scale.

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.

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