It is always very pleasing to be able to include some positive stories in this Weekly Update.
It is of course an understandable fact that when it's our duty report something dramatic or negative, such as a death, or a crime or a company experiencing difficulties, those stories will inevitably be the most read that week - or indeed the most read amongst the whole year.
That is not to say that those stories are consumed with a sort of salacious glee - far from it. It is satisfying to know that when we do have to report something like a dealer falling victim to a credit card fraud, as we did a few weeks ago, we receive an overwhelming response from our Service Dealer community offering sympathies, sharing similar experiences and giving advice. Same thing last week when the same poor dealer got hit again by raiders.
However, it is refreshing today to lead with two genuinely positive dealer related stories - especially during a week when the national news has been so depressing.
We feature two stories today regarding two brand new dealerships starting up within the industry - and both getting off to positive starts.
Firstly, Battlefield Machinery Ltd has launched in premises previously occupied by Ravenhill and is now Kubota’s key agricultural dealer covering an area south of Shrewsbury. Whilst a new concern, it is run by three directors who have years of industry experience between them. Richard Evans was a previous Ravenhill employee who has spent the last four years at the Kverneland Group (UK) Ltd; Meyrick Pope, is a former branch manager of Ravenhill; with Philip Poole as the third director in the partnership. The new business also employs Grant Williams in sales and has taken on five experienced mechanics from Ravenhill in the workshop along with a Service manager and parts supervisor.
Director Meyrick Pope seems incredibly upbeat about the new business's prospects, saying, "Our plan is to utilise the knowledge we have gained from the market and shape our business to provide a service that we know the county wants and needs. Already, in a short space of time, we are building an excellent reputation in the farming community and business activity is extremely positive."
The second new dealership we report on this week is an exciting new start-up from two young agricultural engineers based near Forfar. Long-time friends Andy Mitchell and Liam Wylie, who started their careers together as apprentice workshop technicians, secured agreements to supply McCormick tractors and Pöttinger grass and arable equipment to underpin their new venture. They also now handle Abbey livestock and grassland equipment, Albutt loader attachments, INO flail cutters and Carré harrows and cultivators.
Since opening their doors, Andrew and Liam say they have been “bowled over” by how busy they have been and how much support they have received from the local farming community. “We have a very personal approach, which people appreciate, but it also helps that we’re offering really good machinery at this early stage of the business,” says Andrew.
Two quite different business scenarios here. One is run by some experienced industry professionals, the other by fresh blood, keen to make their way in the sector. Both presumably have in common the belief that the specialist dealer market is one where they can forge a profitable and rewarding business.
Recruitment and succession is a perennial issue for dealers. Either looking for staff to join the company or indeed looking for someone to take over the business if no family or internal succession plans are in place, can be incredibly difficult and stressful.
Stories like this hopefully go some way to proving that there are enthusiastic and entrepreneurial individuals out there, who can see the potential in this industry.
If you are a dealer looking for staff or a business buyer, the hard part is finding these people - or making yourself visible and appealing enough that they find you.
