Here we are again - Lockdown 2: The Return Home. The sequel that no one wanted to see, but was unfortunately inevitable after the success of the first one!

I realise for readers in other parts of the UK you have your own systems, but for those of us in England we're back to determining which retailers are essential and non-essential according to government guidelines once again.

As before, dealers in our sector are able to remain open as they can define themselves as one of the categories of retailers on the government's exempt from closure list. Typically this will either be as a hardware store or as a supplier of agricultural goods.

BAGMA have confirmed that this is the advice they are giving to dealers. The Association are telling the network they can stay open and trading as long as they have the required covid-safe measures in place - measures we have all become oh-so familiar with over these past months. 

I am also aware that some dealers are choosing to close off their showrooms to the public entirely, and just allow click and collect or delivery of purchased goods, or safe drop-off / collection for machines requiring service. As before, our sector is in a fairly privileged position in that, to a limited degree, an individual dealer can decide what best suits their own business.

As it has been all year, a visit to BAGMA's Coronavirus Hub section of their website, is always of benefit. There they regularly update their latest advice for dealers, dependent on what the most up-to-date decrees from government are.

One area which has changed again this past week is of course, that of the Coronavirus Job Support Scheme - or furlough. When Boris nearly delayed the start of Strictly Come Dancing last Saturday evening, this was one of the key pieces of information given - the extension to the furlough scheme for the month of November. This was followed yesterday by Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirming that he is now extending the furlough scheme until the end of March. A move which is simultaneously reassuring and ominous! 

As I remember discussing earlier in the year, furlough should be taken with no shame by those who require its help. As should any other assistance, such as any local authority grants or loans that may be available. If the tools are there and are needed - use them. Again updated advice on financial matters can be found on BAGMA's site or on the official government websites.

Dealer churn

Life and business must carry on though and we can see from the stories we are carrying in today's Weekly Update that for our sector developments continue apace, with further examples of the dealer churn.

You can read about GreenMech losing a couple of dealers in the south of England which has resulted in GA Groundscare rationalising and concentrating solely on a single brand here.

And then there is the major news of the deal made between Chandlers (Farm Equipment) and Lister Wilder over the handling of the Agco and Kubota franchises. With branches changing hands and others to be the home of joint co-habitation for a while, the move was described by Service Dealer founder Chris Biddle as a "complicated jigsaw puzzle or tractor chess" on his most recent Inside AgriTurf podcast.

Reading the statements that have been issued by Chandlers and Lister Wilder, plus listening to Kubota's David Hart speak to Chris, its good to hear that this move is described as mutually beneficial to each dealership - and indeed that the move was instigated by the dealers themselves. 

It is of course, more evidence of the trend for full-line dealerships - which is an idea that Service Dealer's agricultural machinery editor, Martin Rickatson, has been talking about for a while now.

The choice to represent just a single franchise would of course, not be one to suit all dealers. Some clearly pride themselves on offering their customers a wide selection of brands. There is though, a school of thought that dedication to one manufacturer's product, especially if that producer makes machines that run the gamut of equipment, can be a prudent move.

It's obvious that some of the larger manufacturers certainly feel it is right for their dealers - and crucially, beneficial for their own companies.

Just following some of the dealer developments we've reported in Service Dealer this year, a pattern has emerged of dealerships opting to concentrate on a single colour of machine - and watch this space, because it's a trend which is likely to continue.

One hopes that when we do see more changes along these lines, it's because individual dealerships have made the decision that exclusivity happens to be best for their business - not because of any pressure from outside sources. 

GreenMech Ltd have announced a rationalisation of their dealer network in the South and South East of England, which will see an expansion in coverage area for existing dealer GA Groundcare Ltd, with effect from 1st January 2021.

The changes mean that Hunt Forest Group and Burden Bros Agri will no longer represent the franchise.

GA Groundcare Ltd director, Ashley Stevens

Operating from their depot in Poulshot, Wiltshire, GA Groundcare Ltd will become exclusive to the GreenMech franchise, offering supply and support across the full pedestrian, road-tow and tracked chipper portfolio - together with stocking a full range of GreenMech replacement parts. Having originally been appointed in 2017 for the counties of Berkshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, the move sees their territory extended to cover Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

Commenting on the expanded area, GA Groundcare Ltd director, Ashley Stevens, said, “With over nine years of experience working with the GreenMech product line, I am delighted to be offered the opportunity to develop this further across a broader territory. We will be increasing our sales and aftermarket resources to ensure we can deliver advice and support to customers, both existing and new.”

GreenMech sales director, Martin Lucas, added, “Having seen how well GA Groundcare Ltd have performed with our range, we are confident that they will make a success of raising the level of both sales and aftermarket support in this key territory.”

The manufacturer has said all existing warranties relating to their chippers, sold by Hunt Forest Group and Burden Bros Agri, will continue to be supported by GA Groundcare Ltd.

David Evans Agricultural Limited, trading as 'Deal Wales', have announced that in partnership with UK importer Spectrum Plant, they will be significantly expanding their territory into southern England, for two of their key arb and forestry franchises.

For the FSI and CAST machinery brands, Deal who are based near Cardiff airport, will see their area of operation now cover areas historically untouched by themselves, heading towards the Home Counties boundary. Their new area for FSI comprises South Glamorgan, Mid Glamorgan, West Glamorgan, Gwent, Dyfed, Powys, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Whilst for CAST they will cover all these areas plus also Somerset and Dorset.

In light of this, Deal say they have committed to a large stocking plan to support sales in the expanded area. For example the firm say they are the first UK dealer to take on the FSI B38 remote control tracked machine.

Deal also say they will also be the first dealer in the UK to stock the entire portfolio of FSI pedestrian and tracked machinery as well as all models of the CAST Worky Quad.

Joe Flanagan, area sales manager for Deal, said, "We have worked hard to get the message across to our customers how affordable this sort of machinery can be."

The Makita Corporation announced on October 30 2020 their intention to cease production of petrol powered, engine products from March 31 2022.

In an official statement the company said, "In the field of outdoor power equipment, Makita is dedicated to supplying a broad range of engine products such as brushcutters and chainsaws. However, in response to the heightened awareness of global environmental issues and increasing needs for highly convenient, cordless products, Makita has recently been enhancing development, production, and sales of cordless products that are environment-friendly and will gain popularity.

"Makita now plans to focus management resources on development, production, and sales of cordless products while leveraging its motor, and battery charging/discharging technologies, and accelerate the departure from engine products and the application of cordless solutions to power tools and outdoor power equipment.

"Accordingly, Makita will discontinue the production of engine products at the entire group level."

According to figures released by the AEA, UK agricultural tractor registrations (over 50hp) fell back below last year's level in October.

At 671 machines, the monthly total was 100 lower than in October 2019, a decline of 13% in percentage terms.

Stephen Howarth, agricultural economist at the AEA said of the decline, "That was a smaller fall than those recorded during between April and July but suggests the market remains subdued, with the uncertain climate perhaps affecting farmers' willingness to invest."

Stephen went on to say, "Registrations for the year to date are 22% lower than by the same point last year and the annual total could fall below 10,000 machines for the first time since 1998."

The cloud-based DataConnect system that enables the exchange of machinery data between Claas, 365FarmNet and John Deere is now commercially available, with further partners to follow soon.

Claas machinery in the John Deere Operations Centre

DataConnect enables the exchange of machinery data between different platforms, to allow users to view all of their mixed-brand fleet information within the single data platform of their choice. Previously, viewing such information required duplicating effort by using each manufacturer’s corresponding but separate platforms or web portals.

John Deere says the structure of this new direct cloud-to-cloud system enables a seamless and automated data flow without any effort required by the customer. The real-time data exchange allows a live overview of the whole machinery fleet. The system works without any additional hardware and software components and ensures secure data handling.

With this new approach, customers can view five different machinery data sets for their fleet:

• current machine location;
• historical machine location;
• fuel tank level;
• status of the machine in the field;
• machine speed

Customers can decide which company’s digital platform they prefer to use, to display all the data. As soon as they are connected, other manufacturers’ machines appear automatically. Machines are either displayed with icons in the respective brand’s colour combination or are visible in the icon’s information panel.

Further partners and functions are due to be announced in due course.

Bernhard and Company say they have used the restrictions in movement in the UK to plan some alternatives to visit customers or potential customers interested to hear more about their grinders.

“As a company, we have put protocols in place to make product demonstrations on site as safe as possible. But it is still difficult to organise visits in some areas,” said Steven Nixon, director for Bernhard Company.

“Keeping people safe is our priority, but our distributors and their customers are keen to carry on as best as they can. We are pleased to be giving them the opportunity to understand the benefits of grinding as well as experience the new Bernhard sharpening equipment online,” adds Angelique Crosnier, the company's marketing manager.

A series of demonstration webinars will be available to book online and be free to attend at a time to suit individuals' timetables.

Dates and times to be released shortly. For info email marketing@bernhard.co.uk

Claydon Drills has appointed James Owen as territory manager for the North and Scotland.

James Owen

Reporting to Rob Dunk, Claydon’s sales manager - UK and Ireland, James is working with the company’s dealers to look after existing and potential customers in an area north of a line from the River Humber to Rochdale in Lancashire. His area borders the regions covered by fellow Claydon UK territory managers Charlie Eaton (Wales and West/South West) and Taig Norman (East).

In recent years James has worked for Agco dealer Peacock and Binnington before moving to John Deere dealer RBM Agriculture at Market Weighton in East Yorkshire, which was subsequently acquired by Ripon Farm Services.

James said, “I am looking forward to working with and supporting all our dealers and customers in the area and already in my first few weeks with the company have been involved with a number of well-attended, socially-distanced working demonstrations. These were held in conjunction with two of our dealers, Rickerby Limited, together with Robert D Webster."

Rob Dunk added, “We are delighted to welcome James to the Claydon team. He will help to increase our representation throughout the UK at a time when interest in Claydon products has never been greater because of increasing legislative, economic and climate-related challenges facing the farming industry."

Alec MacIndoe, course manager  of West Surrey Golf Club has said, “It’s fair to say that if it wasn’t for the dealer back-up and the relationship I’ve built up over the years with James Moore of Farol and John Deere, I wouldn’t still be using their machinery, it’s that simple.”

The club near Godalming earlier this year completed their second John Deere course maintenance equipment package deal with Farol.

(Front right & left) West Surrey Golf Club course manager Alec MacIndoe with dealer Farol golf & grass director James Moore and greenkeeping staff (rear left to right) Tom Horton, Morgan Jenkins, mechanic Steve Cook, Barry Cannon and Greg Richardson

The latest fleet of 22 machines - mostly bought on a John Deere Financial operating lease with some on hire purchase - includes four of the company’s brand new 2750 E-Cut hybrid electric triplex mowers, as well as fairway, tees & surrounds and walk-behind greens mowers, a ProGator utility vehicle equipped with an HD200 sprayer, TX Turf Gators and a zero-turn rotary mower.

“We recently completed an £800,000 refurbishment of the clubhouse, renewed or redesigned all of the course’s 64 bunkers, and we’re a long way down the line with upgrading the irrigation system, so the club has proved it’s progressive and committed to investing in the facilities,” says Alec. “I did a lot of work with James Moore to identify and settle on the best options for this latest replacement package, while trying as far as possible to maintain the same financial commitment as before, so as not to overstretch the budget.

“My main question to Farol and John Deere was, as we’re already at a high level, how can we get even better and extend the quality of the playing surfaces even further? I was lucky enough to be shown the answer at the John Deere Classic in the US last year, where I saw the new 2750E for the first time, alongside the company’s GPS PrecisionSprayer and autonomous mower.

“Having this opportunity to see where John Deere was making positive changes to its equipment, particularly with the 2750E mowers, was a real eye-opener. These new mowers have changed our cutting regime massively and I’ve been enormously impressed with the improvement in quality, we’re now getting a much better finish.

“The original idea was to hand mow the greens for most of the summer, but we found that the 2750E gives us the same pace on our USGA spec greens as the walk-behinds. We’d never cut the greens for the club championship with a triplex before, and the positive feedback we got was amazing. We will still hand mow through the winter though, and just use the triples at the weekends.

“We had 7700 fairway mowers in the first package, equipped with QA7 cutting units, but this time round we went for the 7500AE with QA5s, also for the better quality of cut they offer – we’re always looking for improvements in whatever we do.

"We’re now cutting the fairways at 12mm, and the difference in sward quality is huge."

Designed for the professionals, Cramer have an extensive range including blowers (handheld and backpack) and chainsaws, all of which work in all weather conditions thanks to their IPX4 classification, ensuring maximum productivity especially for the Autumn / Winter months.

Cramers 82V cordless Chainsaw range is perfect for users who want a reliable and powerful saw ready at any time. In conventional tree care, workers not only have to contend with harsh weather – but often harmful fumes, high noise levels and vibrations. Our top-of-the-range 82CS25 model generates great performance without any petrol, and is among the market leaders in power, torque and cutting performance. It is safe to handle due to the on/off switch and will be your durable partner thanks to its magnesium construction.

The 82V cordless Leaf Blowers from Cramer are equipped with extremely high air volume and blower capacity, quickly and effortlessly remove leaves, grass cuttings, sand, dirt and rubbish from pavements and surfaces. The 82B900 is perfect for shorter jobs and smaller areas, e.g. for cleaning of cuttings when trimming lawns or hedges. The 82B1000 is perfect for longer jobs and bigger areas such as parking lots, sports grounds and urban areas. It quickly and effortlessly removes leaves, grass cuttings, sand, dirt and rubbish from pavements and surfaces.

Ergonomically designed, all models can be used left or right-handed, with light weight, yet robust construction incorporating many magnesium components for long working hours with less fatigue.

We have chosen to use 82V batteries for very good reasons. Whilst others use lower voltage to power their tools, they can only come near our performance by increasing the current in their circuits. This creates heat that they try to overcome. Something that batteries do not like and can have a detrimental effect on battery life. Using a higher voltage, Cramer batteries provide the effortless power for the toughest jobs whilst ensuring you get the maximum life out of them. And by the way, you won’t notice the difference in your pocket.

But don’t just take our word for it. Put one to the test yourself.

Call Alan on 07850 947274 for your FREE demonstration

www.cramertools.com

Uni-power are proud to announce their Pre-Season Offer for Briggs & Stratton Product Parts.

Offering extra discount, FOC Carriage* and extended payment terms option.

This offer is applicable to the following discount codes only:

Discount code D05: £RRP -40%
Discount code D06: £RRP -30%
Discount code D12: £RRP -35%

Ordering Period: 2nd November 2020 to 29th January 2021 (Multiple orders allowed).

Minimum Order Value: £250.00net.

Delivery: 2020 or January 2021 (See payment terms).

Payment Terms: 2020 delivery = standard terms / January 2021 delivery = payment by 31st March 2021.

Carriage: FOC to STD UK locations (Remote/offshore locations-STD carriage terms apply).

Email orders to: info@uni-power.co.uk (Webcart orders not accepted).

Please clearly mark your orders: ‘B&S Product Parts Pre-Season Order’ and state ‘2020 or January 2021 delivery’.

Our Summer research indicates 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 each customer.  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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