There has been one topic that arguably has dominated the dealer discourse recently and that’s the demise of F.R. Jones - and the subsequent fall-out.

By now many industry members will have had their say in various online forums and conclusions will have been reached regarding who was principally at fault - and where does the industry go from here? As we’ve said before it doesn’t seem like an overstatement to conclude that feelings are running high. I have certainly picked up on plenty of anger and resentment emanating from the dealer community – towards both F.R. Jones themselves and certain manufacturers who supplied them.

Something seems fundamentally wrong when a dealer is phoning me this week, saying that in the lead up to the company going bust, they were able to buy machinery from F.R. Jones’ website, cheaper than what their actual supplying manufacturers could provide them with. I’m not sure how anyone could justify that as making any sense at all?

This dealer told me they bought machinery in good faith from Jones, only for that equipment never to arrive. As their suspicions grew, they told me they phoned the manufacturer directly to find out if there were issues with supplies or indeed greater problems with F.R. Jones - to be told nothing was wrong, and their purchases would be forthcoming.

As we now know, something was indeed seriously wrong and nothing was supplied - meaning this dealer was left out of pocket, along with whoever else made purchases during that period. 

Questions are now naturally being asked about when did F.R. Jones and their suppliers know that they were going out of business? 

The dealer I spoke to was undoubtedly angry – and frankly with good reason. Their argument was why should these rouge traders be able to degrade the network for the rest of the hardworking, ethical dealers across the country? Also, why were their supplying manufacturers allowing them – and of course other traders like them - to continue in such a fashion?

It is, most certainly, an unedifying situation for the industry to be mired in. Justin Jones is telling us he’s faced threats and online attacks, whilst other dealers are telling us they feel duped and the business practices that F.R. Jones specialised in has contributed to a ‘race to the bottom’ culture amongst some online retailers.

Hopefully this whole sorry mess will indeed act as a ‘wake-up call’ and lead to real change. I know many readers will be cynical that such a change is possible whist bandits are making a living with their rock-bottom discounting. We had comments under published articles last week to this effect in fact.

However, as there is now tangible evidence that the ‘pile it high, offload it cheap’ practice can lead to spectacular failure - no matter the size of the retailer - might change be forthcoming?

The F.R. Jones saga can now be classed as a case study that the industry can reference. Surely it would be prudent for all to do so?

Service Dealer are delighted to announce that Krone will be joining our Conference & Awards, as a Silver Sponsor.

This year's theme has been announced as Taking Care Of Business and a new venue, the Crowne Plaza at Stratford-Upon-Avon will take on hosting duties - with the date to mark up in your diaries being 30th November 2023. 

Service Dealer owner Duncan Murray-Clarke  said, "It is such great news that Krone will be joining us for the first time at our event in November. We know we share an ethos of supporting a strong, independent dealer network."

Marcus Oliver, Krone UK MD said, "‘Here at Krone UK we are thrilled to be sponsoring the Service Dealer Conference & Awards 2023. Supporting dealers is extremely important to us, and we are proud to do so by providing award winning, efficient, and reliable machinery, as well as supporting and sponsoring events such as this.

"It promises to be a great conference where we can continue to build strong relationships and support our industry."

Look out for further announcements, including this year's keynote address and confirmation of seminar and breakout sessions, soon.

Pete Bullock of the Big Mower Co, Aylesbury, has contacted Service Dealer to let other dealers know about an attempted fraud that he recently experienced.

Pete said, "I got contacted by email over a machine I had advertised on Machinery4golf. A Toro SR72 aerator second hand, in good order, £8500 Net.

"This chap wanted to buy machine with a cheque. I replied saying this was a bit of a 'last week' way of doing things, BACS is the way ahead.

"He, Thomas Marc, insisted this was the only way he could do it, saying he would send a cheque for the equivalent in Euros. Thomas said it would clear in a few days and he would organise transport to pick machine up ASAP.

"A few days later a cheque for 14000 euros turns up. With a good deal of suspicion, I go to my bank, Lloyds, to see what they thought. Reception told me being a business customer of many years, the bank would initially honour the amount and transfer the funds into my account. It would then take 6 to 8 weeks for the actual transfer to take place from Credit Agricole France to Lloyds UK. However, if the funds did not transfer due to lack of funds etc, then Lloyds would take back the funds transferred originally sent.

"That being said I instructed Lloyds to only transfer funds once the cheque was honoured. I didn't want to have pretend money my account!

"Within a week I got a call from a manager at Lloyds saying the cheque was 'refer to drawer' and the whole thing was a scam.

"I have now just sold the machine to a regular customer in Oxford. All good and happy. BACS is only the way ahead, particularly if you are dealing with abroad / Europe. And beware of a Thomas Marc!"

The Gammies Live demonstration event is set to return this August.

The dealership say they are inviting their manufacturers along to showcase their products, provide demonstrations, and this year, host talks.

Sophie Elder of Gammies said, "We have over 25 different brands who will be in attendance and a variety of machinery from different industries such as groundcare, farming, forestry, construction, and more.
 
"The talks we are hosting are educational talks focusing on innovation and are provided by our manufacturers, they will cover topics such as GPS, professional battery products, asset management, and robotics.
 
"Our event is designed for professionals and specialists in the industry and we invite a range of individuals from councils and businesses to come along and experience the equipment firsthand, and speak to the specialists."
 
Gammies Live is being held on the 23rd of August between 9.30 am - 7 pm at Edzell Base, Brechin, Scotland, DD97XH

SDF UK has recently appointed two new dealers, taking the number of outlets selling its tractors to 40.

The latest businesses appointed to the company’s Deutz-Fahr network are Lincs firm RC Setchfield Ltd and County Durham-based Mark Watson Machinery.

Located on Withambrook Industrial Park in Grantham, R C Setchfield is a family-run agricultural engineering business established in 1982 by Richard and Heather Setchfield, and today is a team of 16 people. The company focused initially on agricultural machinery servicing but soon expanded to include supply of both new machinery and spare parts.

“We are really pleased to be able to sign with SDF for the Deutz-Fahr franchise, not only because we now have a broader range of tractors from 66-335hp to offer, but also because there is an established park of Deutz-Fahr machines in this area,” says Hannah Setchfield, who joined her parents’ business in 2021 as chief operating officer, following a career elsewhere in business. 

“We want to assure the owners of those tractors that we are here to provide the service and spares support we know is crucial to them, and we want to be able to show them why they can place their trust in us and in Deutz-Fahr to give them the products and back-up they need.”
    
The business’s sales are headed by Richard Setchfield, who is supported by area sales manager Ashley Clough, while its parts department is managed by Ian Johnson, assisted by Ian Harrison, running a comprehensive stores at the Grantham premises that includes Deutz-Fahr parts. Service is overseen by Adam Forster, with a team of five service engineers that have significant combined experience in the sector across a wide range of agricultural equipment. 

The second recent appointment to the network is that of Mark Watson Machinery as the brand’s dealer in County Durham.

In addition to its home county, the business, based at Tow Law, will cover the eastern area of both Northumberland and North Yorkshire, from Druidge Bay in the north down to Whitby in the south.

From a family of well-known local farmers and garage owners, Mark Watson established Mark Watson Machinery in 1988, developing a business that has ultimately specialised in new and used farm machinery. By the 2000s the business focused on agricultural sales, with Mark running the company single-handedly until diversifying into haulage. Alongside the supply of new farm machinery from implement makers including Malone, Cross, M-Tec and Alstrong, the business continues to sell used farm machinery and provide specialist farm machinery transport. Mark’s daughter Emily joined the business in 2021 after studying agriculture at Newcastle University. 

“We’ve held franchises for implement lines for some time, but although we have sold used models for a long while, we haven’t - until now - supplied new tractors,” says Mark.

“Although we have been approached several manufacturers over the years, I never thought a new tractor franchise was for us. But Deutz-Fahr has been my favoured brand right back to the days of its DX series, so when SDF came to us recently looking to fill a gap in its network, Emily and I were happy to talk further about taking on the franchise.”

That led to an agreement being signed earlier this year, and the business now has service-trained engineers, plus spare parts and tractors in stock ready for demonstration and sale.

Doosan Bobcat has announced the appointment of Gary Hornbacher as the company’s new President for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

Gary Hornbacher

He will be based in Dobris, Czech Republic, where the company has consolidated its manufacturing facility, R&D center, training institute and EMEA headquarters onto one campus spanning an area of 120,000 m2. 

The manufacturer says Gary Hornbacher has served in a diverse number of roles during his 36-year tenure. He brings extensive experience in sales & marketing, product management, strategy, and total quality management. His most recent position before coming to EMEA was as Vice President of channel development & raining at Doosan Bobcat North America.

Scott Park, CEO and vice chairman of Doosan Bobcat said, "Gary’s previous experience as Senior Vice President Commercial in the EMEA region coupled with his diverse background with Bobcat positions him to effectively drive forward our strategic vision and motto - we empower people to accomplish more."

In this role, Gary says he will focus on a people-first culture by creating a collaborative environment where people can thrive and by leveraging individuals’ talents to accomplish amazing achievements.

"I am thrilled to join the dynamic Bobcat EMEA region, and I look forward to again serving alongside our team,” said Gary.

He will assume his new role effective 1st July 2023 and will report to Scott Park, CEO and vice chairman of Doosan Bobcat.

It has been confirmed that on October 1, 2023, Thomas Spiering will join the Claas Group executive board, where his responsibilities will include the self-propelled harvesters business unit. He will be reporting to CEO Jan-Hendrik Mohr.

Thomas Spiering

"We are delighted that with Thomas Spiering we have gained an experienced manager for this important role on the Group executive board," said Cathrina Claas-Mühlhäuser, chairwoman of the supervisory board of the Claas Group. "He knows Claas like no other and, thanks to his various roles in Germany and abroad, he is ideally equipped for his new management task. We thank him for the excellent work he has done so far and wish him a good start and much success in his new role."

Thomas Spiering was born in Herzebrock-Clarholz in Eastern Westphalia, Germany, and has worked for the Claas Group for 22 years. After his degree in business administration, he took on various specialist and management roles in the areas of controlling, sales and finance in Germany and abroad. As part of a secondment, Thomas Spiering took on the role of CFO of CLAAS UK in Saxham, UK, for five years from June 2015, and from 2017 he was also CFO of CLAAS France and responsible for the Western Europe region in the sales and service business unit. Since July 2020, he has managed the Middle Europe region as senior vice president.

A 41-strong team of John Deere employees has completed its 1,000-Mile Challenge in style, smashing through its distance and fundraising targets in the process. 

The 41-strong John Deere team which completed the 1,000-mile challenge

The group took on the Peak District Ultra Challenge on Saturday 8 July, choosing to navigate either 50km in 24 hours, or 100km in 34 hours. In doing so, team John Deere managed to collectively cover more than 1,400 miles. 

Generous sponsorship has seen more than £11,500 pledged to Cancer Research UK in the process. 

“Cancer Research UK does really important work which touches the lives of so many, and it is our chosen charity for 2023,” said Chris Meacock, John Deere division sales manager for Golf and Turf.
 
“We wanted to find something to suit varying fitness levels to encourage more participation, in turn helping to raise as much money as possible. We achieved both and a highly enthused team set about the challenge.”

Five brave souls completed 100km with 36 covering 50km, and collectively the team far exceeded the 1,000-miles target.

Some of the team completed the 100km course

“It was not easy, but the team was spurred on by the cause,” Chris said. “The event organisation was superb, and our team was looked after fabulously, with food, water, and feet patched up as required. 

“From the company’s point of view the challenge has generated fantastic positive energy and strengthened relationships. The whole team is delighted to have completed the distance and raised a huge amount of money for a thoroughly worthwhile charity.” 

Donations can still be made at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/johndeere1000milechallenge

The new compact Stand-On FURY is the latest mower from the new “evolution” series by Mean Green Mowers, the FURY utilizes the patented ZTR technologies found in RIVAL and VANQUISH models reconfigured into a new compact platform. The FURY is designed to allow access into gated areas and is available with a 32″ or 36” rear discharge deck. With the addition of the FURY, Mean Green now have a range of mowers with deck sizes from 32” to 74”.

The FURY has the ability to cut grass up to 5.5 inches to its adjustable floating rear discharge cutting decks with anti-scalp solid front wheels, the Hi/Low blade speed control allows the blade speed to be slowed down when cutting short grass.  Designed with aerospace engineering technology and powered by an 11kWh (equivalent to 24HP) Mean Green Lithium Energy Module offering a mowing time up to 7hrs*. The FURY provides more than enough power from its motors and controllers as fitted to the larger RIVAL, EVO and VANQUISH mowers.  With horsepower exceeding most commercial petrol mowers in its class and maximum torque from the start, the FURY proves that electric mowers can be powerful, economical and quiet.  

The Impulse Drive System (IDS™) is designed with maximum power in mind, Mean Green has combined time proven planetary gearing and the latest electric hub motor technology.  The IDS™ generates unrivalled power, weight carrying capacity and speeds up to 9mph.

An Interactive Touch Screen Display allows operators to choose high/low blade speed and high/low drive speed, displays the battery charge level, machine operation status, hour meter, and service notifications. The Blade Performance Monitor displays speed and performance of each blade to help the operator maintain optimal mowing efficiency and quality of cut.

As standard the FURY has a steel and high strength aluminium alloy chassis, single lever manual deck lift, semi-pneumatic caster wheels, bolstered thigh/knee pad, USB port, mobile phone and cup holder, built-in tie down points, a 5-Year (1500 hr) Battery Warranty and charger.  

For more information or demonstration contact Overton (UK) on: 01522 690011

*Depending on terrain, operator performance and grass conditions.  

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