As seen by the two lead stories in today's Update, there has been no prorogation of discussion and debate in our industry, with conference and dealer event season well underway.

We have reports today from the both the recent AriensCo and Stiga UK events - and whilst being conscious of not over-exaggerating, it seems fair to say that a distinct whiff of positivity pervaded both. Which in the current national climate, has to be A Good Thing.

The AriensCo event was understandably dominated by the recent announcement that the company shall commence manufacture of zero-turns in Britain from their Great Haseley factory. This news appears to have created some serious interest amongst their dealers. Whilst you would of course expect the Company Vice President for EMEA & Asia to talk things up, the quote from Darren Spencer today saying, “Many dealers left saying this was the most exciting Ariens event they had been to," I'm sure isn't overly hyperbolic.

It is undeniably a big deal that the company has chosen this country, at this time and with this product to make such a significant move. It shows great confidence both in the manufacturing capabilities at Great Haseley, but also let's not forget, in the capabilities of the UK dealer network to sell these machines successfully.

Evidence, I think, of how this is indeed an important development is the fact that the American trade association, the OPEI, in this week's issue of their newsletter to members, highlighted and linked to both the story and my blog on the subject from last week's Service Dealer Weekly Update. The fact that it's newsworthy over the other side of pond too, brings into focus what a major and positive step this is.

The other dealer event report today, comes from Stiga UK's conferences which took place at the National Motorcycle Museum from Tuesday to Thursday this week. I'd say these also enjoyed a buoyant feel about them, with md Gary Whitney making a direct comparison of the mood in the room (and therefore the wider industry) compared to this time last year. He chose to describe 2019 as a "season without a punch", which whilst by no means a ringing endorsement, is certainly a welcome improvement on 2018's well documented struggles.

Similar to the AriensCo event, more positivity was engendered at the Stiga conferences by looking to the future.  New CEO of Stiga Group, Sean Robinson, was in attendance to let the dealers know what his and the company's plans are going forward.

He brought a confident message saying that the shareholders had given him a brief of "growth and expansion". He talked of re-investing significantly in their product ranges, redesigning products and potentially moving into product areas which they currently do not have a presence in, such as professional machinery. He spoke of investing significantly in understanding what their dealers needed to grow their businesses - as well as investing to really understand the nuances of individual consumer profiles, so they can satisfy those needs, cleverly and economically.

I certainly got the impression that this message was gratefully received by the dealers in the room. From what he was saying, there appeared plenty for them to positively look forward to.

And from the dealers I was chatting to at the event, I certainly got the impression that this season had been a welcome relief from the previous. I wasn't just hearing that 2019 hadn't been terrible, moreover that business had been doing OK. Pretty good even?

But what do our readers think? Are things looking up? We're running our annual Autumn Dealer Survey today, the results of which we publish in our November/December issue of Service Dealer magazine. Last year's made for pretty gloomy reading, with dealers reporting downturns in many aspects of their dealerships. If you could take a few moments to fill out today's survey, it'll be very interesting to see if what we've been hearing anecdotally about a more positive season, bears out in your responses.

Also we'd love to hear your comments about how the season has been for you in general and what your thoughts are looking ahead.

As ever the results and a selection of your opinions will be published in the magazine. Thanks for your help.

TAKE THE SURVEY.

Stiga UK held their annual dealer conferences this week at the National Motorcycle Museum, near the NEC in Birmingham.

As well attended as ever, the company were expecting to see around 600 dealers spread across the three days. Tuesday and Wednesday (September 10th and 11th) concentrated on the Mountfield and Stiga products, whilst Thursday (September 12th) focused on the Atco machines.

Service Dealer attended on Wednesday and saw md Gary Whitney explain that the theme for the conference this year was 'Better Together'. Gary began by welcoming the delegates and thanking them for their continued business and support throughout the last year. The conference's theme, he explained, made reference to how the company and their dealers can all benefit by working closer with each other and by being closer to the customers who buy the products they sell.

To help Stiga remain close to their dealers, Gary said they were keen to hear as much feedback as possible from the dealers in attendance - feedback on the conference, on the new products featured and on wider issues they may be facing in their businesses. To this end they had set up a special email address which dealers were invited to use to voice their concerns or raise any questions they may have had. Gary made a promise to review all the correspondence over the coming week or so and give a personal response if required, with all suggestions given careful consideration.

Before the presentations of the new products for the forthcoming season, Gary introduced the team from the Plymouth HQ to the assembled dealers and gave the floor over to the new Stiga Group CEO, Sean Robinson, to say a few words. Sean had a positive message of growth and expansion plans for company, saying that he had the backing of the shareholders to push the company's product offering on - potentially into the area of professional machinery.

The dealers also heard Gary's traditional State Of The Nation address, where he gave an assessment of the past season as the company saw it. Gary's overall feeling was to describe 2019 as "a season without a punch" - which coming off of the back of the struggles of 2018, was no bad thing. Gary described the season as a "long slog up a steep hill" - but without the feast and famine of the previous year. He said, "We want to make sure our dealers remain competitive and ride out this period of uncertainty."

He spoke of keeping price rises to a minimum level and as a company always being mindful of dealers keeping their margins. 

A plethora of new new product presentations then followed. Details were given on new Stiga and Mountfield ride-ons; front mower upgrades; the 500 Series Battery System; a new electric corded range; cleaning equipment and handheld machinery.

Before everyone could get hands-on with these new launches in the showroom and out in the field, Gary rounded off the Better Together theme by talking about how the company has been working with business data analytics company, Experian. Through their vast, GDPR compliant, database of customer demographic information, Gary said Stiga would be able to offer valuable help to their dealers. Advice could be offered, he said, regarding who their potential customers might be and where best to target their marketing activities.

The day then rounded out with plenty of time for the dealers to browse the Market Place area which featured representatives of Briggs & Stratton, Kawasaki, Honda, Pollards, Aspen and uni-power - plus of course, putting the new machinery launches through their paces.

AriensCo held their dealer meeting at DoubleTree by Hilton Oxford Belfry in Milton Common, Oxfordshire on 5th September.

The day was led by Darren Spencer, Ariens Company Vice President for EMEA & Asia and COO and president of Ariens Corporate, Larry Weyers. All dealers for Countax, Westwood, Ariens and ECHO were invited.

This year’s theme was ‘Zero-In’ and hinted at the announcement that AriensCo headquarters in Oxford, UK, will be the centre for the European production of Ariens zero-turns. AriensCo will also be the HQ for operations for the EMEAA business. Dealers were offered a tour of the new zero-turn production line at the AriensCo factory and had the opportunity to try products on the demo ground.

The focus of the day was on the opportunities zero-turn will bring to dealers as well as showcasing a range of new products including the PGC+ cassette system and cassettes for the Countax and Westwood brands, together with the new 4WD models. Newly launched ECHO tools were represented with the CS-2511WES rear-handle chainsaw and the PB-8010 backpack blower.

“The dealer meeting was very successful, with our new products being exceptionally well received,” says Darren Spencer. “Many dealers left saying this was the most exciting Ariens event they had been to. There was a real buzz around the new product introductions and the announcement that we will be manufacturing zero-turns in the UK.”

Along with information on the new product ranges, the rest of the day was structured to provide dealers with useful tools to help grow their business. After the main presentation the dealers were able to attend various breakout sessions, which included a marketing update announcing the relaunched Ariens MarketHub. This online tool allows dealers to customise their marketing literature by building their own collateral and running their own promotions as well as ordering marketing materials, merchandise and promotional items.

There followed the opportunity to try out a range of machinery including the new C40 and T40 garden tractors, the new 4WD tractors from Countax and Westwood, the ZOOM, IKON, APEX and ZENITH zero-turns and the complete range of ECHO power tools. Professional chainsaw carver, Ian Williams did a series of carving demonstrations throughout the day, using a range of petrol and battery powered ECHO chainsaws including the new CS-2511WES.

The AriensCo Dealer Advisory Council (DAC) led a closed discussion with dealers, exploring industry issues and ideas to support the dealer network. The DAC will work with AriensCo over the coming 12 months to devise action plans to counter these issues.

Walker Mowers UK have appointed Ben Gold as their new area sales manager.

Announcing this new addition to the UK sales team, Walker country manager, Steve Egerton. told Service Dealer, "As our company sales activity continues to expand, it was important to find someone with a can-do attitude who has a sound knowledge of the industry at both dealer and end user level."

Ben graduated from University of Lancashire with a degree in Sports Journalism and moved to George Brown Ltd in Buckinghamshire for a temporary role in their replacement parts department. His obvious flare for sales was soon acknowledged and he transferred to machinery sales where he received promotion to the position of machinery sales representative.

Walker UK say the experience he gained in this sales role and at a professional dealer organisation will make him a valuable addition to their sales team. Working in an area north of the M4 and south of Yorkshire, Ben says he is looking forward to working with both existing and new dealers alike to build on the current sales success of the Walker brand.

In his leisure time Ben is an active sportsman playing football and cricket at a local level and also takes on the role of groundsman for the cricket ground. Ben will receive product training in the UK, Belgium and at the Walker manufacturing plant in Fort Collins, Colorado.

John Deere, CLAAS and 365FarmNet jointly announced DataConnect this week, which they described as a groundbreaking approach to data exchange using the cloud for precision farming applications. 

Up to now, farmers and contractors with a mixed machinery fleet can only record, process and document their data using the respective equipment and web portals of the individual manufacturers.

With the new DataConnect, CLAAS, 365FarmNet and John Deere say they have created for the first time a direct, manufacturer independent cloud-to-cloud solution. In a similar way to ISOBUS, customers can now exchange their data via a common interface as well as control and monitor their entire machinery fleet using their favourite system.

With DataConnect, users can choose their preferred data platform from a specific manufacturer while also being able to transmit data from other machines via the new interface. This means that the data is still available in the John Deere Operations Centre, CLAAS TELEMATICS or 365FarmNet portals, but can be exchanged in real time from one cloud to the other. The key benefit to the user is that all the necessary machine configurations are available in one system.

DataConnect enables the exchange of all important machinery data, including current and historical machine location, fuel tank level, current working status and forward speed. Transmission of agronomic data is also being planned.

With DataConnect the companies involved also wish to share their experience of cloud-to-cloud communication with ongoing Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation (AEF) projects. This is why the architecture of this new interface is designed to support existing industry standards.

The companies say any interested agricultural machinery manufacturers and software providers as well as associations and standardisation committees are welcome to help develop the existing interface. A first insight into the operation of DataConnect will be possible on the CLAAS, 365FarmNet and John Deere stands at Agritechnica 2019 in November, while the official launch is scheduled for summer 2020.

The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) has appointed Luke Perry to the newly-created position of SALTEX & Events director, and he will be primarily responsible for the growth, development, management and delivery of the annual SALTEX exhibition.

A batchelor in politics, Luke will be based at the IOG’s Milton Keynes HQ in a role that the Institute says embraces full accountability for SALTEX sales, services, performance and profitability, as well as future strategy while maintaining a high level of client and team satisfaction.

Commenting on his new role, Luke says, “I am excited to be joining the IOG with the aim of contributing to the ongoing success of such a flagship event. I look forward to utilising my experience of over 20 years in the exhibition industry, and to getting to know my colleagues at the IOG as well as IOG members and those throughout the groundscare industry.”

IOG chief executive, Geoff Webb, added, “Looking to build on the success of SALTEX, Luke’s appointment will considerably extend our in-house expertise - not only in delivering SALTEX but also with a view to providing a schedule of year-round events for members. His appointment also assists the development of other existing IOG products and services and will help us continue to deliver excellent benefits to our membership.”

Luke will report to Geoff Webb and will work alongside the IOG’s head of member services - communications & events, Karen Maxwell, who is a key conduit between the IOG and its existing contractors, Events For You and Fusion Media, which between them run SALTEX’s sales, marketing and PR activities.

Higher than anticipated interest in the SDF 5 Series, Explorer and Strike loader promotion has led the company to extend the closing date of the campaign to September 30th 2019.

The company said this will allow all interested parties to maximise purchase opportunities.

The promotion applies to new orders and dealer stock of the 5100 G GS and 5110 G GS, 5125, Explorer 100 GS and Explorer 110 GS, Strike 100 GS and Strike 110 GS models.

For further information about any of the machines in the promotion, contact SDF head office on 01788 891892.

Club Car say they have upgraded their customer experience with the launch of a new online car configurator, which allows prospective customers to design, build and view their vehicles online before purchase.

Designed to engage customers early in the purchasing journey with an interactive experience, the configurator interface integrates with the Club Car website, enabling customers to customise a model and create a car to fit their lifestyle and needs. The integration of photo-realistic rendering provides customers with a step-by-step visual representation of their selected vehicle options from both front and rear angles.

Club Car Configurator - Colour Option Build Page

Working from CAD data, the Onward 2, 4 and 6 passenger vehicles can be fully customised with a choice of exterior colours and material seat options, right through to powertrain, suspension, canopy, tyre and wheel assembly choices, and a further 27 accessory options. Once designed, the custom configure-price-quote (CPQ) generates a unique code that encourages customers to share their customised Club Car with friends or return to easily edit selections at a later date.

Pierre Lhernould, Marketing Leader EMEA at Club Car, said, “This type of configurator software is paving the way for the future, not just in the automotive industry but in a variety of sectors, such as our own.

“Buying habits have transformed in recent years, and research has taught us that people today usually prefer to get their information online before speaking to a representative. The configurator allows for that in a comprehensive and visual way.”

The online configurator, available worldwide in seven languages, uses GEO-IP recognition so that the language is recognised automatically to provide the best user experience for customers.

There are currently two product lines available for online configuration, including the all new consumer-targeted personal transportation vehicle range, Club Car Onwards.

Can-Am, the manufacturer of All Terrain (ATV) and Side by Side vehicles (SSV), is joining forces with Stuart Connor, an experienced professional shearer and English national team member, in his attempt to break the nine-hour British lamb shearing record on Saturday 21st September 2019, at Fern Hill Farm in Bristol.

Stuart Connor

The record attempt is in memory of Stuart and his wife Kira's daughter, Grace, who sadly passed away at the age of three in April 2018 of Mitochondrial Disease and aims to raise much needed funds to help increase awareness and support those and their families suffering from the disease.

Mitochondrial Disease is caused by mutations in the mitochondria which are present in every cell in the human body and are responsible for generating 90 per cent of the energy needed for cells to survive. Research into the condition is being carried out by ‘The Lily Foundation’, the UK's leading charity for Mitochondrial Disease and is fighting the disease through research into its prevention, diagnosis and treatment, whilst also providing assistance to those affected by the condition.

To break the current British record, Stuart must shear in excess of 781 lambs and is being mentored by world renowned professional shearer and nine-hour ewe world record holder Matt Smith. He is also being trained by Matt Luxton, who was voted the UK’s most innovative fitness entrepreneur in 2012. Stuart must undertake a completely different approach in his build-up to the record. For example, he will be constantly monitored for fluid intake and various other tests to ensure he is at the peak of his performance on the day to break the record.

Can-Am is supporting this event as part an ongoing initiative to work with various charities in the UK and around the globe, to enable them to continue their research which they are carrying out by supporting networks that are available for people to access.

James Dalke, BRP UK district commercial manager, says, “We are entrenched in the farming community and when we heard that Stuart was attempting this record and why he was doing it, we decided it was right for Can-Am alongside local dealer JW and TJ Pearce to back him in this endeavour. Both monetarily and through the provision of a vehicle for him and his team to use during the event, to ensure everything runs smoothly on the day.

"We know Stuart and his team have put in the hard work preparing for this record and we look forward to him putting in a performance that breaks the current record, whilst also increasing awareness of Mitochondrial Disease and the great work ‘The Lily Foundation’ is dedicated to research to help fight this disease for future generations.”

Visit Stuart's Just Giving page here.

Full-time: Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm (4:30pm on Friday), with the possibility of overtime as & when required

Basic job description: re-building/servicing/identifying faults on Industrial Petrol/Diesel Engines & Transmissions (Working from our Great Dunmow base & across the UK), general workshop & administration duties-including warranty claim submission

Due to ongoing expansion plans, our Essex based Company has an opening for a Service Engineer to join the Team in Great Dunmow.

We are a Distributor of Industrial Petrol & Diesel Engines, Transmissions & Spare Parts to the Trade & Original Equipment Manufacturers (Established 1986).

The successful candidate will be an extremely self-driven & energetic individual with a proactive & positive attitude, also possessing a meticulous approach to all aspects of the job description. Applicants should possess a high level of previous experience within our industry sector, although full training will be given on our exact range of products; a degree of computer literacy is also essential.

Our current Engine Dealerships are: Briggs & Stratton (Including Vanguard Commercial Power), Hatz, Honda, Kawasaki, Kohler (Including Lombardini), Kubota, Yanmar

Our current Transmission Dealerships are: Hydro-Gear, Peerless, Tuff Torq

The position offers an attractive salary (Details on request), private medical insurance, company pension scheme, use of our service vehicles, company mobile phone, PPE/tools/uniform will be provided; a Christmas bonus will also be paid (Depending on personal & company performance throughout the year), an annual Christmas party will be paid for by the company.

If you feel that this position is right for you, please email a full CV (Including at least 2 x references) to tricia@uni-power.co.uk ; or send via post to Uni-power Ltd (Attn: Tricia Paveley), Unit 8 Flitch Industrial Estate, Great Dunmow, Essex CM6 1XJ

Tel: 01371 875331
www.uni-power.co.uk

Full-time: Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm (4:30pm on Friday)

Basic job description: quoting parts/engines/transmissions via telephone & email, general administration duties

Due to ongoing expansion plans, our Essex based Company has an opening for a Parts & Sales Advisor to join the Team in Great Dunmow.

We are a Distributor of Industrial Petrol & Diesel Engines, Transmissions & Spare Parts to the Trade & Original Equipment Manufacturers (Established 1986).

The successful candidate will be an extremely self-driven & energetic individual with a proactive & positive attitude, also possessing a meticulous approach to all aspects of the job description. Applicants should possess a high level of previous experience within our industry sector, although full training will be given on our exact range of products; a high degree of computer literacy is also essential.

Our current Engine Dealerships are: Briggs & Stratton (Including Vanguard Commercial Power), Hatz, Honda, Kawasaki, Kohler (Including Lombardini), Kubota, Yanmar

Our current Transmission Dealerships are: Hydro-Gear, Peerless, Tuff Torq.

The position offers an attractive salary (Details on request), private medical insurance, company pension scheme, PPE/uniform will be provided; a Christmas bonus will also be paid (Depending on personal & company performance throughout the year), an annual Christmas party will be paid for by the company.

If you feel that this position is right for you, please email a full CV (Including at least 2 x references) to tricia@uni-power.co.uk ; or send via post to Uni-power Ltd (Attn: Tricia Paveley), Unit 8 Flitch Industrial Estate, Great Dunmow, Essex CM6 1XJ

Tel: 01371 875331
www.uni-power.co.uk

This Autumn Cobra are introducing an exciting new range of petrol powered chippers into their already comprehensive garden machinery range.

Powered by a 6.5hp Loncin engine the Cobra CHIP650L & CHIP650LE (Electric Start Model) are small and compact wood chippers which can easily chip branches up to 80mm (3") in diameter through it's large, self-feeding input chute.

Cobra CHIP650L

Both models are equipped with low emission Loncin 196cc engines which power the heavy duty rotor and twin reversible blades. The unique, hinged design of the chute allows easy access to the blades. To provide maximum safety for the user, the chipper features an emergency stop brake.

The CHIP650LE is also equipped with an electric start system for even easier user operation.

With their large wheels and user friendly design, the Cobra CHIP650L & CHIP650LE can be manoeuvred easily into most spaces in the garden. Supplied with tool kit, these are great value machines backed by a fantastic two year manufacturer's warranty.

The Cobra petrol chippers are packed with innovative features to help you create the perfect garden with the minimum of effort. Dealer Nett prices start from just £440.17 ex VAT.

For more information on Cobra products visit: www.cobragarden.co.uk or to become a Cobra dealer, please contact Andy Marvin on: 07771 581 296 or call our sales team: 0115 986 6646 today.

Registration for Europe’s largest annual groundscare exhibition SALTEX 2019 is now open and visitors will notice some notable improvements to the registration process.

Visitor registration is an integral part of the customer journey and new for SALTEX 2019 event organisers have partnered with LiveBuzz – the largest registration specialist in the UK which is the preferred supplier for some of the world’s most prestigious events.

SALTEX 2019 registration opens this month

Commenting on the new registration partnership, SALTEX event director Matthew Knight said: “It’s important that our visitors, our exhibitors and their customers have the best possible experience at SALTEX. We are always aiming to make improvements to the show each year and following an open tendering process we appointed LiveBuzz because we want the very best in all aspects of the show.

“We are confident that our visitors will experience a best practice registration process – it will be smoother, more interactive and in addition there will be ten registration terminals at the show entrance meaning that visitors will gain faster entry.”

Taking place at the NEC, Birmingham on 30 and 31 October, SALTEX 2019 will feature over 300 exhibitors including some of the biggest names in groundscare. The two-day event will offer visitors a unique opportunity to experience the very latest industry trends and innovations, enhance their education and learn from industry experts.

The exhibition is the longest-standing event of its kind in the world, having been held almost every year since 1938, and the show is continually evolving with the people of the industry in mind.

This year the show floor will be bursting with everything a visitor needs to increase their efficiency and improve operations – and attendees can expect features such as:

• NEW! Eco Village – live demonstrations purely dedicated to environmentally-friendly products.
• Learning LIVE - SALTEX’s world-class free educational programme.
• Pathology and Soil Science LIVE – a look in detail at the symptoms of turfgrass fungal disease problems.
• SALTEX Innovation Award – celebrating the very best in new groundscare technology.
• Ask the Expert - free face-to-face turfcare advice.
• Outdoor Demonstrations – the latest products in action in an area directly outside halls 6,7 and 8.
• SALTEX College Cup - land based colleges compete in an academic test of turf management knowledge.
• Lawn Care Legends LIVE – a fantastic networking opportunity for landscapers and gardeners.
• Job Clinic – free one-to-one sessions covering CV writing to interview techniques.

Registration is accessible through the SALTEX website and visitors can simply bring their email confirmation (on a phone or a printed copy to the registration desk) which will be located at the show entrance.

SALTEX 2019 takes place at the NEC, Birmingham on October 30 and 31.

For more information visit www.iogsaltex.com

Follow SALTEX on Twitter @IOG_SALTEX and Facebook – www.facebook.com/IOGSALTEX

Garden Trader is a product and dealer search website/directory only for specialist garden machinery dealers in the UK. It has been designed to support and promote our dealer industry to consumers who are specifically searching for garden machinery products and services.

It is easy and quick to register and costs just £96 + VAT per year to be listed and all revenues in 2019 will be reinvested into promoting the site online.

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