This coming Wednesday the IOG's SALTEX exhibition kicks off its fourth edition at the Birmingham NEC.

Service Dealer are amongst the 300+ exhibitors who will be in attendance for the two days - so please if you are planning to make your way to Birmingham, do come along to Stand M030 and say hi to the team.

It'll be interesting to see how many dealers feel a trip to the National Exhibition Centre is worthwhile this year - or perhaps more to the point, affordable.

As ever there are those perennial decisions to be made when committing to an event like SALTEX. Can you afford both the costs involved in travelling and potentially staying away for a night and indeed the costs of being away from the business for any length of time?

These factors will most likely be exacerbated for many this year, coming off of the back of what has been a most challenging season.

Last year I remember many exhibitors speaking to me about how pleased they had been with the number of dealers they'd seen coming through their stands. I wonder if this will be repeated next week? 

There were plenty of franchises on show last year who were very interested in expanding their dealer networks. Of course all were talking about finding the right partners in the right part of the country - but there's no doubt that there were opportunities for dealers to expand their offerings if they so desired. 

But in terms of dealers attending this year in their numbers, I'm not sure if coming off a hard season like this, whether the feeling will be, let's just regroup and look forward to next season, concentrating on our established products.

Or I suppose, alternatively there could be a desire amongst some to have a bit of a fresh start next season and therefore be on the look out for some new brands to stock in their stores? It'll be interesting to see what the prevailing mood is.

Certainly in principal I always think if you can, a trip to an event like Saltex is well worthwhile. In fact I believe that Saltex itself has really hit its stride since establishing itself at the NEC. I'm sure there might be some nostalgic for Windsor, but I feel the show has had a really, buzzy, vibrant feel to it these past couple of editions. Certainly last November many exhibitors were telling me they were delighted with the quality of the visitors they were seeing come through their stands. Actual decision-making purchasers are coming to the show these days - rather than just the whole team out for a jolly-up.

To be fair to Saltex they do keep looking to add value and improvements to the event. This year they are heavily promoting the new Innovation Hub area which will showcase new products. This will also be the home to the second outing of their Innovation Awards. This area certainly sounds like one worth having a look at if you've made the effort to come to the show. Inspiration might stike!

Also, give the IOG credit, they are sticking to their guns and are running the outdoor demonstration area again this year. I've felt this has been somewhat half-hearted the past couple of shows. But in their pre-show promotion they've said this area has completely sold out "with a high number of exhibitors choosing to take outdoor plots". So let's see next week if it works better with a few more exhibitors out there - and not just a few cold and lonely looking guys!

The most important aspect of a trade show is of course the networking opportunities which it affords. Be it meeting up with your established suppliers, potential new business partners or your fellow dealers to swap war stories - Saltex is a valuable resource.

So to those of you who choose to attend next week, I hope you can make the most of your visit and come away feeling that your time and money has been wisely spent.

Why not let us know in the comments below how you feel about attending shows and events in the current climate?

Fleming Agri Products in Newbuildings, near the City of Derry in Northern Ireland, a manufacturer of agricultural and groundscare machinery, has announced an investment of £4m and 34 new jobs as it targets new markets including the US.

Fleming Agri Products trailed topper

This family firm makes equipment for farming and grounds maintenance including landrollers, muck spreaders and hay makers, which it sells mainly to machinery dealers.

The investment comes after the company's annual report said an upturn in the farming industry help lead to an increase of nearly 21% in sales for 2017, from £8.6m to £10.4m. Pre-tax profits also rose from £1.1m to £1.3m.

As well as heavy equipment, the company has developed a range of merchandise such as bodywarmers, coast and fleeces, which it sells on e-commerce website www.farm-wardrobe.com .

Now chairman and founder George Fleming has announced a £4m spend to further its growth plans and boost its sales in external markets.

Economic development agency Invest NI has offered £220,000 of support towards the new roles, which include production operatives, sales executives and managers.

The 34 staff will be in place by 2020, and 15 of the jobs have are been filled.

An East Riding couple has been banned from selling tractors and agricultural machinery to members of the public after a Judge said customers had been "continually ripped off."

The Yorkshire Post reported that East Riding Council’s trading standards brought the case against Alan and Christine Farrow after they twice failed to keep legally binding promises not to make misleading statements over machinery sales.

Regular Service Dealer readers may remember these individuals as we reported on their court appearances in 2016 and again in 2017.

Mr Farrow, a director of QF Tractors Ltd and Christine Farrow, a former director of the company, both of Canal Head, Pocklington appeared at county court in Leeds at the beginning of this month where they admitted nine allegations of contempt of court.

The Yorkshire Post said the Farrows first came to the attention of trading standards in 2005 and made their first undertaking in 2011 after complaints from customers claiming they had been sold goods that were wrongly described and of a poor quality.

In 2015, the Farrows found themselves before the courts after similar complaints, not just from the UK but also from Europe and Africa. They made a legally binding undertaking to the court not to mislead customers. But just over a year later, the complaints started again from customers who had bought machinery advertised in national farming publications. One customer in Cambridge paid £8,500 for two pick-up trucks that never arrived, while a customer in Milton Keynes bought two tractors for £14,000.

He had them shipped to Zanzibar, but when they were delivered one was an older, inferior model and not the one he had purchased. In County Donegal, a customer had to pay out an extra 1,200 Euros in repairs after the tractor he bought had mechanical issues while another bought tractors on behalf of his family based in Chad so they could fulfil a farming contract with the Chad government. But the tractors were not fit for purpose when they arrived in Chad and the family lost the contract. Acting for the Farrows, barrister Ashley Serr, told the court the recent complaints had come after their sons, who had been running the company, left in 2017.

He said that since the contempt of court charges were brought, the Farrows had contacted all the complainants and had settled all the outstanding issues.

While Mrs Farrow acknowledged her responsibility as a director, she was not involved in the day to day running of the company and had recently stepped down from her position. The court was also told that the Farrows were intending to change their business model so they would now only trade with other dealers directly and at auctions and would not be dealing with the farming community or the general public. His Honour Judge Andrew Saffman, was quoted in the Yorkshire Post saying, “There has been a course of conduct of shoddy practices since 2005 and members of the public have continually been ripped off. “There is evidence to show you have repaid customers who have been disadvantaged by shoddy work practices.

“You have failed to comply with the undertakings given twice to the local authority and these breaches have resulted in a contempt of court - you have acted in stark contradiction of the promises made to the courts.” The judge ordered the Farrows to be subject of a 10-year injunction which bans them from advertising the sale of, or selling directly to the public farm and plant machinery, cars, motorcycles, buses and coaches as well as light, medium or heavy goods vehicles. If they wish to sell any of the items listed they will have to use an auction house but they are allowed to sell cars which the Farrows have owned for personal use direct to the public.

The judge also fined Alan Farrow £22,500 and Christine Farrow was fined £7,500 and they have to pay costs of £20,908.33. Tina Holtby, interim public protection group manager at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said, “The Farrows have persistently operated in an unprofessional manner by misleading members of the farming community for years causing large amounts of financial harm, stress and inconvenience.

“The outcome of the court hearing sends out a clear message that businesses that ignore enforcement action from both the local authority and the courts will not be tolerated.”

This October, over 200 dealers and media attended three ‘Discovery Days’ held by Barrus across the country - at Ripley Castle, Winkworth Farm in Malmesbury and A Day in the Country in Aynho.

Phil Noble, sales and technical manager, and his team unveiled a whole host of new products for the 2019 season from Barrus' brands including Cub Cadet, Lawnflite, WOLF-Garten, Wilkinson Sword, Town & Country and CEuk.

During the morning, dealers were walked through the new products and advised on the features and benefits. The afternoon was then spent with the opportunity to test the machines including taking Cub Cadet’s PRO Zero-Turns around a driving course.

Other new products from the company included the XR1 500, an entry level robotic model, and the new top of the range lawnmower the XM3 ER53, which will be making its public debut at Saltex on 31st October.

Lawnflite PRO was represented by its first hydrostatic roller mower, the 553HRSP-HST, which the company says is 50% faster than the high speed 553HRS-PROHS. This machine will also make its debut at Saltex along with the new range of Duracut and Procut lawnmowers from Rover.

As the exclusive distributor of GTM products, Barrus had an extensive display of products on show and for dealers to use. These included the Rattlewedge, a unique tree felling device and the Elephants Trunk 2, having both had launches at the APF show in September.

Finally, dealers could learn more about the professional range of Infinicut mowers from Cub Cadet. 

“We have been delighted with how our Discovery Days have been supported by our dealers. The array of new products we have launched across all our brands and market sectors have been very well received and we look forward to rolling these out to our dealer network in 2019,” said Phil Noble.

Husqvarna has expanded the knowledge and personnel of its UK team with the appointment of the experienced Niklas Broberg as Automower® specialist.

Joining the UK team from Husqvarna’s headquarters in Sweden, Niklas comes with a wealth of knowledge in robotic lawnmowing and according to the company is the longest serving, most experienced Automower® specialist in the world.

Joining the company in 1989, Niklas has worked within Husqvarna for almost 30 years and became fully dedicated to Automower® back in 2009. A native Swede, he joins the UK team this year to take on a new challenge - his role will involve supporting the dealer network and helping to grow Automower® business in the UK.

Niklas’ appointment comes at a crucial time as this month the company unveiled its first ever all-wheel-drive robotic mower, capable of taking on rough terrain and inclines of 70%.

On his new position, Niklas commented, “I’m looking forward to a new chapter in a new country with Husqvarna. My knowledge of robotic lawnmowing will help the team in the UK to work together with our dealers to grow the market further. It’s a challenge I’m excited about and I look forward to aligning with our authorised dealer network to support them on all things Automower®.”

UK field sales manager, Mike Hind, added, “We’re very happy to have Niklas join the UK team. His experience is unrivalled when it comes to Automower®, thanks to the number of years he has been with the company.

“This decision was made as we’ve seen the UK robotic lawnmowing market grow year upon year. We have a clear plan and a target which we want to reach in the coming years and I’m sure Niklas will help us greatly in achieving that.”

In his role as a field based Automower® specialist, Niklas will be focussed on helping to grow the robotic mower market together with dealers, working closely with the network on the education and development of robotic lawnmowing. Niklas will also support by assisting with scheduled training sessions and by physically and theoretically demonstrating the benefits of the range.

Walker Mower dealer in the Channel Islands, Eastern Garden Machinery will make the 561 round trip next week to attend the SALTEX exhibition at the NEC Birmingham, to join senior members of the Walker team from their hq in Fort Collins, Colorado on stand F030.

Andrew Le Maistre who owns the Eastern Garden dealership on Jersey was appointed the Walker Mower dealer for the island following his visit to the exhibition last year and says he has enjoyed a successful sales year with the machines, despite the relatively small island of just 45.6 sq. miles.

L-R: Andrew Le Maistre, owner of Eastern Garden Machinery, Jersey and Steve Egerton of Walker Mowers UK Ltd

Andrew also runs his own successful garden contracting business on the island and uses a Walker mower as his main machine to maintain his customers' lawns. Using a Walker Mower himself, he says he soon realised its benefits and those beliefs led to sales to such iconic locations on the island such as Jersey Zoo.

Steve Egerton of Walker Mowers UK who visited Andrew to confirm his appointment told Service Dealer, "Andrew's enthusiasm for the product is infectious and when a dealer demonstrates the mower confidently and with so much enthusiasm sales ultimately follow.

"Following our launch 12 months ago at last year's exhibition, we have enjoyed a good growth in sales despite the difficult climatic conditions of the past season. Our sales have exceeded previous years and we are confidently looking forward to another successful SALTEX, meeting our existing and hopefully new customers."

Simon Richard Ltd, UK sales agents for the Reform specialist bank tractor and Muthing flail ranges, have confirmed the appointment of Newcastle-on-Tyne based Lloyd Ltd as dealers for both products.

Reform Metrac at work with Muthing flail

Commenting on the agreement Simon Richard said, "The Lloyd name is an excellent addition to our nationwide dealer network."

Allett have announced that they are welcoming two brand new team members this month, whilst at the same time saying goodbye and good luck to long-standing member of staff, Leigh Bowers.

Taking new positions are Steve Robinson who becomes the company's new business developer and Steve Copnall, who was originally from the engineering department and is now taking up the role of new product specialist. James Moss will replace Steve Copnall as development and Test engineer.

Upon joining Allett, Steve Robinson said, "I’ve had 25 years of experience in sales and business development within a wide range of sectors including hotels, corporate travel, manufacturing and ingredients. I’ve worked with global blue chip companies as well as small independents. I always strive to give the best customer service and to help the business I work for being the best in their industry.

Steve Robinson

“My new role at Allett is perfect for me because I love working with a wide range of clients and each one has a different problem to solve. My aim is to build long-term partnerships and to be able to help the clients with all their needs."

Speaking about his new position, Steve Copnall said, "I joined Allett in 2011 and being a mechanical engineer I was drawn to an available development engineering role. During this time I was involved in introducing new company products, carrying out product changes and developing new ideas working alongside customers. Keen to progress within this industry, I registered and completed IEng Incorporated Engineering status to assist with my continued professional development.

Steve Copnall

“With my new role, being mechanically biased and working well with customers I hope to bring these together and working closely with engineering bring the best ideas and products to market."

Austin Jarrett, md of Allett Mowers said, ”We are excited to have Steve Robinson on board and the creation of his role reflects the growth of the Allett brand not only just in the UK but globally. Steve Copnall meanwhile, has all the experience necessary to excel in his new product specialist role and will be undertaking the demonstration part of Leigh's previous role with Steve Robinson looking after the initial sales enquiries."

The company have also announced that long-standing member of the Allett family, Leigh Bowers has moved on after being with Allett/Turfmech for almost 20 years.

Leigh Bowers, centre

In a statement the the company said, "Over the years Leigh has developed close relationships with groundsmen, home owners and dealers all over the world. Leigh is one of the hardest working guys you could ever meet and wouldn’t think twice about doing demonstrations in Scotland and Sussex in the same day! We wish Leigh good luck in whatever he does next- he will be hugely missed! Thank you for 19 years service, Leigh."

War Horse, the film by Steven Spielberg, and hero of Michael Morpurgo’s novel, is the story of Joey, the much loved horse of young Albert Narracott who lived in south west England with his family.

Joey was one of the millions of horses, mules and donkeys who served their time in World War 1. They were used for transport, communication and companionship, carrying water, food, ammunition and medical supplies to men at the front. Of our soldiers, 886,000 men died, representing 2% of the country’s entire population.

Ian Murray

Ian Murray, the renowned chainsaw sculptor, has carved many and varied subjects from timber. As 2018 marks the 100th Centennial of the end of World War 1, and to commemorate this special occasion, Ian has been tasked to carve a life size Joey, standing at 7’3”, from solid oak, in just 70 hours.

Chainsaws and other high performance tools, accessories and PPE have been supplied by Makita UK, via regional distributor Morris Garden Machinery, Rhuddlan.

Richard Kendrick, Royal British Legion organiser in Rhyl, N Wales, who is responsible for the Poppy Appeal, is aiming to raise £3,500 to pay for the creation of Joey. He is working with local schools and colleges to help raise these funds.

“When Ian has finished creating War Horse, we plan to visit local schools and educate our children about World War 1,” says Richard. “Together we want to tell children about the war and what happened - to understand the hardships our soldiers and our horses endured.”

Adds Ian Murray, “We’re hoping the children will enjoy this real-life lesson as they will be able to connect with War Horse, to see him and touch him, and we hope they will appreciate how much our servicemen and women did for us over 100 years ago.”

There is also hope that local MP Chris Ruane may be successful in arranging for War Horse to visit the Palace of Westminster and that other children around the UK will see and request a visit to their own school and to learn of our forces and what they contributed to the country.

Makita UK has supported the project in supplying chainsaws to Ian Murray, a keen Makita fan, for the creation of War Horse including three chainsaws; a cordless LXT blower; 18v cordless grinder, file sander and die grinder, as well as accessories and PPE.

“This carving of War Horse has been a bit daunting,” reports Ian, “and I had to make this creation in two bursts due to essential overseas travel in the middle of the project. But this allowed the timber time to stabilise and take on a new position while it dries out naturally adding greater dynamics to the wonderful Joey. I’m very pleased with this creation.”

Jonathon Morris of Morris Garden Machinery has encouraged Ian Murray over recent years. “His sculptures show exceptional talent and we are delighted that he uses Makita saws. We are a Makita approved PDI dealer and sales have expanded tremendously in recent years. The products are excellent and, above all, reliable,” reports Mr Morris.

The Toro Company and Hayter Ltd recently completed a charity bike ride between London and Brighton in support of St. Clare’s Hospice.

The team of ten employees completed the 56 mile ride as a group, raising over £1,600 for the charity.

The team of mixed cycling experience set off from Clapham Common in South London and were able to complete the challenge together in a respectable seven hours. The journey allowed plenty of time for comfort breaks to keep the morale high on the challenging ride through the picturesque countryside en route to the beautiful beaches of Brighton.

Paul Chinnery, senior manager of operations for EMEA at The Toro Company, took part in the ride and is proud to have raised such a substantial amount for the charity.

“We chose St. Clare’s as our charity of choice, because we have had an association with them for many years,” Paul said. “They are local to our offices and a large proportion of our work force lives in Harlow, close to St Clare’s.

"One of our colleagues spent his final days in their care back in 2013, so the charity will always hold a special place in our hearts."

Reesink Turfcare, Sherriff Amenity and McConnel have been announced as the final three companies competing to get their hands on the SALTEX 2018 Innovation Award.
After making its successful debut at last year’s show, the SALTEX 2018 Innovation Award attracted even more entries from various exhibitors across the globe and included a wide variety of high-quality products, services and equipment.

Judged by an independent panel of industry experts it was decided that the Toro Outcross 9060 from Reesink Turfcare, PrecisionPro from Sherriff Amenity and a product that cannot yet be named from McConnel were the stand out entries.

The final three companies will now take to the stage on the first day of SALTEX in the all new Innovation Hub (stand K021) from 11.30am to 12.35pm. A representative from each will take place to offer a great insight into their respective innovations and answer questions from Innovation Hub host Kevin Lynch - a former referee and current football speaker.

The winner’s ceremony will then commence in the Innovation Hub at 2:30pm where the overall winner will be announced.

Innovation Hub visitors can also expect interviews with industry experts and those at the forefront of new groundscare innovations and listen to research and trial work findings. Furthermore, a number of key speakers will take to the stage to discuss and explore current groundscare trends.

Kevin Lynch and IOG CEO Geoff Webb will kick-start proceedings at 11:00am on the first day of SALTEX by commenting on what most would agree has been a golden period in innovation in sports turf over the last 10-15 years.

A panel debate featuring Horticulture Week’s Sally Drury, IOG regional pitch advisor Rob Donnelly and IOG learning programme architect Chris Gray will take place shortly after. The panel will be providing an update on new technology in groundscare and will have their say on what key developments they feel have had a significant impact on the industry.

It is no surprise that digital media is being utilised by many within the industry and this topic will be explored in the next session. The loss of important active ingredients is becoming more frequent than ever and a number of products are being taken off the market, especially in regards to pest management - so an expert panel will be exploring alternative solutions.

This will be followed by sessions on what’s new in grass cultivars, cordless machinery and robotics.

Reinforced pitches for cricket and tennis will be the final topic of the day with turf consultant Alex Vickers, ECB pitch advisor Chris Wood and Neil Stubley from the AELTC – who will discuss their views.

The Innovation Hub will conclude with the SALTEX 2018 Innovation Award winner’s ceremony.

The programme of events will be replicated on day two of SALTEX.

SALTEX 2018 is free to attend. To register your attendance and beat the queues visit www.iogsaltex.com

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

With the UK forecasts predicting us to have our first wintry bout of the year in the very near future, bringing us to a halt when we see the first snow fall of the season, do not fear, Grizzly have the answer to your wintry prayers. Over 5 inches of snow and freezing temperatures, it’s snow problem with Grizzly Tools!

Arm yourself with our Grizzly ESF2046L Electric Snowblower and being snowed-in will be a thing of the past. With a powerful 2000-Watt induction motor with overload protection and 46cm snow shovel, it’s purpose-built to clear pathways, driveways and small to medium yard areas, safely and quickly.

The high-quality steel snowblower turbine clears snow through the ejector chute and the direction of this can be adjusted through 190 degrees allowing for you to choose the direction of snow projection. The powerful LED light provides better visibility in low light situations and the snow chute is adjustable.

Featuring an ergonomic handle with metal shift bar and safety switch, folding handle bar for space-saving storage and integrated carrying handle, this product is robust, reliable and ready to go on the coldest of days. Perfect for clearing your driveway or areas on-site when the snow’s fallen and before the freeze sets in; safely limit the risk of falling over and quickly aide the traction ability for motorised vehicles to prevent accidents at home and the workplace.

Sample Grizzly’s Electric Snowblower and other winter garden products from our brilliant range for yourself, enjoy the exceptional quality and effective marketing by becoming a Grizzly dealer today: get Grizzly and see the difference!

To see the full range of Grizzly garden tools or for more information visit www.grizzlytools.co.uk

Grizzly Tools manufacture quality power tools for every gardener; sold across Europe for 20 years, the brand is well established and trusted by tradesmen and home gardeners alike. If you’d like to speak to Grizzly Tools about their range of products, please give us a call on 0845 683 2670 or email sales@grizzlytools.co.uk.

UK, Official Carlisle Distributor Tyre-Line, is pleased to announce a raft of new markings and fitments to their extremely popular portfolio of Carlisle Groundscare tyres.

Adding to the already expanded range of AT489 ATV/UTV tyres, the newly expanded Carlisle Groundscare range include popular patterns that include Multi Trac C/S, Turf Trac R/S and All Trail, with new metric sizes which include 245/50-10, 305/60-10, 240/75-10, 265/65-10 & 280/55-15.

Not only do these tyres have metric size markings (all are designed to replace conventional marked tyres) but they are also “E” marked, for vehicle road homologation and are fully compliant to new tyre marking legislation UNECE-106 (which deals with ECE Homologation of certain machinery sector specific tyres). This new legislation is designed to simplify tyre size markings and bring them in-line with other tyre category markings.

1 Series

Tyre-Line will be exhibiting some of the expanded range of Carlisle Groundscare tyres at SALTEX 2018, 31st October – 1st November @ NEC Birmingham, stand D082. Their knowledgeable and friendly staff will be on hand to offer expert advice on all tyre options and fitments for the Groundscare machinery market and answer any questions you may have regarding the new ECE Homologation legislation.

They can also be contacted on 01458 250350 – aftermarket@tyreline.com

All Trail II

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