As you'll be well aware, a dealer's working life involves constant learning.

Ongoing education is part and parcel of the industry. One example would be the attending of formal, manufacturer-run events where specific machinery training is given (as we see in this story today with over 50 Deere dealers taking part in a Europe-wide turfcare technology seminar). Other instances would include visiting trade shows or conferences to update knowledge regarding new products or perhaps to listen to expert speakers hold forth on sector-related topics.

Closer to home, what might be described as the most important education that any dealer undergoes is the continual, on-the-job learning that takes place every single day with the running of a successful dealership. Speaking to dealers over the years, it is clear how valued this learned experience is, when it comes to areas such as recruitment.

However, this tuition is not all one way. Dealers must also act as educators themselves. There is the obvious in-house training that dealers will impart to their members of staff, but as one dealer pointed out to me recently, there is also crucially, the education of customers.

I must admit this isn't an area I had particularly considered until I had it highlighted. Like many customers most likely do, I considered the expertise that dealers impart to those who use their dealerships, as helpful customer service. But there is most definitely a sense that the customers are being taught.

The dealer I heard from spoke of educating their customers on areas such as time management for when to book their machine in for a service, when to think about the first cut of the season, or best practice regarding what fuel to use in machinery.

They said, "I tell our team that it is our duty to educate these customers on a yearly basis. They come knocking on the front door because we are the experts in the industry and without us, they would be lost. We hold their hand and educate along the way, and this is how we turn these customers into customers for life."

It is so true that local, independent dealers have such a fantastic opportunity to educate their customers for the benefit of both parties. By providing comprehensive information and guidance, they will empower their customers to make informed decisions, ensuring satisfaction and safety - which should inevitably lead to an ongoing, loyal relationship.

This education on the capabilities and functionality of the machinery being sold, is not just restricted to the showroom these days either. As we've heard at our conferences in the past, or via our Dealer Digital Toolkit, with online channels and social media, there is a golden opportunity for dealers to regularly publish articles, videos, and tutorials offering troubleshooting advice, and insights for customers to study before even entering the store. This should place the dealer clearly in the minds of their community as a trusted source of information and education.

Business experts would say that well-informed customers are more likely to make confident purchases that align with their needs. By educating customers about different options, features, and performance characteristics, dealers can help them choose the right equipment for their specific applications.

It should therefore follow that satisfied customers are more likely to return time and again for future purchases and also recommend the dealer to others.

As someone once famously said; education, education, education.

Service Dealer are pleased to announce that Kubota UK will be returning to the Conference & Awards this year, as a Gold Sponsor.

A new venue has been announced for this year, with the Crowne Plaza at Stratford-Upon-Avon taking on hosting duties - with the date to mark up in your diaries being 30th November 2023. 

Service Dealer owner Duncan Murray-Clarke  said, "It's great news that Kubota UK have chosen to join us at our new venue this year, supporting our event dedicated to the independent dealer network."

Rob Edwards, marketing manager of Kubota UK said, “Kubota are committed to supporting and recognising the talent within our industry and are delighted to be an ongoing Gold sponsor at the Service Dealer Awards.  

"The awards, where the conference speakers always offer up new and provocative insights to how we move our industry forwards, allow the chance for the industry to celebrate together as we award dealer excellence”. 

Look out for an announcement of the theme for this year's Conference & Awards in the upcoming issue of Service Dealer magazine.

John Deere has announced the appointment Deanna M. Kovar as the future president of its Agricultural Machinery business, effective November 1st, 2023 - a move that they describe as part of its long-term succession plan.

Deanna M. Kovar

Kovar will oversee Regions 1 (Africa, Middle East and Asia) and 2 (Europe and CIS), the presidency for the Agricultural Equipment business, and the Turf businesses. She previously led the Precision Agriculture business unit.

The company says Kovar will spend the remainder of this fiscal year familiarising herself with the new role in addition to her existing responsibilities.

As of November 1st, she will then be given full responsibility for this post. On that date, Markwart von Pentz will assume an advisory role to CEO John C. May before his retirement in 2024.

von Pentz said, “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished with John Deere in Europe, Africa and Asia over the past years. Now is a perfect moment to pass on the baton and I can think of no better successor than Deanna."

Von Pentz has been one of two global presidents of the Agricultural Machinery business since 2007. In his long period as a board member Deere say he has played a major role in shaping and strengthening the company's position and economic power, particularly in South America, Europe and Asia, over a period of 16 years. Von Pentz also set in motion the company's realignment toward the digitisation of agriculture.

It is precisely in this digitalisation of agriculture that the manufacturer says Kovar is a proven expert. In her previous position, she was responsible for the area of Precision Agriculture, and was instrumental in the company's transformation into a 'Smart Industrial Company' and in the introduction of the [John Deere Production Systems'.

Kovar said, “For me, it was exciting to observe Mark's early commitment to digitalisation and our common goal was always to meet the complex and digital demands of farmers."

In the transition phase to the new position as Head of Public Europe, she will be trained by von Pentz in the Small and Medium-Sized Agricultural Machinery and Turf divisions.

Redexim UK have announced the appointment of Paul Thomas as their new sales manager for the southern counties.

Paul Thomas

   
After obtaining sports turf maintenance qualifications at Milton College and Shuttleworth College, Paul began his career as an assistant greenkeeper for a leisure facilities maintenance company in Cambridgeshire before moving into sales, with his first sales role at a nearby groundcare dealership. An opportunity then arose to join Ben Burgess & Co in 2016 where he held the position of area sales manager. Together with visiting and supporting existing and prospective customers throughout the purchase and after-sales process, here he says he also gained valuable hands-on experience with a range of machinery franchises - including the Redexim natural and synthetic portfolio. 

Upon his appointment, Paul said, “I’m really looking forward to representing Redexim and having the opportunity to work with the excellent network of dealers throughout the south.

"It’s exciting to join the company at this stage of my career and, having worked within a dealership, I feel I am well placed to support my customers - understanding the demands of their business while playing my part in Redexim’s future.”

Director of commercial operations Paul Langford added, “We are very excited to welcome someone with Paul’s level of knowledge, experience and enthusiasm to our technical team. With his in-depth understanding of the Redexim range, Paul is ready to hit the ground running in what promises to be a very busy summer ahead.” 

The Open returns to Royal Liverpool Golf Club for the 13th time in July and helping prepare the course is a raft of battery powered Toro turfcare machinery.

L-R: Mike Turnbull, Reesink Turfcare; James Bledge, Royal Liverpool Golf Club; Jon Cole, Reesink Turfcare and Steve Halley, Cheshire Turf Machinery

Machinery dealer Cheshire Turf Machinery who has worked with Royal Liverpool for over 20 years and Toro’s UK distributor Reesink Turfcare will be providing extensive championship support and a fleet of machines for the duration of the event.  

Steve Halley, managing director of Cheshire Turf Machinery, said, “It really has been striking how enthusiastic and excited links manager James Bledge  and his team are about staging The Open. We are delighted to support their efforts to make the event as successful as possible.”

While most of the machinery fleet at the links at Hoylake on the west coast of England is Toro, on the greens, tees and surrounds will be the Toro eFlex 1021 lithium-ion battery-powered pedestrian greensmowers and Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 all-electric ride-on greensmowers.

Links manager James Bledge explained, “We have a new par 3 which will be the biggest change since The Open was last hosted here - it is a very short but challenging hole with stunning views of the estuary and Wales. What hasn’t changed is the club’s commitment to sustainable course management in that we’re always looking for the best carbon-neutral options. And when you find a pedestrian greensmower that provides this level of precision and quality, powered by a battery, you don’t look anywhere else.

“The weather will dictate the greens speed for the week and the work we have done in the last year will ensure we have more control over this. For us that’s six teams of two out doing single and double cuts with the eFlex 1021 pedestrian mowers.”

James continued, “The greenkeepers are the heroes here. They’re the ones out there putting in the hours and miles; they are an extremely talented team.” 

“I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this. Creating the most diverse volunteer team handpicked from all the best places, bringing together someone from every championship venue, having mentors from across the world to turn to and having the best brands and businesses to work with has been rewarding and will be an incredible opportunity for everyone involved. It’s great to see everyone come together with the common goal to put on the best event possible.”

Jon Cole, divisional business manager at Reesink Turfcare, added, “It’s a privilege to be a part of The 151st Open and supporting the team at Royal Liverpool throughout the Championship again. We have worked with at least 30 of the 40 host venues of The Open that have taken place in our 40 years as Toro distributor and to be involved is always an honour.”   

Grange Machinery has appointed its first dealer in the Republic of Ireland, Kellys of Borris, which is based in Borris, Co Carlow and its sister branch Kelly’s of Laois, Abbeyleix, Co Laois.

A family-run company based in Holderness, East Yorkshire, Grange Machinery manufactures agricultural machines and wearing parts that they say offer affordable solutions to farmers across the UK, Europe and as far afield as New Zealand.

Also family-run, Kellys was established in 1957 and has been serving the Irish market for 66 years. It is one of Ireland’s largest stockists of new and used agricultural machinery, farm machinery and plant equipment, and has recently taken delivery of its first Grange machines, a 4m Close Coupled Toolbar and 3m Grassland Loosener. 

“Grange Machinery is delighted to have appointed Kellys as its first dealer in the Republic of Ireland,” commented managing director Rhun Jones. “There is an excellent fit between our products and the range offered by Kelly’s and the company has a strong presence and long-standing reputation in an important Irish farming area.” 

Wayne Barry, branch manager at Kellys of Laois commented: “We were looking for a range of products to complement the Horsch and Dalbo cultivation equipment that we offer and were very impressed with Grange Machinery, as a company and in terms of what it can offer. With customers moving towards min-till, the Grange Close Coupled and Low Disturbance Toolbars are ideal, while the Grassland Loosener will be of great interest to our livestock farmers.

“We look forward to showcasing the product range to our customers in the coming months.”

STIGA has announced its participation as platinum sponsor in the 9th edition of the Global DIY Summit 2023, the networking event for the home improvement industry that will be taking place from 14th to 16th June in Berlin.

With approximately 1000 industry leaders attending the event, the 9th Global DIY Summit is described as providing a platform for senior executives from leading home improvement, retail, and manufacturing firms to meet the élite worldwide. STIGA says no other congress brings together over 400 retailers from the DIY and gardening sectors, across 55 countries. 

In a statement, STIGA said, "Now more than ever, it is essential for retailers and manufacturers to tap into the latest trends, listen to their consumers, and invest in the world of technology. This is precisely where STIGA’s ambition to innovate fits into. At STIGA, innovation is the core and achieved thanks to the combination of expertise in gardening with consumer experience and care for nature: the Global DIY Summit represents an occasion to showcase the brand, its values, and its products featuring the most disruptive technology to a global audience of buyers and executives."

As a platinum sponsor of the event, the manufacturer will have an exhibition space of 28 square meters equipped with digital totems and screens. Among the products displayed, the audience will see their A1500 Autonomous Robot Mower, the brand’s hero product protected by more than 30 patents on autonomous navigation; STIGA Swift, the first collecting ride-on mower that runs on shareable batteries; and a selection of handhelds to present the new 2X20V battery system.

Royal Dornoch Golf Club is thought to be the first golf club in the world to fit defibrillators to all its buggies.

The buggies chosen to carry this potentially life-saving device are Star EV’s Capellas from Reesink Scotland. 

Royal Dornoch in Scotland already had defibrillators in the clubhouse and halfway house, but this concept goes one step further to ensure they can be accessed while out on the course and provide treatment more quickly. 

The initiative and decision to put the devices on buggies came about by coincidence, as Royal Dornoch general manager, Neil Hampton explains: “The arrival of the buggies coincided with David Sullivan, a Surrey businessman and ex-military trainer, visiting the course on his ten-week challenge putting a golf ball from John O’Groats to Land’s End, stopping along the way to teach 30,000 people CPR.

“We got talking about how we could support David’s mission to promote widespread access to the lifesaving devices and it seemed logical to install them on the buggies that are hired out to golfers with medical conditions. In fact, it almost seemed unbelievable that it hadn’t been done before.”

It seems the concept has started a trend and the club has already had enquiries about the project from other clubs. Neil explained, “There’s been some promising interest. Defibs are so easy to use, training isn’t even needed. They talk you through the process and alert you if treatment isn’t needed. There’s nothing to fear about putting them on your buggy fleet, they can even be insured.” 

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