It's an exciting day today when we can reveal the first details regarding what November's Service Dealer Conference has in store for our dealer delegates.

The organising team have confirmed that branding expert, Daryl Fielding, will be delivering the keynote address as part of our Taking Care Of Business theme. Daryl is at the top of her game, having been the brand director for Vodaphone UK and working for such high profile names as Ford and Cadbury. In her time she has also gone from organising New Labour’s advertising communications in the 1997 election to devising the famous Dove ‘Campaign for Real Beauty’. So it's fair to say she knows her stuff!

She will be speaking on the subject of company branding and will no doubt be drawing parallels of how her experiences in the corporate world can relate to independent dealers of outdoor powered machinery. As Service Dealer owner, Duncan Murray-Clarke, explains today, "Daryl brings a wealth of brand experience at the highest level with a message relevant to all. She will explain how a brand is now far more than just look, feel and messaging”.  

I personally think that Daryl is an inspired booking for our current industry climate. It seems more important than ever that dealers are arming themselves with the top-level, up-to-date information to help distinguish and make themselves stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Whenever I speak to dealers about this subject of branding, I often hear how yes, it's of course important that they present the quality manufacturers that they partner with in a positive manner in store. However, of a higher priority, is that fact that it's their name above the door.

Getting that name known locally and then making the community aware of what it stands for and represents, is always going to be one of the most crucial elements of running a successful dealership.

I'm no expert, but doing a bit of reading around the subject, there are clearly some vital areas that branding can help with for a independent dealer. It sets them apart from the competition, fosters trust and loyalty, supports effective marketing efforts, enhances perceived value, and provides stability in the face of market changes. By spending time cultivating their brand identity, dealers can position themselves for long-term success and create a lasting impact on their local market.

So a trip to the Conference this year to hear Daryl's presentation should result in our dealer delegates taking home some nuggets of absolute gold that can then be put into practice back at their businesses.

And the organising team are not done yet. There are further announcements to be made of more expert speakers and confirmations of what topical subjects the ever-popular breakout sessions will be covering this time around.

Also not forgetting, all the information you will need to enter your company in the prestigious 2023 Dealer Of The Year competition will be on its way shortly.

So do keep your eyes on this Weekly Update, the magazine and our social channels to keep up to date with all the announcements. 

There might have been some negativity in the industry discourse just lately, but there's plenty of positivity to look forward to with the Conference & Awards this year.

Service Dealer has announced that the keynote address at November's Conference will be delivered by Daryl Fielding, a branding expert whose career has included leading global strategies for food brands such as Kraft, Cadbury and Trident.

Daryl Fielding

Daryl was also part of the team that famously launched the Dove real beauty campaign – taking the brand to a new and modern audience.

The former brand director of Vodafone UK will be sharing how bringing a brand to life, is as much about its people and good leadership as it is about the end product. During her keynote, delegates will discover how to make their brand stand out from the crowd – and how their people can be part of that process. 

Service Dealer owner Duncan Murray Clarke said, “We are delighted to confirm Daryl Fielding as our keynote this year. Daryl brings a wealth of brand experience at the highest level with a message relevant to all. She will explain how a brand is now far more than just look, feel and messaging”.  

Taking place on Thursday 30th November 2023 at the Crowne Plaza, Stratford upon Avon, the theme for this year's event is Taking Care of Business.

Electric UTV supplier, Electric Wheels, has announced the results of a survey of farmers who attended Groundswell and Cereals this year, revealing their attitudes toward transitioning to electric-powered farm transport.

Electric Wheels’ managing director, Chris Hurdle

The questionnaire was answered by visitors to the dealership’s stand at the live events, with one lucky farmer winning a week’s UTV hire. 

Almost half (44%) of the respondents currently have a UTV, and nearly all own a diesel or petrol-powered machine. When asked about what they use their UTV for, general farm tasks was the most common answer (70%), followed by livestock and equine husbandry, then groundskeeping (12%). 

Of those farmers that do not have a UTV, most either used a four-wheel drive or quad bike instead. “Whenever a potential customer who owns a quad bike approaches us, they already understand their shortcomings,” said Electric Wheels’ managing director, Chris Hurdle. “Being exposed to the weather and the machine noise are both issues, but the big one is safety. It is tough to turn a UTV over, whereas quad bikes have a bad reputation for doing so. The conversion from quad bikes to UTVs seems to be a direction of travel for farmers.”

For those considering an electric UTV, the price was perceived as the main barrier to not doing so. Chris believes this perception comes from the car market, where moving to electric involves a significant premium. “This is not the case with UTVs. You can take any vehicle in the Electric Wheels range, compare it against a diesel machine with a similar power output, and the prices are very comparable. You do not have to pay more to go electric.

“Some farmers who completed the survey were worried about the range, but we will always say that an electric UTV has enough range for a day's work."

Pickford electric vehicle on show on Electric Wheel's stand at Groundswell

Almost two-thirds of respondents cited running costs as the most likely reason for choosing an electric UTV over a conventionally powered vehicle, with the electric cost being only 10-15% of the fuel range equivalent. It is the same with maintenance costs. There is no engine, fuel tank, or filters and only a small amount of oil sealed in the transmission, so when a service takes place, much less needs maintaining.

“The residual value is an often-overlooked factor with running costs," confirmed Chris.

The environmental profile is also a motivating factor when transitioning to electric. "Some of the first UTVs we sold into the agricultural market went onto farms practising regenerative farming," said Chris, "often with the help of grant funding they have secured. We are seeing more interest from conventional farms that want to improve their environmental profile or face pressure from their customers."

When asked how much they would expect to pay for a UTV, 35% felt it should be less than £15,000, and 43% would spend up to £20,000. According to Chris, these price brackets are where Electric Wheels typically receive inquiries and have UTVs to match. The lead-acid battery version of the flagship Nipper UTV costs £13,495. However, most farmers upgrade to the Nipper Pro, which has a lithium-ion battery that increases the price to £16,995.

Chris founded Electric Wheels in 2019 and has seen farmers' attitudes change considerably. “Consideration for the environment has improved since we first started selling electric UTVs, and there is a realisation that electric is a realistic alternative. In another year or two, it will become the norm. When they sum up all the advantages, it is an obvious choice for the farmers who go electric," Chris concludes.  

Service Dealer are pleased to announce that Catalyst are returning to our Conference & Awards, as a Networking 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, "We are so pleased to welcome our friends from Catalyst to the conference again this year. We know it's going to be fabulous day for all our dealer delegates."

James Buchanan, sales director for Catalyst added, "We love taking the time to meet with like-minded business leaders and find this conference to be the perfect place to do that within our industry."

Look out for further announcements, including confirmation of seminar and breakout sessions, soon.

South Wales-based dealership Hopkins Machinery has been appointed as a Kverneland dealer to cover south and mid-Wales, plus parts of west Gloucestershire.

Evan Hopkins of Hopkins Machinery

Headquartered at St Brides Wentloog, Newport, South Wales, the family-run business started by Ted Hopkins in 1987 offers extensive reach through its depots that include Brecon in Powys, and its newest location at Kilcot, near Newent, Gloucestershire.

“We are extremely pleased to be given this opportunity to grow our business and also reach an entirely new customer base through our latest depot at Kilcot,” said Evan Hopkins, who is involved with day-to-day running of the business alongside his parents Chris and Jayne. 

“We have been looking to grow our business by providing a much more focussed approach for new and existing agricultural customers, and the broad Kverneland portfolio is a perfect fit,” he said.

Hopkins Machinery operates with 18 service technicians across the business, providing mobile and workshop-based support. And its latest depot, a former Buildbase site at Kilcot, Gloucestershire, provides extensive workshop facilities and yard space from which Hopkins Machinery say they can continue to grow.

“Pushing our area north and east through the Kilcot depot has opened up greater opportunities for arable equipment,” said Evan. “Alongside Kverneland’s grass and feeding machinery, an extensive range of arable equipment gives us exactly what we and our customers need, to move forward.”

Joe Bell, Kverneland managing director, said: “We are pleased to welcome Hopkins Machinery into the Kverneland dealer network, as the forward-thinking, family-run dealership actively seeks a wider customer base in the agricultural sector.”

Laurence Gale, features contributor to Service Dealer and editor of our sister title TurfPro, will be part of the line-up of expert keynote speakers at the upcoming Landscape 2023 trade show.

TurfPro editor, Laurence Gale

Loz says, "I will offering tips on lawn maintenance as well as general advice on weeds, pests and diseases in lawns. I'll also be sharing some thoughts on different mowing regimes.

"It'll be great to say hello to as many Service Dealers readers as possible who come along."

Organisers of the Landscape show say they have an inspiring line up of over 100 keynote speakers this year. They say they are well-known for their extensive educational events and promise that this year’s edition will deliver "exceptional content from renowned experts and thought leaders".  

The event takes place in Hall 3 at the NEC, Birmingham on the 27th & 28th of September. 

Iseki UK and Ireland has announced that Euromec has officially joined their network as one of their latest dealers.

Based in Market Harborough, the dealership has already showcased the manufacturer's range of mowers and tractors on their website.

A spokesperson for Iseki said of the partnership with Euromec, "Together, we are committed to providing our customers with unmatched quality and reliability."

Writing on LinkedIn, Annie Povilionis, sales coordinator at Euromec said, " We are very much looking forward to working with all the team Iseki UK & Ireland. We are already off to a great start!"

Redexim UK have announced the appointment of Allen Whellans as their new area sales manager for the North.

Allen Whellans

With over 10 years of experience in groundcare sales and a further eight years working in greenkeeping, the company says Allen is well placed to provide expert knowledge and support to customers across the Northern counties including North Yorkshire, Cumbria, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Allen fast-tracked his way through an SVQ at Oatridge Agricultural College, completing a level 2 and 3 Amenity and Horticulture (Sports Turf) course in three years as opposed to four. This keenness to learn continued during his role as assistant head greenkeeper at Duns Golf Club, where he went on to complete additional industry training and obtain all relevant qualifications.

A position with a groundcare dealership then arose which saw Allen carve out a career in sales, working with leading franchises and playing a pivotal role in the field team, supporting customers across the Lothians and Borders. From here, he then went on to become an area sales manager for STIHL in Scotland, before more recently holding the position of groundcare division manager at Pearsons of Duns/ Border Chainsaw & Lawnmower Services.

This wealth of industry understanding serves Allen well for his new position say Redexim.

Commenting on his appointment Allen says, “I’m proud to be joining the Redexim team at such an exciting time in their development and look forward to playing my part in growing the brand and supporting our excellent partners in their endeavors of getting the fantastic product range to market.”

With a plethora of machinery, technology and productivity grants expected to re-open in December 2023/January 2024, the Midlands Machinery Show, which takes place on 8th and 9th November, says its well timed for farming customers looking to make the most of these.

On hand to give advice about the various grants likely to be available will be property and business consultants Brown & Co, exhibiting at the show. Tom Cheer, agricultural business consultant at the firm, looks at the options.

“The main grant relevant to the show is the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) Productivity and Slurry, which is very similar to the old Countryside Productivity Small Grants scheme and aims to improve productivity and efficiency on farm. Applications are online, selecting items from an eligible list and getting paid a fixed amount of grant no matter how much is spent on the item,” explains Mr Cheer.

FETF has had two rounds so far and is expected to open for a third in December 2023/January 2024. Direct drills, camera guided equipment, liquid fertiliser applicators and small seed drills for cover and/or companion crops, some on display at the Midlands Machinery Show, including from KRM, Grange Machinery, Sands Agricultural Machinery, Househam sprayers and Knight sprayers, have proved popular.

“For a 6m direct drill in round two, the amount of grant awarded was £18,720; if it was capable of applying fertiliser simultaneously it was £25,000, shows Mr Cheer. “For N-Sensors it was £6,675 and for camera-guided inter-row vegetable weeders, a 6m machine attracted £22,745.”

The list of eligible items varies from round to round but is usually added to, with the odd item removed, says Mr Cheer. “The maximum FETF grant is £25,000 but farmers can choose as many items as they like to meet this amount. It is worth bearing in mind that for each item, a minimum specification must be met which the Rural Payments Agency is incredibly strict about.”

The grant helps farmers to access more technical machinery at a lower cost, says KRM managing director Mike Britton. “KRM machinery’s tine drill SMP model will be on show at the Midlands Machinery Show and has so far been eligible for the FETF grant. It promotes regenerative farming, moving the soil less, leading to less release of carbon.

“The grant has also covered KRM Calibrators – control systems for fertiliser spreading and variable rate application and KRM Patchwork GPS section control. Both are driving efficiency, meaning farmers use less fertiliser on the field, and less fertiliser is wasted through run-off, with environmental benefits.”

Mr Cheer, continued, “Improving Farm Productivity is about bringing robotics on farm like robotic harvesters, sprayers and weeders, aimed at the vegetable industry. But also autonomous tractors and robotic milking and feeding systems - anything with a camera to sense its surroundings and decision-making capabilities.”

Applying for FTF grants is a two-stage process involving an ‘expression of interest’ or ‘online checker’, followed up by a full application. The grant accounts for 40% of the equipment cost with 60% match funding from the farmer. The minimum grant available is £35,000 and the maximum, £500,000.

Currently closed to new applications, the FTF is expected to re-open in December 2023/January 2024, says Mr Cheer.

“We are looking forward to meeting farmers at our stand at the Midlands Machinery Show to discuss the grant opportunities available.”

Robert Hafredal ihas been appointed Husqvarna Group’s new EVP Global Information Services and Group CIO, effective August 1, 2023. 

Robert Hafredal

Robert has held the position as acting EVP Global Information Services since December 2022. 

“I am proud to pass on responsibility for the future development of Global Information Services into Robert’s capable hands and pleased to welcome him to the Group Management Team. With his leadership, broad experience, and dedication he will further strengthen our IT work that truly is the backbone of all our operations.” said Pavel Hajman, CEO at Husqvarna Group. 

Since joining the Husqvarna Group in 2010, Robert Hafredal has held various leadership positions , including as Vice President IT Services and Solutions within Husqvarna Forest & Garden, Vice President Digital Commerce and Vice President Group Supply Chain Management. 

“Digital technology is a central part of our product and service offering and this will only expand as the digital and physical worlds combine to create great customer experience. I look forward to further developing the continued success of Husqvarna Group by empowering our business through sustainable technology and data”, said Robert Hafredal. 

Never get bogged down cutting dense grass again. The brushless motor spins the blade with a monster torque of 9.5 Nm for optimal cutting efficiency.

And with high vacuum levels and spiral tunnel design, bagging and mulching capabilities are on par with commercial petrol-powered walk-behind mowers. Go green without compromising on performance.

The Kress Commercial line of tools for turf care professional and landscapers has been designed from the ground up to withstand the unprecedented power delivered by the 8-Minute CyberPack batteries.

Powered by a 1.6kW motor, the KC711.9 delivers 9.5Nm torque easily rivalling petrol machines of an equivalent size. The 51cm reinforced steel deck, heavy duty composite wheel, all rubber tyres and sealed ball bearing construction will provide a long service life.

The mower has an intuitive LED control panel, which is also found on the other machines in the Commercial range. This makes varying the self-propelled speed and turning the machine on and off a simple experience.

The system also features an advanced constant speed control that will vary the cutting speed via both the loading of the grass and in line with the self-propelled speed being used to ensure you maintain a higher working efficiency. The handle itself has an ergonomic design and all steel construction. The handle has a quick fold mechanism for ease of storage.

Our unique spiral bagging tunnel provides increased air flow, forcing clippings to the back of the bag for a more complete bag fill. This provides an additional up to 33% capacity, matching the performance in petrol mowers.

A long reach mulching plug combined with the gator mulching blade transforms this machine into an effective mulcher, along with the continually flat deck to give more precise and even mulching performance. There are 4 types of blades available for this machine to suit all environments from a coastal low lift that can also provide a long run time, a medium lift multi-purpose blade, a high lift blade for bagging, and then a gator-type blade for the most effective mulching performance.

2-point height adjustment ensures professional landscapers can make the required adjustments easily. There is a replaceable front bumper guard to ensure the battery is protected and the mower unharmed when being transported in the back of a truck or on a trailer, and the steel wear plate provides side protection from bumps and scrapes.

Welcome to the post-petrol era.

A game-changer in every way, Kress is leading the charge with a breakthrough innovation in battery-powered technology, built to deliver the performance and power of petrol.

Learn more: kress.com

The flexible and versatile electric RINO® implement carrier is powered by a 48V Lithium-ion battery pack and available as a 22.5kWh or 30kWh system. The RINO® has zero emissions, low running and maintenance costs, low noise and up to 6-hours* (22.5kWh) and 8 hours* (30kWh) mowing time.  The standard RINO® charger that comes with the machine has a 13amp plug to connect to most sockets.

The RINO® enables you to work in urban or noise sensitive areas with significant reduction in noise levels and incomparable comfort for those in the immediate environment. The RINO®’s low noise level will be appreciated in city centres, residential areas, schools, colleges, universities, holiday parks, hospitals, nursing homes, etc.

The comfortable driving position with full 360° visibility, front wheel drive and rear steering with an optimal turning radius for easy manoeuvrability in tight areas. The front mounted implements provide a clear and complete view of the working area allowing quick and safe intervention by the operator.

The control and information centre is designed for functionality with only essential elements. The principal data is shown on a display with the ability to select the data required. The direction of travel and maximum speed are regulated by a rotary dial.

A joystick controls the raising and lowering of the implement, which can “float” at the push of a button to follow uneven terrain. A simple push button starts the implement and the lifting circuit when working and deactivates it when traveling.

A range of electric front mounted implements are available for the RINO® comprising a 120cm or 150cm Y-Blade flail mower, a 120cm or 150cm 3-Blade rotary fine cut mower, Mulching kit for the rotary fine cut mowing deck, 160cm sickle mower, WeedRipping arm, 120cm sweeper brush with and without collection and 130cm or 160cm hydraulic angling snow ploughs. All these implements connect onto the RINO® front mounted hydraulic A-Frame and plug in the socket or standard hydraulic spools eliminating PTO shafts.

The RINO® options are a fully homologated road legal model, cab with heater, differential lock, Agricultural tyres, wheel weights, 360° lights and fast chargers.

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

*Depending on terrain, operator performance and grass conditions.  

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