Another week under lockdown ticks by. How has it been for your dealership?

Service Dealer held another video conference call with a panel of dealers from across the UK this week, which once again offered a fascinating snapshot of the situation for the network.

Following the call, Duncan Murray-Clarke, owner of Service Dealer who chaired the meeting said, "Once again our dealers on the call showed resilience and inventiveness.

"I was particularly pleased with the sentiment that the servicing dealer industry should pull together by sharing best practice and knowledge during and beyond this difficult time. We will be focussing on this over the coming weeks and will report back.”

Whilst we have a reasonable sense of how many ag machinery dealers are coping with the restrictions (which was superbly illustrated by the video which Ripon Farm Services produced last week) – the situation for outdoor power equipment (both commercial and domestic) is more varied it seems.

We heard on Wednesday that perhaps the customer demand which had been very high online and on the phones under the first few weeks of lockdown amongst the domestic users, might have eased off a little? Perhaps those customers who are living off their 80% wages at home are thinking they may have other bills, besides from their gardens, where they should be focusing their limited funds currently? If your dealership is open, have you felt this?

The big problem for dealers of commercial machinery of course, is the lack of work being carried out by professional end users. The continued closure of golf courses was talked about as a very real issue. If those facilities are not taking money off their golfer members, they therefore do not have the funds to spend out on new machinery or the servicing of older kit. It appears to be a very real problem right now for commercial dealers.

There was however, slightly better news this week when it was announced that parks won’t be closing and that councils seem to be maintaining those spaces. It is more the professional sporting shutdown and very specifically the golf courses, which are causing concern for some dealers.

To hopefully bring some more clarity for dealers of professional turfcare machinery, on our next dealer conference call we will be joined by senior representatives of the professional trade associations BIGGA and the GMA (formally IOG). It'll be interesting to hear from these bodies, how their members are faring in the current situation and how that is impacting on dealers.

Returning to furloughing for a moment, the HMRC portal for companies to make claims for their staff’s wages opened on Monday this week. Those dealers on the call who we spoke to, who had used the system, seemed fairly happy with how it all worked. Certainly, there were no horror stories about sites crashing or being kicked out of the portal. How did the rest of our readers find it? If anyone would like to share their experiences, please leave a comment below this article.

Talking about staffing in general, we heard a mixture of experiences. The good news for those who have remained open, is it seems that a lot of employees want to come into work – as long as the correct safety provisions have been made of course. In fact, those provisions which dealers have conscientiously undertaken can actually make the workplace quite an appealing place to be at the moment. Dealers are having to put trust in their employees, that they are following the rules in the rest of their lives!

Family businesses or dealerships where there are family groups employed, are doing well. Where people are living and working together the complexities of distancing are eased a little.

We did hear reports of employees who feel less comfortable in the workplace – or in certain cases, some parents who are less keen on their offspring coming into the dealership. In these situations, there is little the employer can do at the moment, other than respect those wishes.

Mostly positive also was the discussion around the supply chain. We heard some dealers particularly impressed with their manufacturer suppliers who kept them informed regularly and have kept the flow the parts coming through as best as could be expected.

This might have been helped by many suppliers, prior to the outbreak, stocking up their warehouses in preparation of any disruptions which may have been caused by Brexit (remember that?!). Concern was expressed though for what may happen to supply the further we move through this thing – and indeed what might lie ahead on the other side? The worry is the stores of parts could become stretched. Obviously it is speculation at this stage, but on more than one occasion it was raised how 2021 could prove very interesting for the industry.

As has been talked about in recent weeks, keeping up communication streams is more vital than ever. Regular contact with customers via social media is proving invaluable for many. Updating customers, letting them know about working practices and the changes which have been implemented within the business, is appreciated. We are lucky in many ways because gone are the days when dealers needed a huge advertising budget to get their message out to their local communities.

Other digital tools are also playing their part in this too – video in particular. Ripon’s professionally made film last week, magnificently told the story of how they are running their business in these unprecedented times. But on a smaller scale, smartphone-shot clips can also get your message across effectively and economically. Machinery demos for instance, lend themselves particularly well to the medium. You can see a great example in this Update today from David Withers of Iseki, which may inspire some ideas for your own opuses!

Progressive dealers have been utilising digital tools such as these and others, for some time now. With consumers getting ever more used to dealing with retailers remotely, it would appear they will become increasingly ubiquitous across the network. The cliche of necessity being the mother of invention, applies.

What was inspiring once again, listening to our panel of dealers, was how forward thinking the network is. Already considerations are turning to an exit strategy and what comes next. It isn’t simply about surviving lockdown, it’s about considering how what is happening now will change the way business will be achieved down the line. Because there seemed little doubt that things will be altered.

Obviously protecting the industry is paramount and dealers are concerned that manufacturers and trade bodies will be doing all that they can to ensure there is a functioning servicing dealer network after this. But there seems to be an acceptance that business will have to evolve.

We know the network has had to reinvent itself many times in the past - it seems it’ll be forced to do so again.

PSD Groundscare have launched a new Click & Collect scheme that they say is centred around driving business through their specialist dealer network.

In a statement PSD said that during these unprecedented times, when many dealers are struggling for sales due to showroom closures whilst still maintaining a service facility, this will be a welcomed new online service that offers their dealers a way to still attract customers.

The service includes a range of selected products from Eliet and AS Motor where customers are now able to order their machinery online and collect them, ready to go, from their locally chosen dealer.

The machines are dispatched directly to the dealer for collection by the customer therefore ensuring that the correct product instruction is given whilst, of course, observing safe social distancing rules.

Stuart Mercer, PSD sales director, said, “The new Click & Collect scheme offers support to our dealer network that generates new business for them, which in the current climate is so important. We’ve kept the scheme as simple as possible for both customers and dealers and it is very much about us offering our valued dealer network an additional selling arm”.

The Toro Company (parent company of Hayter Limited) announced this week that it is giving $500,000 to assist families and communities worldwide that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grant funding from the Toro Foundation will span all regions where The Toro Company operates, and will focus on providing food, health and humanitarian assistance to helping people adversely impacted.

“Supporting our customers and communities is an important part of our culture and core to who we are as a company,” said Rick Olson, chairman and chief executive officer of The Toro Company. “Now more than ever, it is critical that we come together to respond to the unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19 and to support those most vulnerable in our communities.”

The contributions include commitments to several global nonprofits that are assisting in the relief efforts. This includes the American Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross, Feeding America, the World Food Program, the United Way Worldwide, and United Way organisations in communities where The Toro Company’s employees live and work.

An additional element of the global giving effort includes a special program for its employees who wish to personally give to designated COVID-19 relief organisations. Under the program, The Toro Company will match employee contributions to a nonprofit organisation of their choice in support of relief efforts.

David Withers, managing director of Iseki UK has produced the first in a series of virtual demonstrations showcasing the company's machinery.

Davis says he was looking for a way in which he could keep in contact with his customer base, ensuring that when the UK finally comes out of lockdown, grounds care professionals up-and-down the country are fully prepared.

“Demos are an important aspects of our sales process,” explained David, “so given the current restrictions concerning COVID-19, I thought that if customers can’t come to us, we’ll try to come to them, albeit even if it’s only in a virtual sense.”

The video, which was filmed by a member of David's immediate family, was shot using an iPhone in a nearby paddock close to their family home in Suffolk, and as he explains, helps demonstrate an Iseki SXG323+ mower.

“Over the past few weeks, I’ve received a number of calls from prospective customers as well as our dealer network, saying that they’ve had several demos that have needed to be postponed due to the lockdown, so I thought that it made sense to try and answer as many questions about the SXG323+ as possible.

“I’m not sure we will win any awards for the narrative or the production quality of the video, but I felt that it was important to try to connect with as many of our community as possible in a light-hearted and informative manner.

“We wanted to try and pretend that you were here with us in person rather than watching virtually and hopefully we’ve been able to achieve that aim. These are challenging times for everyone working within the turf care sector, and I genuinely look forward to the time - hopefully, next month - when I’ll be able to demonstrate our range personally, rather than virtually."

Sulky Burel has re-started production of its fertiliser spreaders and seed drills at its French factories, after a three-week shutdown due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The manufacturer said in a statement that the restart will "ensure current and new orders can be fulfilled".

They went on to say that modifications have been made throughout the sites to factory workstations, personnel movements, catering areas, changing rooms, plus the provision of personal protective equipment and cleaning products to enable staff to go back to work safely.

Rob Thurkettle, managing director of Sulky UK said, “Most of the orders for new machines were delivered before the factory shutdown and we anticipate the lead-time for delivery of new machines to return to normal in the near future.”

According to Sulky there has been no interruption to parts supply to UK farmers during the busy spring season, and the UK team continue to be able to fulfil parts requests.

Since the factory shutdown on 17 March Sulky’s parts department in France has processed 1,200 orders globally, with 95% of parts sent the same day since couriers continued to be operational.

“Due to the UK Government’s advice to restrict unnecessary travel and work from home where possible, we are unable to provide face-to-face assistance to customers as we normally would, but we have found that most issues can be handled remotely over the phone or by email,” says Rob.

“We would like to thank our dealers for their support during this time and our colleagues in France who have worked hard to modify operations to enable us to get back to production.”

Avant Tecno (UK), the Norfolk-based subsidiary of Finnish compact loader manufacturer Avant Tecno, celebrated 21 years of service yesterday (23rd April 2020) with some new announcements for their UK customers.

In celebration of their 21st birthday, the company have added their most powerful machine to their 8 series range - the Avant 860i Stage V. The largest of the their loaders, the company says it benefits from a lifting capacity of 1,900 kg, a reach of 3.5m, and a turbocharged Kohler KDI 1903 TCR 42 kW/57 hp diesel engine.

Also in recognition of 21 years of service in the UK, the company are offering their customers a 3 year or 3,000 hour warranty with any new machine purchased in 2020. This also has the option to be extended to a 5-year warranty.

Since its launch in the UK, the Avant team has grown to 9 people and has sold in excess of 5,000 loaders through their network of 16 regional dealers, providing the UK with almost 30 sales points. 

Managing director, Raimo Ala-Korpi, said, “We wanted to mark our 21st birthday here in the UK by giving something back to our loyal customer family who have supported Avant over the years."

Belair has chosen JVS Machinery to be the sole distributor of their bedding machines, mixer wagons, and self-loading wagons in the UK.

The French manufacturer produces a range of livestock machinery including zero grazing and forage equipment.

Victoria and James Seaton of JVS Machinery

JVS Machinery is owned and run by husband and wife, James and Victoria Seaton. James, who has experience of contracting and a background in dairy farming, said, “We are based in Shropshire, but we serve the whole of the UK. We know Belair equipment has been popular so we want customers to know that we are here to help with parts and new machines.”

JVS Machinery will be offering the full range of Belair products new, and also refurbishing used units. “Some existing customers have upgraded to newer models and this is creating a market for used machines,” said James.

To support farmers with existing Belair machines the business is also offering parts, servicing and repairs throughout the UK.

James adds: “These machines are made of quality materials and can be reconditioned to a high standard for those who prefer to buy used. We have confidence in the build quality and believe these machines are the best available in the UK for this type of work.”

Kuhn Farm Machinery has appointed Louise Skinner as area sales manager for the eastern counties of England.

Louise Skinner

With a farm machinery dealership family background and experience working with her father, Louise began her career early and has a longstanding interest in the sector. With subsequent experience including dealer development, key account management, demonstrations and customer relations, Kuhn say she is ideally qualified to support dealers in the sale of their products.

“I’m enjoying the challenge of joining such a progressive business and running my own sales area,” says Louise. “I look forward to growing into the role and becoming integral to Kuhn’s success in supporting dealers and farmers in the eastern counties.”

Louise will represent the company throughout East Anglia and will include south Notts, south Lincs, eastern Leicestershire, Northants, Bucks, Beds and Hertfordshire in her area.

She will report to national sales manager Duncan McLeish, who is based at Kuhn’s UK headquarters in Telford.

The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) 2020 Technical Innovation Awards, which would have played part of the cancelled Royal Highland Show, will continue with judging taking place online.

The organisers have announced that they have extended the deadline for entires and dropped the £100 entry fee so as to encourage further entrants.

Designed to recognise design and innovation across agri-sector machinery and equipment, the awards showcase inventions and innovations that demonstrate a positive impact on agriculture, horticulture, equestrian, forestry, renewable energy and estate activities.

The awards are now open until 8th May 2020 via the RHASS website. Judging will be completed online and winners will be informed in June and will be promoted through a PR and digital marketing campaign. A formal presentation of awards will be undertaken at Ingliston House post Covid-19 restrictions.

RHASS chief steward of technical innovation, Christopher Shepherd said, “We are pleased to be in a position to make entering the awards free in light of difficult trading conditions for many manufacturers. We hope that by extending the deadline more organisations will find the time to enter as, if successful, being an award-winner offers a valuable way to achieve a clear marketing advantage."

In other news, the RHASS has also announced that they are joining forces with other UK charities to take part in The 2.6 Challenge from Sunday 26 April with their campaign #TheShowMustGoOn!

The RHASS say the Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact, with the cancellation of the Royal Highland Show and thousands of other events across the UK, resulting in the loss of billions of pounds in income to UK charities, such as themselves.

The 2.6 Challenge will launch on Sunday 26 April, on what should have been the date of the 40th London Marathon, to raise vital funds to help the UK’s charities to carry on their work.

To take part in in the 2.6 Challenge, volunteers agree to complete an activity of their choice based around the numbers 2.6 or 26 and to fundraise or donate to support a UK charity.

The RHASS say for those living and working in Scotland’s rural communities, including their members, supporters and thousands of visitors who come to the Royal Highland Show each year, the rallying cry is #TheShowMustGoOn. RHASS hopes that people will get behind the campaign to protect Scotland’s largest agricultural event and the benefits it brings to the food, farming and rural sector.

To donate, or fundraise for RHASS #TheShowMustGoOn campaign, click here.

In June 2001, two leading Textron (Ransomes) distributors decided to relinquish the franchise and switch to John Deere. They were E T Breakwell of Solihull who had represented the brand for more than 40 years, and Henton and Chattell, Nottingham. Between them, the two dealers employed 130 people and had 120 years experience in the turf machinery business. Shortly after the announcement, Textron announced that they would be setting up their own branch operations in Solihull, Nottingham and Pontefract. This caused much unease amongst the Textron dealer network as they had already run their own dealership (Ransomes Scotland) for many years.

The foot and mouth epidemic of 2001 caused considerable disruption across the agricultural and associated industries. The outbreak started in February and lasted until September, with dealerships up and down the land reporting a severe downturn in business and a freeze on recruitment. A survey by LANTRA indicated that over 45% of dealers had experienced a reduction in sales of more than 50% from February to June, and 48% forecast their sales would drop further to the end of the year and almost 10% thought they would be out of business in twelve months. With movement severely restricted, service and parts business was particularly hard hit.

In the US, Garden Way Inc, manufacturer of Bolens and Troy-Bilt range of outdoor power equipment, filed for bankruptcy, eventually selling assets to MTD (who continued to use the Bolens name until 2010). It was a massive blow to the 550 workers at the Troy plant in New York state, the company having massively expanded in 1993 when it employed over 1500 people. It was being run by CEO Jorge Estrada, also a main board director of Chase Manhattan Bank, the company’s main financier. He raised $7 million in bonds from a local Development Agency to build a new manufacturing facility to build up the iconic Troy-Bilt brand. But it was too fast, too soon for an industry used to steady growth. Estrada left the company in 1997 with a huge agreed payment which almost brought Garden Way to its knees.

After many years of resisting any move into the OEM sector, in March 2001 Briggs and Stratton announced its purchase of Generac Portable Products, paying $55 million for the company but taking on over $200 million debt. B&S CEO John Shiely said “We have historically been only an engine supplier to OEMs, but we believe that the power products sector will evolve rapidly, and we are only mirroring other engine manufacturers such as Honda and Kawasaki” The biggest loser in the European market was Tecumseh who were major engine supplier to Generac.

In January 2001, it was announced that Ron Miller, for many years sales manager of the E P Barrus power equipment division is to join Stiga UK, the new marketing arm for Mountfield. He replaced Bryan Snell who is joining Handys of Swindon as sales manger to develop trade sales. Ron had left E P Barrus in 2000 to take up a new position with MTD Europe where he had been responsible for building the MTD network in mainland Europe.

In April 2001, Kubota UK announced that it was merging all its three sales divisions into a single division. Previously sales of tractor and outdoor power equipment, industrial and construction and the engine market were handled by three separate divisions. The single sales unit is to be run by Rene Orban (left) Kubota UK’s deputy managing director who said “Customers for tractors and mowers are increasingly becoming customers for excavators, generators or for Kubota engines”

2001 IN BRIEF
Electrolux purchase the Italian mower and lawn tractor manufacturer of Marrazini

Harry Leytham (left) is elected President of the Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA), with Keith Christian as chairman of the Outdoor Power Equipment Council (OPEC).

A few days after staging a dealer and press conference at Williams F1 HQ, J H Hancox announced the closure of its Kohler engine division.

In January, Richard Bishop left the Textron Turfcare team after 32 years at Ransomes, and Managing Director Harold Pinto resigned in November.

In July, Allen Power Equipment was appointed distributor of the Robomow mower made by Friendly Robotics. Meanwhile long-serving sales director Lance Bassett announced his retirement in October.

Against the odds and with full backing from participating dealers, Farm and Garden Machinery overcame travel worries to take a party of dealers to the Ariens factory in the US in November, just two months after the 11 September tragedy.

Service Dealer ran a Business Theatre at GLEE in September, speakers included Carl Herden, md of SABO, Tony Evans and Fiona Gebbett of Pan Publicity, Jim Green on internet trading and a training panel with Richard Trevarthen, Ian Jones, Derek Belcher and Nick Rosam

John Fish left Mountfield after 30 years, and Lawrence White joins as territory manager.

PROPHETIC HEADLINE OF 2001

During the year, Stuart Meek of Congleton Garden Machinery contributed his Dairy of a Season, including this prophetic headline from March 2001 issue

AND FINALLY:

LOCKDOWN FILMS FOR MOWER FOLK

In his first article for the magazine in April 2001, Steve Gibbs applied his degree in film studies, to compile a list of the best and most appropriate films for those in the lawnmower industry. Nineteen years on, there will have been others but his Top 5 at the time were:

1. Straight Story

2. Lawnmower Man

3. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

4. Lawn Dogs

5. Forrest Gump

No doubt most of these are available on streaming services 

What are the advantages of stocking Kress Robotik Mowers:

As a dealer, there are many advantages for you, such as no more pre-seasons, no more stock holding and no cost to you until you have sold a mower.

Kress don’t ask for any payment up front - you only pay once you have sold. This helps protect your margin in-store and online, and means every dealer no matter how big or small,l is on a level playing field.

At Kress you get no-cost POS. We don’t charge for our POS, so you can get a stunning display up and running in no time and there is no investment from you. No set up fees, no risks.

Kress robot mowers have advanced technology which make them the best choice for your customers, and all the advantages of working with Kress Robotik make them the best choice for your dealership. Over 50 dealers have already made the smart decision to get in on the action in this growing segment.

Why not contact one of the friendly team today:

Tony tony.macer@positecgroup.com 07535146211 South / National

Jenni jenni.garford@positecgroup.com 07961052347 Central region

Lee lee.wardell@positecgroup.com 07961050088 Northern region

The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) is giving one lucky reader plus their guest, the chance to visit GIE+EXPO, the international landscape, outdoor living, and equipment show in Louisville, USA, in October 2020.

The winner of this amazing free to enter competition, who must currently work at a dealership, will win two tickets to the show as well as travel to the US, transfers and accommodation.

SUPPORTED BY

Between the 21st-23rd October, GIE+EXPO will showcase the hottest products and technological innovations in the global outdoor power equipment industry - and you could be immersed in the latest developments plus be able to network with peers from across the world.

Throughout the three days you will be able to visit over 1000 exhibitors across the showfloor. There is even 20 acres of outdoor space for demonstrations and test-driving, so you can put the equipment through its paces.

You’ll also be able to attend a raft of insightful seminars aimed at boosting your efficiency and bottom line.

This really is an incredible opportunity to get away from the business for a few days and to come back with a wealth of new ideas from across the globe.

To enter the competition and for full terms and conditions click here.

Garden Trader is helping send quality leads to specialist garden machinery dealers in the UK.  It has been designed to  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 2020 will be reinvested into promoting the site online.

Garden Trader

Join the country’s only independent specialist website, created by the team that bring you Service Dealer. Join our subscribed Garden Trader dealers now by clicking on “Register Dealership” and let's fight back against the zero value retailers.

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