A week on from the agricultural machinery side of the industry having their major national show, this week saw the turfcare machinery sector kick off 2024's exhibition season with BIGGA's BTME taking place at the Harrogate Convention Centre.

Despite LAMMA last week enjoying bumper crowds and returning exhibitors, I had heard that there was perhaps a certain vibe at the NEC of caution and uncertainty about the year ahead. Our agricultural machinery editor Martin Rickatson mentioned he had picked up on this in his summary of the show last week and his thoughts were echoed by a representative of a manufacturer who exhibited at both LAMMA and BTME, who I bumped into soon after arriving in Harrogate on Monday.

They felt that at the ag show, some parties had been talking the prospects for this year down and were fairly glum in their outlook, despondent at prospective spend from farmers during '24. They on the other hand felt that whist yes, circumstances for all are of course tough, there is a lot to be upbeat about - and it's the manufacturers' duty to be positive and try to gee up the industry. Budgets for buyers whilst tight, are still out there, with professional customers always needing to buy the right products for their projects.

And I must say, this attitude of exuding positivity I did indeed feel throughout the week at BTME - both from exhibitors and visitors. Of course no-one was conga-ing around the halls, wearing party hats and high-fiving everyone they met - but I did genuinely feel from the many conversations I had with both stand-holders and dealers I bumped into walking the aisles, that they were quietly confident - optimistic even - about the year ahead.

This positivity was certainly articulated by Jim Croxton, CEO of show organisers BIGGA, when he spoke to the trade press on day two. He said he was in good spirits following feedback he'd received from exhibitors and visitors, with unaudited numbers up on the previous year - combined with the highest-ever amount of pre-registrations.

Asked whether he was concerned for the health of his show in the face of increased competition in the turf care exhibition sector, he said he hadn't noticed any impact on BTME. He observed that whilst some manufacturers may voice concern that there's too many shows, many are still choosing to exhibit at multiple events throughout the year - and crucially, certainly where his association's show is concerned, people are still walking though the doors. The predicted post-Covid slump for exhibitions had yet to materialise.

"People in this industry, seem to enjoy getting together," said Jim. "But are we concerned? We'll just have to keep our eye on it."

On show

Around the halls, there was plenty for dealers of professional turfcare machinery to find of interest. Some highlights were - 

Kress told me on the afternoon of day one that they'd had a great start to the show, with national sales manager Tony Macer saying the barometer for any show is how many post-show trials they arrange - and with this being their first BTME, they were already pleased with how many new golf club contacts they'd made.

Tony Macer

Tony spoke about what growth the company had seen over the last year and how they fully expect that to continue at pace throughout 2024. He said they were excited about a programme of dealer training they had coming up, with the plan being to perfect what they have been doing together and make it even better.

He said they had been innovating and refining their products based on dealer feedback, for example, making some batteries lighter - and were promoting their RTK robots to the golfing sector which the company believed would change the industry. Also interesting for dealers, Tony told me about a new battery recycling scheme they would be rolling out, at no cost to dealers, where the company would collect and dispose of end-of-life batteries from dealerships. Hopefully we should have more information to report about that initiative soon.

Cramer made a big splash with their impressive debut display at the show. European president Simon Del-Nevo told me to expect to see the company making an impact at trade shows throughout the year, showing off their range of battery products targeting the professional end-user.

Simon Del-Nevo

Simon said how their whole range of 82V machines are 1000-hours runtime tested and how they are proud of their 'trust badge' system offering 2-years commercial warranty, 10 years battery warranty and a 30 days full money-back guarantee if a user decides the kit isn't for them. Taking pride of place of the stand was the heavy-duty ZTR which Simon said would run cutting for 8 hours at 15mph.

In terms of a dealer network, Cramer is in the process of setting one up - as well as recruiting for their own internal team and on-the-road demonstrators. Simon said they want the right dealers in the right places, with perhaps around 200 points of sale around the country. He was buoyant about the prospects for the year ahead saying the industry is changing and how he believed the time is right for a new player with new technology.

Husqvarna were also optimistic about the upcoming 12 months, with Jonny Snowball, head of business unit Professsional UK, telling me the company had a two-fold reason for feeling this way. Firstly he said, with their domestic offerings, they are very much a premium brand, with their purchasing demographic not too affected by swings in the economy.

Jonny Snowball

Secondly, with their professional offerings, the company's robotic solutions for commercial spaces are going from strength to strength Johnny said. With the Ceora large-area robot at work on various golf courses now, other neighbouring courses are seeing practical examples of what benefits these autonomous machines can offer their own surfaces. Benefits both in terms of quality of cut and indeed, with the current recruitment difficulties in the turf professional sector, how using these robots can free up the staff they do have, to concentrate on other work requiring skilled attention.

Kubota had an impressive stand once again, co-exhibiting with Baroness. From Kubota their LXe-261 electric compact tractor and Ze series of electric zero-turn mowers were making their BTME debut - whilst standing out from Baroness was the all-hydraulic LM311 greens and tees mower.

Kubota's stand

Rob Edwards, Kubota's marketing manager, said the company has much positivity regarding the prospects of the year ahead. He said they were advising their dealers to be proactive, but not pushy, believing that persevering in demos for customers would pay off in 2024. "The longer end-users put off that purchase," he said, "the greater the risk to them that the price will increase. So it's important we stay in front of customers."

Cobra were also co-exhibiting, with EGO in their case - and illustrating this team-up perfectly on the stand, was an example of a Fortis cylinder mower powered by Ego batteries. These machines have the ability to transform into seven other machines via the six-bladed cassette system that can be removed and replaced with another accessory cassette in the range to switch its use.

Peter Chaloner and Steven Copnall

MD Peter Chaloner told me they enjoy exhibiting at BTME, so they can reach the golf greenkeepers who they are targeting with these quiet machines directly. 

Makita were also pleased to be meeting greenkeepers with their array of battery-powered machinery. Amongst the new products on their stand, Mark Earles, UK outdoor power equipment & contracts manager, was keen to highlight their latest power barrow and a new pressure washer.

Mark Earles

He said their machinery is increasingly used on golf courses, in noise-sensitive areas, and so exhibiting at Harrogate is great for them to make contact with courses perhaps not previously known to themselves.

Campey were saying they were getting ready to go out on tour, with a series of pitch renovation machinery demonstration days around the country - in conjunction with local dealers including Vincents, Hunts, Sherriff and Double A.

Lee Morgado speaking to Service Dealer editor, Steve Gibbs

Director Lee Morgado, said commercial customers are now aware that they must plan ahead for their purchases, but that demo days like the ones they have planned most certainly transfer into sales. "The bubble hasn't burst yet," he told me, "and it doesn't look like doing so any time soon."

Foley demonstrated an interesting innovation in grinding with their 642 Quick-Spin Reel Grinder, which allowed users to roll a range of walk-behind mowers and reel mower cartridges up onto the unit, without taking the mower apart or heavy lifting.

Paul Rauker

Paul Rauker, the company's CEO and president, described the system as the first of its kind and a "game changer", saying it would allow a unit to be brought into the workshop, rolled up for a quick spin grind, and then be out cutting again in minutes.

Well worth the visit

The halls saw not only end-users checking out what's new on the stands, but seemingly decent numbers of dealers too. I spotted several large groups from multi-branched dealerships, all decked out in their matching jackets, stalking the stands.

Phil Gregg from Ripon Farm Services speaking to Service Dealer's Keith Christiain

I spoke with Phil Gregg from Ripon Farm Services, who as well as getting ready for his own show up the road at the Great Yorkshire Showground on Wednesday and Thursday (on which, more in a subsequent issue of Service Dealer), was seeing what was on offer on the turf care side at BTME. He said that since taking over Adamsons, business has been going great in the commercial sector - and he said he expected that to continue throughout the year.

Cammy and Pete McArthur from Strathbogie Forest & Garden

I also bumped into Pete McArthur and his son Cammy from Strathbogie Forest & Garden, who had come down to North Yorkshire to check out anything intriguing that was new and of interest for the dealership. Pete said how impressed he was with how busy the show felt and how it was clearly full of teams of greenkeepers.

And these golf sector professionals were indeed roaming aisles in packs, from courses not just in the north of the country either, but from all over - which struck me as another positive for the show. It reminded me of something that James Mead, retired head groundsman of Rugby School, had said at our recent Service Dealer Conference. He reminded dealers in attendance there, that it shouldn't just been the head professional they concentrate on speaking to at a facility. Yes, they may be in charge of the cheque-book, but they will also keenly listen to feedback and suggestions from all members of their teams regarding what equipment is required to carry out their work. So to see so many greenkeepers from each course at BTME, must be good news for the organisers, exhibiting manufacturers and the dealers around the country who should ultimately pick-up these leads.

The Service Dealer and TurfPro team with Kubota UK md David Hart at the manufacturer's opening night party, held in conjunction with Baroness and Tillers Turf

I feel BIGGA should be congratulated for putting on a show that once again attracted an engaged and enthusiastic audience. The only slight grumbles I heard were that the layout this year meant that the upstairs hall where Kress, Cramer and Makita were located was slightly out on a limb somewhat, and as a consequence a tad quieter than the rest of the show; the Electric Avenue display was a bit underwhelming; oh and the weird smell of sick had made an unwelcome return to the exhibition centre in a couple of walk-through areas!

But those quibbles aside, the overriding sense I picked up from conversations with a wide range of exhibitors and visitors was that this was a quality show and that with hard work, the turfcare sector has plenty to feel optimistic about this year.