This week, myself and Service Dealer owner, Duncan Murray-Clarke, were privileged to be invited to visit AL-KO and Weibang’s UK home in Wincanton, Somerset. 

We were shown around by head of marketing Kieran Powell and md Stewart Anderson. Stewart will be well-known to many of our dealer readers – and it’s quickly apparent how the company’s dealer-focused culture is shaped by his vision. Also clear is how everyone who works for him shares and respects this vision, giving the company a unique feel.

One obvious example of the operation’s singularity is the facility’s large, airy showroom full of their machines. It looks like a fantastic retail space, but it's not. Instead it's set up for dealers to come visit and see the machines on display. It is in fact the old Rochfords retail space but now repurposed as a place for their dealer partners to experience the equipment. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything quite the same anywhere else? You might get a display in a distributor’s foyer. But this has the feel of full-on, large showroom - although one that’s set-up just for the trade. There's pretty much an open invitation, says Stewart, for dealers to come and see the space for themselves. And like everywhere in the Wincanton facility, it is immaculately neat and tidy,

Duncan Murray-Clarke with Stewart Anderson

On show here are their key lines, including the AL-KO, Solo By AL-KO, Mitox and Weibang products -for both domestic and commercial customers. Stewart took pride in telling us “If I can't give the dealer a product at a price that they can make money on, I won't bring that product in.” He also confirmed that they will never stop selling the Solo By AL-KO through specialist dealers only. He said how he wants to partner with dealers who will work with them so they can form long-term relationships.

As part of our visit we were shown around the huge, three-part warehouse. This area has its own dedicated staff of course, however everyone who is part of the small team in Wincanton can pitch in when it gets busy. Which it does each afternoon as orders go out the door to dealers around the country.

A refrain we heard repeated from Stewart was, “You will never find me in my bloody office!” We asked many members of staff as we walked around, where he’d be and the answer was always the same. Everywhere except behind his desk!

Stewart has a real sway with the top brass at both AL-KO and Weibang and as such has a direct influence over how the products are made. Stewart, with his engineering background, designs innovations and refinements for the products himself, with these changes then put forward to the manufacturing teams. The ideas, or requirements for a solution, can often come from dealers feeding back to Stewart any comments they’ve had from their end-user customers.

Stewart’s influence can then get these refinements made, all with the ultimate intention of optimum sales potential for the dealers. Every decision that Stewart and the company makes, he said, is designed to help dealers sell more machines.

New prototypes of machines are tested there in Wincanton. In the workshop during our visit this week, we saw work being undertaken to reduce vibrations to extraordinarily low levels on petrol engined mowers. Duncan and I gripped the handlebars ourselves and even to our layman hands, it was clear the levels were impressive.

When any new product arrives Wincanton, Stewart and the team will take it apart entirely, stripping it down to every individual nut and bolt. They do this to both check the quality and to make sure they have every spare part that is required - and will not ship to the network until they are entirely satisfied. This level of attention to detail, says Stewart, is all for the benefit of their dealers.

This is also reflected in their parts department which like everywhere else in the business, works super efficiently. Certainly, for the commercial spare parts, they need to work accurately and quickly as the parts need to be with the dealers and their customers immediately, because as Stewart says, if these guys are not cutting grass they are not making money. If dealers order from Wincanton by three o'clock, there's a next day delivery. And even that can get pushed slightly later as they tend to stack the trucks until they are literally pulling away from the facility. It's all about speed and efficiency. The most frequently ordered spare parts are kept at the front of the parts department with regular data analysis taking place to see which parts are the most fast moving. Shelves will then be rearranged to make sure the most demanded parts are the closest to hand.

Stewart refers to all these aspects of making the business more efficient as simply “customer care”. For example, all the parts are pre-packaged to make sure that when they're being sent out, they can be picked and put on the truck as quickly as possible. “It's all about our systems,” said Stewart. “Other companies may match me on parts, but none of them will beat me.”

Also, he believes that what makes their business run as it does is their people. “All our teammates do their jobs well,” said Stewart. “What we do differently is our accuracy and our attention to detail. It's all about giving great service to our dealers. They are the single most important part of our company and I would like to think that they all believe that we are above all else and straight-up and honest with them.”

From visiting this week, it was obvious how the culture at Wincanton is one of calmness, with everyone working together for the good of the company - and as a consequence the good of their dealer partners. 

Thinking about their dealers yet again, Duncan and I were shown a PowerPoint of new products coming for them during this year. What they have aimed to do, we were told, is fill the gaps in their ranges that dealers have requested. There are about 30 new products on their way that dealers will be shown first at GroundsFest, including new petrol mowers, zero-turns, robots and battery powered equipment. These new additions reflect how Stewart has been given everything he requested from the product teams in Germany and China, with kit aimed specifically for the UK market.

Stewart emphasised how the business is built on dealers. “I need products to fill all requirements for our dealers to make them happy,” he said. “I enjoy everything to do with the company, but I like the dealer business the best.”

Stewart even phoned a dealer while we were there, off the cuff, to ask him how he would describe his feelings on the Weibang products and the backup received from Wincanton. The dealer said that he gets what he asks for immediately - but not only that, Stewart’s team will go above and beyond to help him out with elements that he hadn't even considered yet. It's beyond good service, he said. He also confirmed that he doesn’t need to offer discount on the professional Weibang machines and makes good profit on both the wholegoods and the spares.

Stewart concluded our visit, telling us that their company mantra is to not do anything on the cheap for the dealer. “It’s all about giving good service,” he said. “The key is keeping the machines cutting.”

Duncan and I thank Stewart and Kieran for their time this week and look forward to their continued support of the Service Dealer Conference & Awards as our principal sponsor.