Service Dealer held another of our regular video conference calls on Wednesday, this time once again with senior representatives of manufacturers, business service providers and trade associations.

The impression which I was left with this week, which it must be stressed comes with some clear caveats, was there's perhaps a sense a mild optimism in the air.

I realise 'mild optimism' has never had folks hanging out the bunting - but it's something at least! A light at the end of the tunnel perhaps?

What it does show is that the industry is coping and is looking ahead to when we move back towards a normality - or rather to what many are now referring to as the 'new normal'. 

You can see from reports in the Weekly Update today and last week, that manufacturing is being ramped up once again across Europe - albeit with restrictions in place obviously. This should hopefully get the supply chain moving in the right direction (not that reports on that front have been that bad so far). Somewhere down the line this disruption will no doubt be felt. Whether that's later this year or into next, we shall see.

It was also pleasing to hear this week the efforts which our trade associations are making behind the scenes. You can read here about the dialogue with government which the AEA and BAGMA are having, in order to make the case for commercial groundscare.

One hopes the powers that be pay attention to this well timed letter from the associations, because the caveat I mentioned amongst the mild optimism, very much applies to the commercial groundcare machinery sector. We heard again this week that this is the area of the land based engineering industry which is most feeling the pinch.

The talk was that if golf courses in particular, can find a safe way to gradually start up operations over the coming weeks - with presumably closed clubhouses, smaller playing groups, longer gaps between tee-times - then this would be a massive boost for the commercial machinery dealers and the manufacturers who supply them.

To illustrate just how tough it is for the commercial sector currently, one manufacturer told us that sales of their professional machinery are down approximately 40% on where they were this time last year - and that's with the relatively good growing conditions that 2020 has seen. Operators of commercial kit are only spending the bare minimum required. Plans for increasing commercial fleets have gone out of the window for the time being for many.

Compare this with the domestic machinery side and it appears to be quite a different picture. We heard from a particular company this week, who said that despite around 57% of their dealers being closed at the moment, sales of their consumer products in April were only 5% down on where they were during the same month in 2019.

That struck me as really quite remarkable. I guess what it illustrates is that a) there's no real significant drop off in consumer demand for these products. And b) there are dealers out there who chose to stay open who are finding success. Plus you can now add to this list an increasing number of dealers who are now finding methods which suit them, that are allowing them to reopen.

Feedback from these retailers to their suppliers, we were told, has been fairly upbeat under the circumstances. Described as proactive and entrepreneurial, more dealers have been settling on safe practices that are within the guidelines and appropriate for their businesses. 

Agricultural machinery dealers are also incredibly busy. It was described as a 'perfect storm' for these guys currently. Following on from a very wet winter it seems like everything has come at once in the farming sector - and as a knock-on for those that service the industry. Some dealers are apparently considering calling back staff whom they had previously furloughed to help them cope with the current pressures.

It's clearly still a mixed picture for the dealer network as a whole, but via these calls with both the suppliers and the dealers, we're getting a sense of how the industry is not only only coping, but progressing.

As one supplier put it on Wednesday, dealers of all specalisms will eventually have to find ways of trading through this ongoing situation.

Even when lockdown restrictions begin to be eased, it's becoming ever more apparent that there will not be an immediate return to how things were. 

In 1990, the outdoor power equipment industry staged its own show at Kempton Park Racecourse in direct competition to the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) Show which had moved from Windsor to Peterborough. Furthermore the dates in the first week of September not only clashed with the IOG Show, but also the SPOGA/GAFA show in Cologne.

Organised by a consortium of manufacturers including Stihl, Hayter, Allen and Kubota under the banner of the Garden Machinery Association (GMA), the event was launched at a special GMA Conference at Telford in 1988 chaired by John Humphreys.

Many manufacturers were unhappy at the move to Peterborough and wanted the show to remain in the vicinity of Windsor. The event was to be organised by international show organisers Andry Montgomery who had built the EXPO Louisville show into the fourth largest exhibition in the US, and this was to be a UK version.

So the 1st International Lawn, Garden and Outdoor Power Equipment Exhibition Show, for short the GMA show, was scheduled for Sunday 2 to Tuesday 4th September 1990 at Kempton Park. (some irony given the recent change of name for the IOG to GMA!)

The show was to be located within vast tented exhibition halls erected in-field at the Surrey Racecourse. Originally planned to cover 15,000 square metres, bookings soon meant it was eventually extended to 30,000 square metres (over 70 acres).

175 exhibitors were signed up for the GMA show, but with the last day coinciding with the first day of the IOG show more than 40 companies (including Etesia, Ford New Holland, Hayter, Lely, Ransomes and Toro) decided to attend both shows. Others such as John Deere, Jacobsen, Lloyds and Turner decided to stay with the IOG.

When the gates opened at 9.30 at Kempton Park on Sunday 1 September in sunny weather, there was a sizeable crowd waiting to come in. Attendance certainly held up during the first two days, but naturally dropped on Tuesday with many making the journey to Peterborough.

The exhibition space was professionally staged and certainly on a par with anything that the NEC could offer. There was also a number of industry specific events during the three days including a GMA Dinner on the first evening, an engine repair championship over three days sponsored by Briggs and Stratton, Tecumseh and Kohler and the presentation of 8 categories in the Dealership ‘90 Awards by British Lions and Wales rugby star, Gareth Edwards.

The show also marked the debut of Countax. The company had designed and built a prototype model in just 6 weeks under the initial brand of Komak which would be ready for the 1991 season.

In a pre-internet age, this magazine also produced a Show Daily giveaway magazine with updated pictures and copy taken by road 80 miles back to Salisbury each evening, where it was plated and printed overnight – and couriered back to Kempton next morning by 8.00am.

AFTERMATH
In the immediate aftermath, the 1st GMA Show was deemed a success and plans put in place to increase the scope of the show the following year to add more professional equipment. However, by September 1990, with the 1991 show already planned, it was clear that many manufacturers were conflicted.

The cost of staging effectively an indoor show, outdoors, was colossal and manufacturers began to question the rationale of two shows. Those in the professional market wanted to meet end users whilst the domestic manufacturers aimed at meeting and recruiting new dealers.

By February 1991, organisers Andry Montgomery had signed up fewer than 30 exhibitors and susequently announced the cancellation of the show. This was against a background of a very poor season and recession in the country which left many opting to only attend the IOG – or give shows a miss that year.

This opened up a discussion with Intergarden Promotions, the organisers of the GLEE show at the NEC which eventually resulted in a separate section being integrated into GLEE.

In our editorial, we wrote “In hindsight it was wrong to try and take on the IOG and SPOGA/GAFA which only served to dilute both exhibitors and visitor numbers. The major lesson has to be that the industry is not big enough, nor strong enough to warrant a stand-alone event - and it should not kid itself that it is important enough to challenge establish competitors head-on”

The first Dealer Awards were launched at the 1990 GMA Show and presented by British Lions and Wales rugby star Gareth Edwards.  Pictured are Derek Belcher (Handys), Gareth Edwards, Alan Garlinge (A J Garlinge), Bob Taylor (SCC Mowers),  Barry Bartram (Bartrams), Chris Hodgkinson (Invicta Motors), Richard Thompson (Evesham Journal), Roy Ashwell (Sponsor Ransomes Consumer) and Mike Hadley (Mower Grinding and Trading) 

Case IH has announced that Lincolnshire-based Sharmans Agricultural Limited has been appointed as Case IH dealers.

Scott Barclay, Sharmans' dealer principal and owner

This announcement comes after Sharmans were informed by John Deere late last year they were not to be part of the manufacturer's future Growth Strategy.

The family-run machinery dealership has a head office in Grantham, Lincolnshire and operates four further depots in Nottinghamshire (Lowdham), Lincolnshire (Stamford), Leicestershire (Melton Mowbray) and Northamptonshire (Pytchley, Kettering).

The business became a Case IH dealership last Friday, 24th April 2020, and all 95 staff have been informed.

Commenting on the development, Paul Harrison, Case IH business director UK & ROI, said, “Case IH has ambitious growth plans in the UK, building on our growing market share in recent years.

“Our dealer network must evolve to ensure we serve the changing needs of our growing customer base effectively, and we are delighted to be adding Sharmans to cover a key geographic area. They are an extremely strong, dynamic and professional business and I am confident that they will deliver a professional service to existing and new customers in the area, being particularly well-placed to support our market-leading harvesting products as well as our wide range of tractor and telehandlers.

"We look forward to working with the Barclay family and their team to grow Case IH sales in the years ahead.”

Sharmans has been run by the Barclay family since 1981, with managing director, Scott Barclay, currently heading up the business.

Commenting on the news, Scott said, “We are absolutely thrilled to be joining the Case IH family, they are a market-leading company that have a fantastic worldwide brand image. We wanted to partner with a new tractor franchise that would complement our current portfolio of products as well as match the quality that we currently offer; Case IH met these requirements perfectly and coupled with the fact they were extremely keen to work with us and our clients, this meant a lot: we both have the same goals.

“We feel that together we can offer the farming community a fantastic, very competitive package, offering the same extremely high levels of support in sales, service and parts, something that we take very seriously and something our customers have become accustomed to.

“We look forward to working together with Case IH and to the new opportunities this partnership will bring and we would like to welcome both our existing and potential new customers to join us on this exciting new journey. Once the country has beaten this terrible Covid 19 virus our doors will be wide open for business, but in the meanwhile we have some Case IH stock available now and some cracking deals to get us going, so please do get in touch!”

AGCO / Fendt announced on Wednesday that their temporarily shutdown assembly lines are restarting this week at the German AGCO locations Marktoberdorf, Asbach-Bäumenheim, Waldstetten and Hohenmölsen.

The company said in a statement this is possible because important suppliers in Europe and worldwide are now delivering parts again on schedule and reliably after an interruption of several weeks due to corona.

They went on to say that after intensive discussions between the management, works council, company physicians, health management and the occupational safety officers, numerous measures for the protection of Fendt employees at the assembly lines, the parts production and in the offices have been implemented.

Christoph Gröblinghoff, chairman at AGCO/Fendt management said, “We are very pleased that the supply chains are intact again and that our highly motivated Fendt team can get back to work in a concentrated manner. This week the assembly lines with high daily production rates are starting again.

"The changeover of the tractor assembly to a two-shift model is protecting our employees and it also brings, together with other measures, additional production capacities to work up the backlog partly or if necessary completely. This enables us to deliver the ordered Fendt tractors and Fendt Full-Line machines to our customers via the Fendt sales partners as soon as possible."

GGM Groundscare have announced a new partnership with Roberine, the Dutch manufacturer of self-propelling mowing machines.

GGM say they have a rich heritage in the ride-on commercial mower sector and as the business prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary at its headquarters in Colne, Lancashire, the move sees it return to its roots.

L-R: Andrew Melville (commercial director, GGM); Maarten Ponne (sales area manager, Roberine); Ian Burden (group vice president vegetation control, Alamo Group Inc); Chris Gibson (md, GGM)

Managing director Chris Gibson says, “When the business was relocated to Colne back in 2000, we were suppliers of Kubota and Hayter Professional, which was subsequently bought out by Toro. We described the brands as the right and left legs of the business - the absolute cornerstones of everything we did. Over time, we’ve explored and been extremely successful in other sectors. Now, through Roberine, we have found the perfect partner, at the forefront of the development of commercial mowing machines for local authorities and commercial landscapers”.

GGM takes on the franchise from today (1st May 2020) and becomes the supplier across the North West region as well as South and West Yorkshire.

Chris continued, “We are extremely excited about adding the Roberine franchise to our portfolio. It is the perfect addition as we continue to grow in the commercial sectors”.

The new partnership comes after initial discussions at last year’s Saltex, when GGM learnt of Roberines’ desire to develop its UK commercial business.

The GGM team say they explained their business ethos and strategy and they were confident they could substantially grow the business across their territory, thanks to their experience in the commercial mowing sector. As part of this agreement GGM will take over the responsibility for the continued service and warranty of all machines supplied by the former dealers.

GGM have already added the Roberine F3 triple flail to its hire fleet and have several units already working in the marketplace with two local authorities, and have recently taken delivery of new F3 triple and F5 5-unit flail demonstration machines.

Chris said, “We've already been investing in training our after-sales team and parts inventory to ensure all Roberine customers both old and new receive the award winning service GGM customers have become used to.”

Maarten Ponne at Roberine added. “We are delighted to have GGM Groundscare on board to represent the Roberine brand. Changing dealership representation is never an easy decision but we believe that, in GGM, we have a partner with a clear shared vision of how best to support our brand throughout the region. They have a proven track record for working closely with commercial customers and are keen to continue to invest and develop their business even in these challenging times.

"The appointment of GGM follows that of Lister Wilder in the South and both appointments demonstrate our commitment to grow a professional dealer network with a proven track record for customer service and support.

"For now, it’s important we all stay safe, but we will continue to work in the background to develop our dealer network and work with all our partners to ensure we are ready to grow our business in the UK as soon as we are able to do so."

Kubota has announced its investment in FarmX, a California-based start-up which provides crop management services based on advanced modelling and technologies that use AI, machine learning and IoT sensors.

FarmX’s all-in-one platform is designed to manage and automate irrigation through data, analysis and predictions. The company says they help farmers’ profitability by increasing yields while decreasing the need for labour, water and power.

Through this investment, which Kubota says showcases their continued investment in innovations and a commitment to the future of agriculture, the manufacturer aims to contribute towards the efficiency and profitability of farm management.

Paul Hemingway, who held various management roles at JCB retiring in 2018, has become the new President of the Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE).

Paul Hemingway

A native of west Wales Paul studied Agricultural Engineering at Newcastle University and having graduated spent two years in Cornwall working for Fulford Trumps, a Ford tractor and New Holland machinery dealer as a branch service manager.

In 1978 he joined the Engineering Department at Harper Adams Agricultural College (as it was then) as the college embarked on education of agricultural engineering students at HND and later degree level.

Paul joined JCB in 1989 as service manager for what was to become the JCB Fastrac.

He spent the next 29 years at JCB in a wide variety of management roles in service, parts, training, sales and product marketing. This included a 3-year period living with his wife in New Delhi working with JCB India as Vice President - Service, which he says he looks back on as a particularly varied, challenging and enriching part of his life.

He retired from JCB in 2018 and today has come full circle acting as a visiting lecturer in Engineering at Harper Adams University.

IAgrE CEO Ed Hansom said, “I wish Paul the very best of luck for his two-year tenure. He has some great ideas, grounded in practical experience, which will definitely move the Institution forward. His connections with JCB and knowledge of the agricultural engineering industry globally will be invaluable.”

Argo Tractors say they are getting ready to restart activities, as soon as the critical phase of the coronavirus emergency has passed.

As such, the company has recently completed a sanitisation process of the production lines and offices in all the group's plants.

"In these days we have adopted the protocol measures for contrasting and reducing the spread of the virus in our workplaces and we have sanitized the spaces of our companies," said Antonio Salvaterra, Argo Tractors marketing director. "We want to guarantee to all employees and suppliers the peace of mind to work in a safe environment. It is our main commitment to put health first.

"We still have no indication of when it will be possible to start again 100%. It will probably be a step by step process, when all conditions will allow. Waiting for that moment, Argo Tractors is taking all the necessary measures to guarantee safety and to protect health".

At the request of a large number of exhibitors and organisations from the agricultural machinery industry, the organisers of SIMA have decided to hold the next edition of the show during its historical dates in February 2021 (from Sunday 21 to Thursday 25 February 2021).

The organisers of the show, which takes place in Paris, said in a statement that this postponement does not call into question the new long-term ambitions of the show, and more specifically its date positioning in the autumn of even number years. Therefore, in 2022, SIMA will be held as initially planned in November (from Sunday 6 to Thursday 10 November 2022).

In a statement, organisers said, "In view of the current environment and despite the healthy state of stand space sales recorded to date for the new SIMA, many of SIMA’s exhibitors and partners have requested that the show maintain its historical dates for the next event. This decision comes in response to the expectations voiced and in support of all the actors of the farming world who are today having to deal with an upheaval in their production and distribution cycles.

"In February 2021, SIMA will provide a major opportunity for the sector to regroup and gather together all of its members so as to rekindle the economic activity of the industry."

This new edition of the show will have ‘Tech’ at its core, with a hub christened ‘SIMA TECH’ comprising:

• A shared zone including a central area devoted to talks, workshops and networking, a start-up village and an agricultural robot village by FIRA
• An exhibition zone curating the exhibition’s comprehensive New Technology offering: firms dealing in decision support software, measurement and data collection devices, telematics, farm drones, electronic weather stations and everything to do with onboard electronics.

A new area, ‘SIMA TALENT’, will also be set up in the middle of the show to supply information on the training and education opportunities offered by the sector. Several special features will be laid on aimed at young people with the common theme of ‘Meet our talent’: visitor trails, a job dating forum, etc.

Yorkshire’s Harewood House is thriving thanks to the installation of new robotic lawnmowers which have maintained many of the lawns of the country house.

One of Yorkshire's top tourist attractions

Located in Harewood, just outside Leeds and Harrogate, Harewood House is one of the Treasure Houses of England. The house was built between 1759 and 1771 by architect John Carr, with interiors by Robert Adam. The property sits within ‘Capability Brown’ landscape and spans 100 acres, which is looked after by a charitable education trust and is a popular tourist attraction throughout the year.

Automower® installed to maintain the property's beautiful grounds

Maintaining Harewood’s vast and beautiful grounds and gardens requires a great deal of skill from the whole team and this year head gardener, Trevor Nicholson, made the decision to introduce the environmentally-friendly Husqvarna Automower® to take care of lawns, freeing up time for staff to focus on tasks which take real horticultural skill, such as keeping the property’s many dazzling flower schemes, trees and hedges looking pristine.

After discussions with Trevor, specialist Husqvarna Automower® dealership Balmers GM provided an expert installation of the robotic lawnmowers at the grounds of Harewood House. The mowers cover an area of 5000 m2 which includes navigation around trees.

Green energy for environmentally-conscious Harewood House

Since their installation the robots have been a huge success and have provided a number of benefits, both environmentally and ergonomically, for Harewood House, an important aspect for the charity. The robotic products have a continuous, random mowing pattern within a designated area, sending tiny grass clippings back onto the soil to act as a natural fertiliser. A zero emissions machine, Husqvarna Automower® runs entirely on green energy supplied by Harewood’s own biomass energy centre.

Head gardener, Trevor Nicholson, commented: “We’ve been enormously impressed by the robotic mowers – they’re amazing, and have truly changed the way we work here. Where we used to rely more on petrol ride-on mowers, we’re now using a green product which saves the team time. Lawn quality has improved and the fact that the product is silent has meant no disturbance to our visitors as they enjoy Harewood’s beautiful tranquil gardens.”

“Something which has been a real benefit to us is the comparatively light weight of the Husqvarna Automower®. This has helped reduce soil compaction around trees, which used to suffer due to our use of heavier, ride-on machines in the area. It is all of these additional benefits to our work in conserving Harewood’s grounds and gardens that have convinced me that the future of mowing for us is robotic. It has made Harewood House a more tranquil place to be – and that can only be good for everyone.”

Niklas Broberg, UK Automower® Specialist commented: “Harewood House is a fantastic example of our mowers really showing their class; complex areas with a lot of trees. Add to this steep slopes and we can see that our AWD product has done a fantastic job.”

Commercial Automower®

Husqvarna has an impressive list of commercial installations across the UK to maintain popular green spaces, ranging from municipalities (Edinburgh, London & Glasgow), botanic gardens, multi-national headquarters, stately homes, sports facilities, zoos and educational establishments.

For more information on the Husqvarna Automower® range visit: http://www.husqvarna.com/uk/products/robotic-lawn-mowers/ and to learn more about Harewood House, please visit: https://harewood.org/

How much do you know about what makes the Kress robot mower range unique in the market? 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.

USP’s of the Kress range of robot mowers :

OAS - Obstacle Avoidance system
OAS detects an obstacle and slaloms around it, saving time, and keeping the mower on track in the direction it was originally mowing. This technology is unique to Kress, and protected by patent.

INTIVA - Patented Mowing Technology
No other brand has this patented technology, which lets the mower know where the wire is, and allows it to bounce off the boundary without a need to go forward and reverse a couple of times, saving over 30% of the battery, and preventing wear on edges and corners. It is so efficient, it mows in 30% less time than a regular robot mower, covering the whole lawn in 5 days and leaving weekends free.

Side Charge – A Virtually invisible charging station
Unique to Kress is a side-charge charging station with holes in it to allow the grass to grow through and leave it almost invisible. The Kress mower can also complete a boundary cut every day if needed leaving virtually no grass left to cut.

Regenerative brake system
Kress robot mowers can tackle a hill of 35% and while descending, the regenerative braking system charges the battery, like your modern day stop start car, meaning the battery lasts much longer.

STT Side trim technology
The cutting deck is offset, which means that very little cutting is needed around the edge of the lawn, unlike other robotic mowers, saving even more time.

Multi-zone-programming
Our mower can be programmed to have up to 4 different cutting zones to help manage you lawn more efficiently.

Magnets in the front wheels
The magnets stop the mower digging a hole in your lawn if it gets trapped, through the sensors which pick up if the rear wheels are turning but the front ones aren’t. The magnets also allow the mower to keep going in a straight line even when travelling across a hill or mound horizontally.

Over 50 dealers have already made the smart decision to get in on the action in this growing segment. How about you? 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

Find out more: Kress-robotik.com

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