Firstly, all of us at Service Dealer would like to pass on our best wishes to Anthony Deacon at the team at MKM Agri, who you may have already read suffered a terrible fire at their premises this past week.

Anthony has been an integral part of our dealer panel team during the course of the pandemic, extensively contributing to our Digital Dealer Toolkit and regularly updating us how his dealership has been coping though these unprecedented times. Having to now deal with this crisis on top of everything else that the past year has thrown at dealers, is just devastating.

We wish Anthony and the team the greatest of luck with their recovery. We look forward to when we can report on them fully reopening, stronger than ever.

AEA Conference

With non-essential shops and outside hospitality opening up this week, it has felt to me like some genuine progress is finally being made towards reaching the other side of this thing. However, we clearly are not quite there yet, with another online event taking place this week, highlighting the fact that we still are unable to gather as we once did.

On Tuesday it was the AEA's annual conference, an event that in a normal year, takes place at the home of the Institute of Civil Engineers in Westminster. From memory, it was one of the first industry events to be cancelled due to lockdown one last year. I'm not sure many envisaged it being a year on and still not being able to get together in a room to share ideas and talk about industry issues? Hopefully, as director general & CEO of the AEA Ruth Bailey said in her opening address, by the time next April comes around, members and guests can be back together again, gathered in London.

Ruth Bailey, director general & CEO of the AEA

But we're not there quite yet. Hence this year's conference took place virtually, like so many other things this past year, over Zoom. Obviously this meant no meal, no after-lunch speaker and crucially for some of us, no 'wind down session' in the Westminster Arms post-event! This year, it was purely the speakers to enjoy.

First up was Anand Menon, Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King’s College London. You may have seen him talk on shows like Newsnight or Question Time and indeed, he had appeared at the AEA's last conference two years ago. Anand is a gifted presenter, who can make quite complex subjects understandable for even a layman like me. 

Anand Menon

He spoke about how the effects of Brexit are far from over yet. He said whilst Brexit is technically done, what now has to happen is to find ways to make what's been agreed upon, actually work in the real world. Somewhat dauntingly, he said that whilst Covid's economic impact on the country will be relatively short-term, Brexit will be a much longer-term concern. He described Brexit not as a cliff-edge as some tried to present it as, but rather as a slow-puncture.

Whilst Anand was discussing big picture socio-economics, the next speaker was more directly industry specific. The AEA's own agricultural economist, Stephen Howarth, gave a presentation entitled Prospects For Emerging from Covid and Brexit.

Stephen Howarth

He began by saying how 2020 was a year like no other and how no one really knows where we go from here. There is so much uncertainly around, it's a case of anyone's guess. Whilst there appears to be lots of money out there with many having saved during the lockdowns, there are concerns for future job losses so perhaps the big spending boom that some are predicting, might not quite come to pass. Equally there's evidence of pent up demand - so who knows?

In terms of the machinery market specifically, Stephen said the sector did take a hit last spring, but not as bad as many others did. He singled out both tractors and mowers as recovering well and bouncing back strongly. Commercial machinery though, did see a significant fall, for all the reasons we've discussed this past year. 

Looking ahead for the commercial sector for this year, Stephen believed that local authority budgets would still be stretched, but there were signs that the domestic sector should maintain its strong postion from 2020. New tractor registrations going forward are harder to gauge he said, but with the trend for increased power levels continuing, registration levels tend to fall.

There will of course be many factors which will influence the prospects of the machinery sectors over the coming years, led unsurprisingly, by the weather. Stephen talked through some more factors as you can see in the slide below.

Handing over the reins (virtually)

Usually at the AEA conference the incoming president gives an inaugural speech during the luncheon, but in keeping with the irregular nature of this year's one, something slightly different was offered. A Q&A session took place with Ruth Bailey overseeing a discussion between Shaun Groom of Merlo, who is taking over the position for the year, and the outgoing president, Les Malin of Etesia.

Ruth Bailey with Shaun Groom (top) and Les Malin

It will have been an odd period for Les to have been president, having taken the role over and relinquished the chain, both during periods when the conference wasn't able to meet in person. Les himself described this past year as by far the most unusual in all his in business. Himself and Shaun discussed how their working lives had fared and changed during these months. Shaun said how he felt that the restrictions that we've all be working under had very much accelerated the development of technology in the sales process - enabling Zoom and the like to become a mainstream part of the process.

Les continued this theme saying that dealers need to be forward-looking in order to thrive. He said an online presence for specialists is essential, but so is that real-world rapport with professional customers, advocating a hybrid approach. He also believed that dealers may need to consider stocking more heavily where possible in the future.

Both agreed that developing technology would drive the marketplace with increasing electrification of tools and precision options being in great demand from users in all sectors. 

In terms of shows this year Shaun and Les both felt they had their place, but were perhaps a little doubtful as to what would be able to occur in 2021? Shaun felt if an exhibition were to go ahead, it needs to be in its full, true form. He felt it would do an event no justice to take place in a way that would diminish the experience for both visitors and exhibitors. 

Food for thought

As is often case at AEA conferences, the day also included a couple of speakers slightly more tangential to the industry.

David Worsley, Professor of Engineering at Swansea University, gave a presentation detailing his work in advanced materials, solar energy, and research into the development of innovative technologies and materials to feed into the global supply chain. Essentially David has a vision to change the world, with a focus on de-carbonisation and renewable energy for buildings and transport.

David Worsley's presentation

His work into making industrial buildings 'energy positive' by utilising the huge roof spaces for solar panel usage, could have given pause for thought to the AEA members and guests listening.

Finally Leo Johnson, head of disruption at PwC’s and presenter on Radio 4’s FutureProofing series, gave a talk exploring the big ideas and innovations reshaping business and society.

Leo Johnson

His philosophy was that new technology wasn't replacing the ecosytem with the virtual - rather we should all be looking to use developing systems to help make the ecosystem thrive. He said that doing so has the potential to open up huge new market and we're at a point of complete transition.

Congratulations must go to the AEA for staging a topical and engaging event this week, with some really valuable content. Also on a technical level, it all worked very well with hardly any awkward pauses!

As I'm sure the organisers and attendees also do, I sincerely hope that for the conference next April, everyone can be back together at One Great George Street in London - and importantly not forgetting, at the Westminster Arms!

Having split the Massey Ferguson and Fendt sides of their operation, dealers RVW Pugh have announced plans for their new Fendt machinery business in Newport, Shropshire, to be called TR Machinery Ltd.

An artistic impression of the new business has been revealed on RVW Pugh's website

The forthcoming new premises will hold their entire Fendt offering, meaning tractors, forage wagons, self-propelled sprayers and foragers, tracked machines, the full range of balers, combines and haykit and the Cargo loader.

The company will also be promoting the Vaderstad franchise which has historically had a very strong following in the Shropshire area alongside Pugh's existing line up of franchises.

Becoming managing director of the new Fendt business covering the mid Wales, Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire areas will be Tom Shakeshaft. The company says he has a wealth of experience of selling tractors and machinery in the area.

Tom Shakeshaft

Tom is quoted on Pugh's website saying, "It has been a whirlwind so far, with so much to do. It has been really exciting learning all about the Fendt product and being involved with the initial branding concept and company creation.

"We are still very much in the infancy of the process and hope to be going live with the new business in the summer. We are busy beavering away building a new website and will keep you posted when we go live."

Tom continued, "We are currently in negotiations over a site, so watch this space for new details soon. All I can say is that we are committed to providing a full service depot so that we can provide a full parts and service offering in Shropshire for our Fendt customers."

Briggs & Stratton has announced two new appointments related to service support for its OEM and service dealer network in the UK and Ireland.

Firstly, Deon Horn has joined the company as director technical service EMEA. He is based in the German office and is responsible for technical support, training and warranty in the EMEA region. Briggs say Deon has held various international service positions within the automotive industry.

Deon is taking over from Barry Goodchild who, during his 22 years with the company has held various positions in the UK and Germany. In a statement the company said, "We thank Barry for his invaluable contributions to the business and wish him well as he seeks to focus his energy on other pursuits."

Secondly. Jamie Hockenhull is their new service technician responsible for supporting UK and Ireland dealers and OEM customers. Like Deon, Jamie is based in the German office where the company has centralised some of their EMEA technical support resources. Jamie joins after more than 9 years in the British Army, where he served as a mechanic. Jamie can be reached on info.uk@basco.com. 

Jürgen Rehg, senior director sales, responsible for the after sales and service business in EMEA said, "We are confident that we will be able to continue offering the superior support our customers are used to. The centralisation of some of our technical resources in Germany should allow us to even better react to peaks in demand and use our technical expertise in a more efficient way."

Ingersoll Rand Inc. has entered into an agreement to sell its Specialty Vehicle Technologies Segment - known as Club Car - to the global private equity firm Platinum Equity.

The all-cash transaction is valued at $1.68 billion, which is approximately 12.1 x 2020 Specialty Vehicle Technologies Segment Adjusted EBITDA, and is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

Vicente Reynal, chief executive officer of Ingersoll Rand said, “The Club Car divestiture achieves a premium valuation for the leader in the golf, commercial and consumer low-speed vehicle market. We are excited about future opportunities to create long-term value for stockholders with the cash from the transaction, including significant organic and inorganic investment into our core business segments as we advance our growth strategies and expand our addressable market."

Ingersoll Rand say they selected Platinum Equity because of their financial, operational and marketing expertise as well as their focus and interest in the automotive industry and mobility trends.

Tom Gores, chairman and chief executive officer of Platinum Equity, said, “We are excited to partner with the Club Car team and support the business as it executes on its strategy of operational excellence and ongoing, profitable commercial growth.”

BRP, who include Can-Am utility vehicles amongst their portfolio, have announced a five-year plan where it will offer electric models in each of its product lines by the end of 2026.

BRP presented e-concepts of Sea-Doo and Ryker models among others and introduced the Rotax Sonic E-Kart in 2019. ©BRP 2021

To achieve this, the company say they plan to invest $300M over five years in product development, specialised equipment, infrastructure, production tooling and facilities.
 
“We have always said electrification was not a question of ‘if’ but a question of ‘when’," said José Boisjoli, president and CEO. "Today, we’re very excited to unveil more details of our plan to deliver market-shaping products that will enhance the consumer experience by offering new electric options."

 
After developing and evaluating several concepts, BRP has made the decision to develop its Rotax modular electric powerpack technology which will be leveraged across all product lines. To achieve this, the company says they are expanding its Rotax electric power unit development infrastructure in Gunskirchen, Austria, and is also creating the BRP Electric Vehicle Development Centre, located in its hometown of Valcourt, Quebec, Canada. .
 
“We are thrilled to create our EV expertise centre, taking steps into the world of electrification,’’ said Bernard Guy, senior vice-president, global product strategy. “Experts on our EV team will feel the agility of a startup environment but will benefit from BRP’s financial resources and state-of-the-art equipment to design our in-house technology,” he added.

Massey Ferguson has announced it is to receive a Red Dot Award: Product Design 2021 for Product design, in the commercial vehicle category, for the MF 8 S Series of tractors.

An international jury selected the MF 8S from thousands of entries from more than 60 countries for the award.

“We are honoured the MF 8S has been chosen to receive this special award,” said Thierry Lhotte, vice president & managing director Massey Ferguson, Europe & Middle East. “With the MF 8S Series, we are defining a new era in tractor design, which the jury has distinguished with the Red Dot: Product Design 2021 Award.

“Developed for farmers by farmers, following seven years of thorough testing and extensive customer consultation, the MF 8S Series combines radical designs with a practical purpose. While equipped to a superb specification, it also introduces a completely new and enhanced user experience,” adds Mr Lhotte.

“The MF 8S launch was just the first milestone of our fully rejuvenated tractor range offensive. We are thrilled to have received such industry leading awards for the MF 8S together with farmers’ recognition through their choice for their new tractor. This is just the beginning. After the MF 8S and the MF 5S launches in 2020 we are now looking forward for new launches to come by the end of the year 2022, meeting farmers’ demand for straightforward and dependable smart and connected machines,” adds Francesco Murro, director marketing, Massey Ferguson Europe & Middle East.

Alamo Group Inc., who own brands including Bomford Turner, McConnel and Spearhead amongst others, have announced that Jeffery A. Leonard will succeed Ronald A. Robinson as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company, effective May 31, 2021.

Leonard has been with Alamo Group since September 2011 and is currently serving as the Executive Vice-President of the company's Industrial Division.

Robinson will continue as an employee of the company to assist in the transition until August 1, 2021, and thereafter will remain as a member of the company's Board of Directors.

On behalf of the Board, Roderick R. Baty, Alamo Group's Chairman, said, "Jeff Leonard's promotion to President and CEO is the culmination of the Board's careful CEO succession planning process. Jeff is a talented executive and a strong leader who has been very successful in leading the company's Industrial Division since he joined Alamo Group in 2011. With his mix of experience and strategic vision, we are confident that Jeff is the right person to lead the company in its next phase of growth and development.  We look forward to working with Jeff and the rest of the management team to ensure a seamless transition."

Robinson added, "Jeff and I have worked together for 10 years.  He is ready to take on this leadership assignment and I am confident in his ability to guide the Company going forward."

Leonard said, "I am honoured to succeed Ron and I look forward to leading Alamo Group and its dedicated team of employees during such an important time for the company.

"I see a very bright future ahead for Alamo Group and I am excited about the prospect of our global Alamo Group team creating an even stronger company while delivering long-term sustainable growth and profitability for our stockholders."

Official sources in Italy are reporting that sales of tractors and other agricultural machinery in the January-March 2021 period reached "record levels."

Figures released by FederUnacoma, the Italian agricultural machinery manufacturers' association, show significant increases in the first quarter which, as well being record breaking, also make up for the deficit experienced in the same period during 2020.

According to the association, tractors grew by 57.7% compared to the first quarter of last year, with almost 6 thousand units registered, tractors with loading platforms increased by 21.5% with 147 units, trailers were up 37.4% with more than 2,100 units, telehandlers by 86.3% with 380 units registered and finally combine harvesters achieved an increase of 180% even though the number of machines was still small (56 units). 

The FederUnacoma said, "This clearly positive figure is to some extent due to the recovery from the first quarter of 2020, which was conditioned by the outbreak of the pandemic and the slowdown in business, but above all by the tax incentives - the one for technologies with 4.0 devices and the one based on the Sabatini Law for the purchase of capital goods - which agricultural companies used extensively."

Vacancy – Logistics & Warranty Administrator

Machinery Imports is the UK distributor of leading groundcare brands Ferris, Wright, Spider and Jensen. Working in partnership with dealers across the UK, our busy team sells all four brands throughout the country and with business growing we are now seeking to recruit a new Logistics and Warranty Administrator. This role could be based from either the Stockbridge (Hampshire) or Knockdown (Tetbury) depots.

Responsibilities

The main focus of this key administration role is the movement and recording of all wholegoods stock and all warranty claims.  

In addition to the administration of warranty claims, other key responsibilities will include preparing sales and stock reports, arranging global delivery and collection of wholegoods, preparing purchase orders and order acknowledgements, and managing the Dealer Relationship Management system.

Skills and Experience

The ideal candidate will have experience of working in an administration or warranty environment and a high level of computer literacy. Experience of working with Excel and Ibcos Gold would be an advantage.

You will be required to liaise with Area Sales Managers, other T H WHITE departments, and will be confident speaking to members of the UK dealer network and overseas manufacturers. Excellent communication skills are essential in this role, as is a keen eye for detail.

Strong organisational skills and a methodical approach are required to ensure all data is recorded accurately i.e. sales registrations, manufacturer credit notes and warranty claims.

How to Apply

Visit www.thwhite.co.uk/current-vacancies to download the application form and submit to Bill Johnston on William.Johson@thwhite.co.uk

We are pleased to launch yet another new product from the Webb brand for 2021 with an all new Petrol Wheeled Trimmer to tame overgrown areas around the garden, orchard or other outdoor spaces.

The WEPWT offers a more powerful alternative to traditional brushcutters for clearing large overgrown areas of tall grass and heavy weeds. The machine works effortlessly over any terrain thanks to its extra large 35cm wheels which take the weight of the machine so you don’t have to. Power comes from a large 161cc Webb DVO165 engine which drives the cutting head with a large working width of 56cm / 22”.

Cutting ability comes from two 4mm heavy duty nylon cutter lines which can be quickly replaced without having to wind cord onto a spool.

Other features of the WEPWT include a heavy duty steel housing, infinite height adjustment from 40-95mm, and height adjustable handles to suit any operator. The machine also features a comprehensive 2 year warranty for peace of mind.

As with all Webb products the WEPWT Wheeled Trimmer offers exceptional value for money, with an SSP of just £349.99 including VAT.

As well as the WEPWT Wheeled Trimmer, other new products for 2021 from Webb include an electric silent shredder, 40cm electric chainsaw, 20V cordless tiller, 20V cordless lawnmower kit, 36cm electric scarifier/lawn rake, 40cm petrol scarfier/lawn rake, and 19 and 21” aluminium deck lawnmowers. The full range of 2021 products are available in our Trade Terms catalogue which can be viewed online at handyonline.co.uk or you can request a printed copy using the details below.

For 2021 we have also invested heavily in our brand content, with new product videos, photography and online information. Visit our YouTube channel to see the latest product videos.

For more information on any of the new Webb products contact Handy Distribution on 01793 333220 or speak to your local sales representative. Alternatively, all products can be easily ordered online at www.handyonline.co.uk

Launched on the 15th March, the advertisement was broadcast across ITV, Channel 4 and Sky running daily on shows such as; George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces, Jonathan Ross, Kirstie & Phil’s Love It Or List It and Love Your Weekend With Alan Tichmarsh.

The TV advertisement has seen Husqvarna and the dealer network inundated with new enquiries for robotic lawnmowers and a real buzz around Automower® can be felt. 

The Husqvarna Automower® web page has seen a triple-digit percent increase in traffic resulting in conversions to sales for Husqvarna dealers.

Samantha Donnelly, UK marketing manager at Husqvarna, said: “As a pioneer of robotic mowing since 1995, Husqvarna has paved the way for intelligent mowing of gardens both large and small. As one of our largest marketing investments, we’re looking forward to reaching a wider audience and raising the awareness of our smart-garden technology. 

“Now more than ever, individuals and families are spending time in their gardens, and a new generation of garden enthusiasts have emerged. Valuing their personal outdoor space greater than ever before, we are excited to be able to share and encourage awareness of our unparalleled Automower® range. With spring and summer just around the corner, users can benefit greatly from the range which blends product innovation, aesthetically pleasing builds, high-tech features and an experience that once you’ve tried, will leave you wondering why you didn’t own an Automower® before.”

View the new Husqvarna TV advert below:

Our Summer research shows that on average, each Garden Trader dealer will be sent 114 new customers (or people with a buying intention walking through your door) per year.  This works out at 83p for each new customer. A subscription rate designed to be all inclusive delivering unrivalled online results.

This site was purpose-built just for skilled servicing ground care dealers by the team that bring you Service Dealer Magazine. It is easy and quick to register and costs just £96 + VAT per year for a full listing.  As this dealer site is designed to promote the UK dealer network, all revenues in 2021 will be reinvested into promoting the site online.

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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