Midhurst Article in Farmers Guide. | 26th November 09

Farol grows into Hampshire and West Sussex

JOHN Deere dealer Farol Ltd has continued its impressive growth of recent years by taking over the Hampshire and West Sussex territory vacated by John A Seale Ltd. The company's new branch at Midhurst, in the centre of the new area, brings its total number of depots to five.

A relative newcomer to the Deere family, making a high-profile switch from Case IH to the green brand in 2005, Farol has made the most of the opportunities presented by the new franchise.

It officially took over the territory on November 1st this year, but the Midhurst branch was open six months before that.

"The first task was to identify suitable premises and we were fortunate to find a vacant warehouse on Midhurst's Holmbush Industrial Estate that could be easily converted," Mr Champion said. "We've taken on a five-year lease, which should allow us to grow to a point where we can move to an out-of-town site where, ideally, we can put up a purpose-built depot.

"We started getting the new branch ready in February this year and opened for business on May 1. Farol's Midhurst depot offers a good-sized retail area, parts storage space and large workshop, as well as a first-floor wholegoods sales offices. There is also a machinery showroom , although at the back of the building provides a large secure area for new and used machines.

"We don't do satellite depots at Farols, so this is a fully fledged John Deere outlet with a complete parts inventory, a well equipped workshop and a new team of dedicated staff," Mr Champion said. "Our parts department has over 10,000 different lines on offer worth about £140,000, and the workshop has seen a similar investment in John Deere service equipment.

"We're fortunate that we have been able to move into the Midhurst branch carrying the reputation of the Farol name that has been around for many years," he added. "We have not been trading in this area before, but we have many customers here that have used us before for secondhand equipment."

Midhurst staff

Heading the team at Midhurst is branch manager Phil Swinnerton, who joined Farol earlier this year to run the new operation. A territory manager for Case IH when the brand was still based at Doncaster, he then moved into sales at BT when the telecommunications business was booming.

"BT was looking for people that were good at building relationships with customers, whether they were working on the shop floor or the CEO of a large company," he said. "I enjoyed the challenge, but agriculture and machinery is in my blood, so I left BT and set up my own business selling agricultural, groundscare and construction equipment here in the South of England.

"I had retained a good relationship with Farol, which I knew from the Case IH days, and when managing director Matthew Vellacott started putting together a team for Midhurst he called me and asked if I'd manage the new operation.

"John Deere is a strong brand operating in a premium market and it was an opportunity that was too good to miss," Mr Swinnerton added. "The territory we are serving from Midhurst already enjoys an excellent market share for Deere, and with a lot of large estates and contractors Mr Swinnerton is both branch and sales manager at Midhurst, and is also covering sales duties in Hampshire until a new salesman starts joins the company early in 2010. He is part of a team of 13 staff at the depot, all new to the Farol business.

"Everyone is fresh and recruited for Midhurst," he said. "It's a brand new team, but we have had a lot of support from the other Farol depots and from the company's management."

Joining Mr Swinnerton on the sales side is Darren Parks, who looks after West Sussex, while the parts team includes manager Ken Cozens, salesman Nigel Franklin and van-based salesman Ian Chuter.

"Ian is playing an important role in meeting new and existing customers in the new territory," Mr Swinnerton said. "He's out and about introducing people to the business and delivering parts to the more outlying areas."

On the service side, Tom Wild is manager assisted by technicians Richard Guy, Luke Hornett and Stuart Bell, while completing the Midhurst team are tyres manager Julian Southey and fitter Wayne Hartfield.

"We've been fortunate to put together a good team and will continue to recruit as the depot grows," Mr Swinnerton said. "As a business, Farol is keen to support young people that want to come into the industry and we're looking forward to getting involved in John Deere's apprenticeship scheme."

Branch offering

John Deere wholegoods and parts sales – both Deere parts and general farming sundries – are clearly the priority at Midhurst, but Farol has also brought a number of its other franchises to the new depot. Equipment from Bomford Turner, Grégoire Besson, Teagle, McHale, Rolland and K Two is already offered, with more to come in the future.

While the workshop is proficient in the servicing of John Deere equipment, it will turn its hand to any make of machinery, while National Sprayer Test Scheme testing is also undertaken from the branch.

Midhurst is also home to Farol Tyres, a relatively new part if the business that began in 2003. The company now has 15 tyre trucks across the group specialising in the supply and fitting of agricultural and HGV, although it is picking up more and more 4x4 and car-tyre business

"Servicing is an important part of the business, with about half the new tractors we sell today being supplied with a service contract where the cost is based on the expected use of the machine," Guy Champion said. "We also carry out fixed-price servicing and repairs, including older tractors from the John Deere range. This gives owners the added comfort of a parts and labour warranty on any genuine John Deere parts fitted by our factory trained technicians. Farol customers in Hampshire and West Sussex also now have even better access to the company's growing hire fleet that now numbers about 50 tractors from 100-350hp on both long- and short-term arrangements.

According to Mr Champion, Farol likes to get in front of customers and has already taken stands at the Arlesford Show and at the Hampshire Ploughing Match, where it was main sponsor.

"We do a lot of shows because we believe in putting in the effort to get the Farol name out among our customers," he said. "We like to keep our salesmen out on the road, and while they have big territories to manage, we make the most of new technology to maintain a good service.

"We appreciate the importance of getting to know our customers and realise that there are farmers that like to chat to reps and those that don't. But even where a farmer doesn't need regular visits, we'll happily drop in a calendar and a card so that they can get in touch if they want."

Farol's future

Just as it was once one of Case IH's largest dealerships in the UK, Farol can now claim the same is true for John Deere. Even before the Midhurst branch opened, the company was selling 220 new tractors annually, a number that is now expected to increase significantly. On top of the turnover for wholegoods, it also boasts a further £4.8 million in parts sales and £4.0 million in tyre sales annually.

In addition to Midhurst, the company's has a branch and its head office at Milton Common, Oxfordshire, as well as branches at Shefford Woodlands, Berkshire; Byfield, Northamptonshire; and Atherstone, Warwickshire.

A family managed and run business, Farol remains hungry for growth, and it will explore new avenues that present themselves, but it won't compromise its product offering just to fill in gaps in its range.

"We have chosen to offer a select choice of products and, unlike some other dealerships, we don't plan to offer competing brands at different depots," Guy Champion said. "There are always new opportunities just around the corner and we'll be waiting when they arrive.