Our quarterly dealer update rounds-up the latest franchise changes, business mergers and acquisitions. 

We see a popular dealer go into liquidation, but there is plenty of good news with a new dealership for Somerset and expansions around the country.

See also: Revealed: Britain’s biggest farm machinery dealers

MST Group goes into liquidation

Long-standing Massey Ferguson dealer MST (Medland, Sanders & Twose) has gone into liquidation – much to the shock of its customers.

The company also sold equipment from Honda, Iseki, Teagle, NC Engineering and Stihl from its depots in Tiverton and Lee Mill, Devon.

Massey Ferguson says its two neighbouring dealers can take up the slack and deal with all warranty and service agreements in the short term.

To the west, this will be Devon and Cornwall dealer Alan Snow (Launceston, Holsworthy and Camborne), while those on the eastern side of MST’s territory will be directed to C&O Tractors’ South Petherton depot.

JCB opens Somerset HQ

JCB’s newest dealership now has its Somerset headquarters location up and running.

Reco is the first UK dealer to supply and support only the full range of JCB agricultural equipment, from ultra-compact wheeled loaders to the 160-335hp Fastrac tractor line-up.

The hub of the Reco JCB operation is in Gurney Slade near Radstock, Somerset where the new premises are now fully operational with offices, a parts department, workshop facilities and a forecourt area displaying machinery in stock.

Its JCB territory extends throughout Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire, and is a joint venture between two well-established independent machinery dealerships: Redlynch Agricultural Engineering and Compass Tractors – hence the Reco JCB name.

And while its Gurney Slade premises are at the core of the operation, JCB parts, servicing, repairs, machine sales and dedicated JCB technicians are available at the Compass Tractors location in North Petherton near Bridgwater, Somerset, and Redlynch branches at Bruton, Somerset; Milborne St Andrew, near Dorchester, Dorset; and Middle Woodford near Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Manitou picks Robert Davies

Robert Davies Machinery has taken on the North Wales area for Manitou’s agricultural telehandlers and the “earthmoving” range of skid-steers and articulated loaders.  

The dealership is based just outside Shrewsbury and already has sales and service staff in North Wales, but plans to open a new depot to better serve customers across its expanded territory.

Other brands on the firm’s roster include Kuhn, Dal-Bo and KRM.

Further afield, Manitou Group has announced plans to invest $80m (£61m) in its two North American manufacturing facilities in Yankton and Madison, South Dakota. This will see both sites expanded to facilitate the development of new machinery ranges.

Read takes on Merlo

Merlo has added Read Agriservices of Shepton Mallet, Somerset, to its dealer network.

The business also sells McCormick tractors and Yamaha ATVs alongside kit from Kverneland, Teagle and Shelbourne Reynolds.

Opico branches out

Welshpool-based Charlies Groundcare is to take on sales of Maschio Gaspardo, Opico and He-Va equipment in mid-Wales and Shropshire.

This includes He-Va’s cultivators and Opico-branded grassland machinery, batch dryers and mechanical weeders, plus the full Maschio tillage line-up of ploughs, cultivators, combination drills and rotavators.

Mike Garwood Agricultural Engineers has also strengthened its relationship with Opico by taking on sales, servicing and parts supply of new and used He-Va kit from its premises in Alton, Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight.

Bobcat picks A&M for Wales

Bobcat has appointed A&M Group, of Bridgend, as the company’s new dealer for south, west and mid-Wales.

It will be responsible for the entire Bobcat range of loaders, mini excavators, telehandlers and attachments.

Newport-based Border Bobcat, the previous dealer for the area, will specialise in Bobcat’s skid-steer, compact track, compact wheel and small articulated loader ranges for the counties of Powys and Gwent.

A&M Group has purchased two plots on the Brackla Industrial Estate in Bridgend, one of which will form the location for the company’s headquarters.

The new facilities complement the existing operations in St Clears in Carmarthenshire, from where A&M serves the west of Wales.

Fendt discontinues trailed sprayers

Fendt is to end production of its trailed sprayer range, just four years after rebranding the Rogator 300 models it inherited when Agco decided to wind down Challenger in Europe.

It will continue production of the self-propelled Rogator 600, which is built in the same German factory as the Katana forager.

Agrifac appoints three dealers

Agrifac has signed up three new dealers for its Condor and Condor Endurance self-propelled sprayers – Shropshire-based SOS Agricultural, Ridgeway Sprayers in Wiltshire and Agri Service to cover Kent.

TH White completes site purchase

Having taken over Hereford-based JG Plant in 2018, TH White has now completed the purchase of the site in Tillington Road.

The company, which is a main dealer for the likes of New Holland, Manitou and Kverneland, has been expanding aggressively over recent years.

It now has 10 branches in total – Marlborough, Frome, Knockdown (Tetbury), Huntley, Warwick, Stourport, Devizes, Stockbridge, Hereford and Toddington.

Avon Tuning offers Dimsport dynos

Avon Tuning is now the sole UK and Ireland importer and distributor for the Italian-built range of Dimsport dynamometers, which are capable of testing power and torque outputs on tractors up to 660hp.

Three models are available – the DF2TR, which features a single brake and has a capacity to test machinery up to 330hp; the larger DF4TR Twin Braked Workshop Dyno that uses a double brake making it suitable for tractors up to 660hp; and the mobile, trailer-mounted DF2TR-TR, allowing remote support and on-farm diagnostics to be carried out on tractors up to 330hp.

The base model is priced at £16,500.

Trelleborg acquired by Yokohoma

Yokohoma Rubber Company has signed an agreement to acquire Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS), the Sweden-based Trelleborg Group’s off-highway tyre division, for €2.1bn (£1.78bn).

With agriculture currently accounting for 60% of TWS’s production, this will propel Yokohoma to the position of global leader in the the off-highway sector.

TWS also produces tyres for construction, materials handling and mining machinery through several brands, including Trelleborg, Mitas, Maximo, Cultor and Interfit.

It operates factories in Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Italy, Latvia, Serbia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka and the US.

The deal is expected to be completed in the latter part of 2022.

New Holland adds tyre options

New Holland T5, T6 and T7 tractors are now available with Continental TractorMaster and VF TractorMaster tyres in widths of up to 710mm and a maximum rim diameter of 42in.

New Holland is also to offer Bridgestone’s VX-Tractor tyre as a factory-fitted option on T6 and T7 tractors, with 28 variants available on rim sizes that range from 28in to 42in.

Corvus broadens UK coverage

Boss ORV, importer of Spanish-made Corvus UTVs, has appointed five new dealers as it looks to widen its UK footprint.

South West Handling, based in Okehampton, is charged with Devon and west Somerset; David Webb Engineering will cover the rest of Somerset from its depot in Wincanton; and John Day Engineering of Lambourne will cater for Wiltshire, Hampshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

South East England will be covered by vineyard and fruit machinery specialist Kirkland UK, while B&B Tractors will sell the vehicles from its four depots that cover Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire.

Lemken expands hoe production

Lemken has invested €18m (£15m) in a new facility to produce Steketee hoes, four years after acquiring the Dutch company.

The move is in response to growing demand for mechanical, camera-guided weed control, with the plant scheduled to open its doors at the end of 2023.