There were plenty of new things to see at Kirkland UK’s Christmas-themed open day in December, but many of the friends who attended were far from new.
The relaxed atmosphere at the Kirkland UK’s Griffins Farm base, just outside Maidstone in Kent, highlighted the company’s low-key approach to providing customers with the advice and equipment they need in a collaborative way.
“Today is about chatting to old friends, perhaps making some new ones, having a drink, some food and some fun,” explained Richard Pendry, newest member of Kirkland UK’s three-strong sales team.
“I’ve never sold anything in my life,” he admitted, “but I’ve spent 22 years as a farm manager, so I know what farmers and growers need – and, more importantly, what they don’t need.
“At Kirkland we make sure we only sell people equipment that we know will do a great job for them and help them grow their business. We build relationships for the long term based on a partnership approach. Farmers can’t afford to buy kit that is used once and is then stuck in the back of a shed somewhere.”
There was plenty of machinery on display at the open day – some of it for sale at generous, ex-demo prices – but selling was clearly secondary to the food, drink, fun, live music and general party atmosphere that marked the day.
In a particularly seasonal move, Kirkland UK’s Hollie Kamel abandoned her usual admin, health and safety and HR role for the day, instead entertaining visitors with her fabulous singing voice, performing Christmas classics at intervals throughout the event.
There were games to play, food and drink to enjoy and plenty of opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues or test drive some of the ex-demo machines around the large outside area at Griffins Farm.
The event also allowed Kirkland UK to show off the dealership’s new parts area, its display ‘stage’ for highlighting new machinery, an exciting new partnership with Kramp and a generally more welcoming layout.
That layout now features a familiar sight to anyone who has enjoyed a drink with the Kirkland UK team at the Vineyard & Winery Show or any of the other farming exhibitions the company supports throughout the year. The converted vintage lorry with a drop-down side that opens to reveal a bar is now part of the welcome on offer in the revamped showroom.
The team – which prides itself on its family atmosphere – has also built a new parts area to one side of the showroom. Previously tucked away behind the scenes, the sales desk is now highly visible and set to welcome customers old and new in search of spares, consumables, wearing parts and other items, including clothing.
“The parts desk is now straight in front of customers when they walk in,” explained parts manager Ben Short. “We have also boosted the range of items on sale by around 25% and generally put more of a focus on making it easier for customers to pick up the things they need.” Reflecting the ‘family’ vibe at Kirkland UK, Hollie Kamel pointed out that the team had “rolled their sleeves up and built the new area themselves”.
The increased range on offer from Kirkland UK is only part of the story. The dealership has become an agency for Kramp, an online supplier with an impressive 600,000-plus items from major brands in stock.
Kramp only sells through dealers, which means the link up has given Kirkland UK’s customers an opportunity to access an unbeatable range of spares and consumables for tractors and other machinery via an online app, in some cases at a discounted price.
Customers could take advantage of a special discount offer by signing up for a Kirkland UK Kramp account on the day.
Tom Ballingal, Kramp account manager for the south coast, said the Dutch company supplied vineyard, agricultural and groundscare parts across 24 countries in Europe, offering a one-stop shop for well over half a million items, delivery to the door and dealership support via the customer’s chosen link, in this case the Kirkland UK team.
“Kramp can supply everything from a PTO to cab glass, consumables, oils and spare parts from 4,000 brands, all ordered quickly and simply via the app and delivered to the customer’s door, usually the next day,” he pointed out.
Another innovation in the refocused showroom is the addition of a floodlit ‘stage’ where Kirkland UK can showcase particular machines it wants to highlight. At the open day, the star attraction was an Antonio Carraro Tony 11700V vineyard tractor, which fruit and vineyard machinery sales manager Tom Wheatley pointed out was the first in the country.
Tom said the innovative new tractor, powered by a 112bhp Deutz engine driving a continuously variable transmission (CVT) was designed to deliver less driver fatigue and increased productivity. “It’s an ideal machine for a range of jobs, from mowing through to pulling a trailed grape harvester,” he commented.
“Being able literally to turn the spotlight on to different machinery throughout the year makes much better use of the space we have here, and with the new parts area and our mobile bar here when it’s not on location at an exhibition somewhere, this has become a more welcoming and useful space for customers.”
Also on display at the open day was Carraro’s new A Series line of conventional tractors, which Tom said offered a cost-effective alternative to the more highly specced CVT range and was particularly useful in situations where a grower needed a tractor that could be driven by a number of different people.
But while highlighting the new features being showcased at the open day, he also stressed: “Today, though, is really just about giving something back to the customers who have supported us during the year, a chance to catch up and have a chat to friends, neighbours and fellow growers.”
The showroom at Griffins Farm is ideally situated for vineyards and top fruit growers in the South East of the country, and Kirkland UK’s well-established reputation and wide range of carefully selected franchises has seen it benefit strongly from the rise in viticulture across the region in recent years.
“Although we operate across the whole of the country, we are particularly well placed to serve customers in what has become the main wine-producing region in the UK, and as the UK importer for most of the machines we offer, we enjoy great back-up from manufacturers,” Tom went on.
Alongside the Antonio Carraro range, that machinery includes Orizzonti foliage management and undervine kit, Friuli’s high-end sprayers, including the environmentally and financially impressive drift recovery models, Kirkland UK’s own range, including a subsoiler and mower, and sprayers, mowers, pulverisers and more from Orvin.
Also high on many growers’ wish lists ahead of this year’s harvest will be something from the Gregoire range of grape harvesters which has been impressing many in an industry looking to reduce its dependency on manual labour.
For those concerned about the potential for machine harvesting to release juice from the grapes ahead of time, Kirkland UK offers Sthik grape reception equipment, including a trailer with a separate juice tray that allows any run off to be pumped straight into the tank rather than going via the press.
“With labour becoming more expensive and difficult to source, the combination of a Gregoire harvester and sophisticated grape reception equipment makes perfect sense,” Tom commented.
As well as salesman Richard Pendry, the team has also welcomed a new agricultural technician on board in the shape of Matt Kemsley, who has gained extensive knowledge of diagnostics during an impressive career with many of the major manufacturers within the industry.
“We are excited to welcome Matt to the team,” said Tom. “Whether it’s in Scotland, Wales, Cornwall or Kent, we know Matt will be able to diagnose the problem on the spot.”
Surrounded by customers enjoying the music, food and drink, Kirkland UK owner Scott Worsley neatly summed up the day: “This is basically just our thank you to the customers. People like to come along and see what’s new in farming machinery, have a chat and enjoy a bit of down time. It’s been a great day all round.”
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