New Holland has announced new dealership arrangements in Yorkshire, Humberside and Lincolnshire following the decision of Platts Harris Group Ltd to restructure its business and concentrate on its branches at Tuxford and Darley Dale.
The former Platts Harris Group branches at Brigg and Hambleton have been sold to neighbouring New Holland dealers, while its Epworth branch has been closed.
The managing director of Platts Harris, Simon Wilson, said that the move was a result of lower volumes of agricultural machinery sales: "With no indication of an improvement in sales in the immediate future, we decided that we had to cut costs."
"We have reduced the number of branches we operate and will be concentrating on providing a high level of customer service from Tuxford and Darley Dale," he added. "We are currently enlarging the workshop and parts storage area at Tuxford and also plan to build a new machinery storage building on the site."
Taking over the Brigg branch is Louth-based New Holland dealer Lincolnshire Motors Ltd. Judged the UK's top New Holland dealer in the brand's 2003 Dealer Standards Assessment Scheme, the company is looking forward to extending this quality of service to South Humberside.
Immediate changes by the family-owned firm include plans to increase the parts stock at the new branch, which will also be topped-up on a daily basis from the Louth depot.
Importantly in this period of change, Lincolnshire Motors has retained the qualified parts staff at Brigg working under Adrian Stevens, while salesman Michael Parker also remains with the business.
At Hambleton, it is Kirkbymoorside-based Russell Farm Machinery that has taken over. The company - which also has branches at Boroughbridge, Northallerton, Darlington and Malton - plans to invest in the business and hopes to relocate to a new, purpose-built depot on the A1 corridor within the next two years.
All the existing Hambleton staff have been retained by the company, which has also taken on several key members of staff from Epworth including George Atkinson in sales and Graham Tegerdine in parts.
The former territory covered by the Epworth Branch has been split three ways with Platts Harris retaining the southern section, while Russell Farm Machinery takes on responsibility for the north-western section. New Holland dealer Robert D Webster Ltd, of Howden, takes on responsibility for the north-east of the territory.
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New Holland's commercial manager for the North of England and Scotland, Dick Spencer, said that the changes will result in a stronger, locally-based network of dealers to support New Holland's product range: "The move to bigger but fewer machines has meant that a high level of expertise is required and all these dealers have the pedigree to provide this.
"This region is very important to New Holland and while the realignment has resulted in slightly larger territories, customer support will not be sacrificed," he added. "Dealers will be on hand to meet customer needs by maintaining access to high-quality service for our customers."
