Product and service satisfaction leads to new purchase

Gerald Western (left) pictured with Mark Butcher, was one of Marst Agri’s rst customers when it branched out into retailing, but has been running Merlo machines since 1996, beginning with a TF32.7. He is now running his third Merlo telehandler, a Turbofarmer 38.10.

Satisfaction with both back-up and product design are the twin reasons one farm business has purchased its third Merlo telehandler – this time from long-term Merlo engineers who founded one of the brand’s newest UK dealerships.

Mark and Stewart Butcher formed Marst Agri in 2017, having each been involved with servicing Merlo products since the manufacturer’s earliest days in the UK 20 years previously. Concentrating at rst on servicing machines across their Su olk locality, they then added Merlo parts supply to their o ering, before in mid2021 being o ered the chance to take on the franchise as a full sales dealer for Merlo’s agricultural telescopic handlers, genuine attachments and retail nance.

“Dealer franchise changes across the industry gave us the chance to consider entering the sales sector, and via our service connections with Merlo UK we expressed our interest in becoming a sub or full dealer,” says Mark.

“We had accumulated a lot of knowledge and experience with Merlo products over the years, and while it is a big step from running a service business to setting up a full sales, service and parts dealership, we were con dent Merlo was the right product line to do it with.”

Merlo UK management was impressed with the Marst Agri business plan, and granted Mark and Stewart its franchise for the Su olk area on 1st September 2022. Operating for the past ve years from its established premises at Lower Layham, close to Hadleigh Showground, Marst Agri bene ts from a large yard with two substantial workshop bays, and is dedicated exclusively to Merlo.

“We do occasional servicing of general farm equipment, but don’t intend to broaden our sales into other franchises or product areas,” explains Mark.

“We pride ourselves on service, rst and foremost. With Merlo agricultural telehandlers alone, we have su cient service and parts business to keep us busy, because while reliability is not an issue, there is a substantial park of Merlo handlers on farms in this area requiring service support to maintain them in the best possible working condition. We have around 150 machines on our books, and are making investments in our premises to enhance support for them, including a new mezzanine oor dedicated to parts storage.”

The business sold six new Merlo telehandlers in its rst six months with the franchise, primarily to committed Merlo customers, and is now looking to target conquest sales by demonstrating to owners of other machines the feature advantages of Merlo’s range. To this end, the company has recently invested in a 4.2t/7.1m Turbofarmer 42.7 demonstrator, with a 3.8t/10m Turbofarmer 38.10 also due this autumn.

Beyond its work shifting grain, seed and fertiliser, the Western partnership’s Merlo spends much of its time on timber processing for rewood.

Customer sticks with product and people

One of Marst Agri’s rst customers when it branched out into retailing was Su olk father-and-son farm partnership Gerald and Giles Western; long-term Merlo users who farm 400ha near Framlingham. Having had three Merlo telehandlers, beginning with a Turbofarmer 32.7 in 1996 not long after Merlo had established a UK base, they have considerable experience with the marque, and were as keen to stay with Merlo when purchasing their most recent machine as they were to commit to the new dealer, having previously used Mark and Stewart for service work.

“When they announced they were forming a dealership in addition to o ering the servicing they had provided for our previous Merlos, we were very keen to deal with Mark and Stewart based on our experiences with them,” explains Gerald.

“One of the downsides with large-scale dealerships is that they can lose the personal touch and struggle to retain service sta . With Marst Agri, working with a small team that understands all aspects of the machines across the sales, service and parts is one of the key reasons we committed to buying another Merlo. On the rare occasion a part we might need isn’t in stock, it will be available the next day from Merlo UK.

“But another reason was the product itself. Much of our work involves loading grain and sugar beet, but beyond this we also carry out a lot of rewood processing, plus some landscaping and pond clearance, so our telehandler is rarely still.”

The Westerns are not averse to trying other makes, though, when the time comes to replace a machine and demonstrators become available.

“There are many other makes on the market,” acknowledges Gerald.

“But every time we try one out, we come to the conclusion that we must have another Merlo.

“For example, many of the transmissions on the alternatives are nowhere near as smooth as the Merlo’s hydrostatic, which is also a great asset when it’s necessary to hold the machine in place momentarily and use the throttle to provide maximum power to the hydraulics.

“The general design principles we really like include the relationship with the headstock and attachment. We had another maker’s 9m machine on demo, and found that the carriage was directly above the front axle at full height, eliminating any forward reach. With the Merlo design, the carriage is over a metre forward of the front wheels at full height.

“The Turbofarmer 38.10 we recently purchased from Marst Agri is the second 10m Merlo with twin telescopic boom we have had, and the additional reach makes it ideal for pushing up grain – with a pusher attached we can get maximum reach without putting the machine’s front wheels in the heap.

“Then there’s the visibility and driving position. We have a very compact farm yard, with perhaps the worst design possible for manoeuvring with a telehandler. But the Merlo’s low boom and its pivot, plus the low-set engine, make it easy to see all around.

“Every input and output it handles has gone up in price, so we’re pleased we’ve bought another Merlo telehandler that gives us the ability to get commodities heaped and stacked as swiftly as possible without issue, and we’ve no qualms about working with a new dealer given the team’s vast experience with the product.” FG