First open day at new depot demonstrates massive support

Up to 800 new and existing customers enjoyed an opportunity to meet the Ripon Farm Services team and nd out about the products and services on o er at the rst open day held at the new Malton depot.

The first open day at the new Malton depot of Ripon Farm Services Ltd took place in late October. David Williams reports.

The new depot was needed following the acquisition of neighbouring John Deere dealer RBM Agricultural Ltd in March 2019. Business growth as well as the need to accommodate much larger machinery meant that an existing premises in Malton had been outgrown, so a new site was purchased on the Eden Business Park for the purpose-built depot.

Including Malton, Ripon Farm Services has 11 depots from which it looks after customers across all of Yorkshire and much of Lincolnshire. The most northerly depot is in Stockton-on-Tees, the furthest west is Keighley and Louth in Lincolnshire serves the southern trading area.

Range of customers

Construction work on the Malton depot started 18 months ago, and the Ripon Farm Services team moved in this August.

“From the Malton depot we look after a very diverse range of customers, from large farming estates to smaller family dairy and livestock farms,” explained regional manager Tony Ralph.

“We have a huge opportunity to grow our sales in the area, and where we were quite limited by our ability to accommodate enough sales and service sta as well as the biggest machinery at the previous Malton site – there is plenty of room at the new depot now, and for further expansion in future.

“It’s a state-of-the-art premises with a large workshop, and we have started with six technicians and two apprentices and aim to increase the workshop team to eight within the next year. When our company founder, Geo Brown started trading – customer service was his absolute priority. He remains actively involved as our managing director, and supporting customers is still the backbone of everything we do. With the new premises, we can provide an even better customer experience than before.”

Double the expected attendance

The open day was the rst opportunity for new and existing customers to inspect the new depot and view the latest John Deere products. “We expected 300–400 to attend, but there were almost 800,” continued Tony. “There were many we hadn’t seen for a while, so it was great to spend time with them and to introduce the Malton team.

“We had the John Deere X9 combine with a 45ft header displayed – which has been ordered by a large estate nearby, and we had the latest John Deere 6250R tractor which appeals to larger farms and contractors, as well as a 5M-series tractor with a loader which is the most popular model supplied to livestock and smaller mixed farms.”

Members of the Ripon Farm Services team (l-r): Service manager Will Mitchell; branch administrator Linda Craggs; parts driver John Allam; ag tech apprentice Henry Atkinson; service technicians Adam Leckenby and Matt Ridley; service supervisor Will Harper; ground care technician Frazer Harper; yardman and service technician Chris Stroud; service technician Kevin Wade; housekeeper Trish Wade; parts advisors Ryan Jordan and David Cook; parts manager Mark Sissons; area sales manager Ben Fawcett, and regional manager Tony Ralph. Extra space at the new depot means that the dealer is keen to recruit more technicians. Pictured are current service team members promoting the recruitment campaign, (l-r): Ag tech apprentice Henry Atkinson; ground care technician Frazer Harper; parts advisor Ryan Jordan; yardman and service technician Chris Stroud and service technician Adam Leckenby.

Quality brands

Kramer handlers were on show, as well as products from Kuhn, Bailey Trailers, Spearhead and Ifor Williams. “Kramer handlers have become a big part of our business as customers like being able to buy the full package of tractors, handlers and combines from one reliable dealer,” continued Tony. “The range of Kuhn products included a power-harrow drill combination and one of the latest spreaders and a wide range of Ifor Williams trailers was on show too. “The open day attendance far exceeded our expectations, and our sales, service and parts teams were busy meeting and looking after customers from mid-morning until late in the evening. We very much appreciate the fantastic support from everyone who attended, as well as from our suppliers who helped make the day such a success.” FG