One of the more proactive dealers in Ireland is Atkins of Birr, Co. Offaly, which regularly holds open days to bring customers into the branch and to familiarise them with both its staff and products.
Atkins holds the Fendt agency for the area and with these being regarded as being a hard sell due to their premium price, the company has to work that little bit harder to get them out of the door, and it doesn’t shirk from the task.
Rain stops play
The company’s latest event was billed as a working demonstration with visitors having the chance to work the tractors in field conditions.
Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas and the intended field was reduced to a swimming pool, meaning that ‘plan B’ was swung into action and a somewhat more limited day was held on hard standing at the company’s own premises.
Although this might have reduced the scope of the demonstrations possible there was one exhibit which was in the dry and was a little different from what you might normally see at this type of event.
Atkins had taken a brand-new 720 Vario and stripped it down enough to allow visitors to see just what it is that goes into the making of a Fendt.
Easier that one thinks?
It might be thought that this was a long and complicated task that would take a day or two, but not so, according to Trevor Richardson, the branch manager.
To remove the wheels and cab will take little more than an hour he claims, with some small assistance required for a few minutes to help with the pipework.
That is an impressive boast, and the technician who did it was well versed in the intricacies of Fendt, yet it is still reassuring to know that repair bills may not be as scary as might otherwise be thought.
Not that cabs need to come off very often for reliability is a key feature of the brand, Trevor notes. But there are times when it’s unavoidable and he cites the case of a customer who had brought in a used model from the UK.
After delving into the history of the machine it was found to have been clocked by 4,500 hours and otherwise generally abused. The cheapest way forward was to fit a remanufactured engine from Fendt, which they did, and the owner now has a fully working machine which the dealer is happy to support for many years yet.
Solidity vs. ground pressure
With the cab and wheels off and the bonnet lifted it soon becomes clear why the Fendt needs to ask a higher price; put simply, a lot of metal goes into their construction.
Sean Gorman, sales manager for Fendt Ireland, admits that the Fendt is a heavy tractor, but this is mitigated by such features as Central Tyre Inflation Systems (CTIS), which spreads that weight over the ground and uses it effectively to increase traction.
He points to the fact that the high-horsepower Fendt 1000 series of wheeled tractors has displaced tracked machines over in the UK despite what would appear to be a significant weight penalty.
This, he puts down to advances in tyre technology which, in conjunction with CTIS, has narrowed the advantage that tracked vehicles had in preserving soil structure – yet the advances still allow high transport speeds.
Light ahead for Atkins of Birr
Not so long ago, selling Fendts into Ireland was considered next to impossible and sales would be confined to the occasional customer with deep pockets.
Yet that perception is now shifting and they are beginning to be seen as a viable option, especially if farmers buy into the brand on a long-term basis.
Not that they will be everybody’s cup of tea, as Sean and Richard are the first to point out, but if a customer views machinery as an essential investment rather than just a necessity, they believe that the brand is worth a second look.