Setting off with a new business of your own and growing organically is a brave step, and it is not one that Darren Bailey of Baily Machinery Sales (BMS) expected to find himself taking.
Bailey is steeped in the world of agricultural machinery – he grew up with farm contracting in his veins, and started his sales career working for a New Holland dealership before entering the media world as a machinery correspondent.
It was when this job came to an abrupt end in 2019 that he found himself looking for a new direction, while still freelancing for various publications and manufacturers.
Unexpected lifeline
He will happily confess that starting his own dealership was not foremost on his mind at the time, but an approach from Garth Cairns of SlurryKat, who suggested that he represents the company in the south, set him on his present path.
The gods were obviously smiling on the new venture, for on the first day of selling, he took an orders for two SlurryKat trailers, and there has been no looking back since.
While it is possible to assemble a list of the various milestones, in the company’s growth, there is one overriding factor which Bailey believes to underlie the success, or otherwise, of any company in the business.
“The Irish machinery trade is a people business, people buy off people”, he adamantly believes, and it is a sentiment echoed throughout the network of agents, dealers and manufacturers that make up the trade in Ireland.
Bailey had built up many contacts the years previous to setting up BMS, and it is these contacts that stood him good stead at the start and still do so today.
Investing in BMS
Yet, there is more to the growth of the business than just having the right numbers in the mobile phone, hard work comes into it and a certain resilience to the knocks that are bound to come with the territory.
He noted that all the money made is ploughed back into the business and this becomes obvious when looking at the stores which are piled high with parts and spares for the still limited number of agencies he carries.
Yet, Bailey is not out to fill his yard with a multitude of different brands, he prefers to keep what he knows to work and work well, and is of good quality rather than go on a shopping spree around companies that are simply looking for an outlet of any sort in Ireland.
SlurryKat was the original make that got him going, Prodig, who he knew from his New Holland days, soon followed and then by chance, he happened upon Tractorbumper from the Netherlands and was, he said, “blown away by the quality when the first batch arrived”.
Pottinger fills a gap
The latest company BMS has come to represent is Pottinger, which he feels fits right in with his philosophy of selling only what he would be happy to take back home himself.
Besides the quality, carrying the range has filled a big gap in his annual cycle for, unlike most dealerships, his busy period was through the winter months with slurry spreaders, both tankers and umbilical.
Now that he has a line of grassland equipment for the spring, and tillage implements for the back end of summer and autumn, the calendar is full and there is always something to do whatever the season.
In addition to selling new items, the opportunity has arisen to export used equipment abroad, with umbilical equipment heading the list.
Ireland punches well above its weight when it comes to manufacturing such products, so it is only natural that dealers from the continent turn to this country when looking for second hand kit, and Bailey is happy to oblige.
Having started from old Portacabin in a relative’s yard, the business has grown into an impressive operation with three staff working full-time and a further two part-time.
There is likely to be an opening for a parts and service manager at some point in the future, but not just yet, he said
When asked if he would consider a tractor franchise to go with the implements, the answer is not an immediate yes or no.
The quality ethos would need to be satisfied, and then there is a question of buying all the equipment needed to service a top brand, not a cheap proposition by any means.
Customer care
On the subject of service and parts, he noted that there are four points to keeping the customer satisfied.
The first is that the farmer should have a number to ring whatever the time of day, the second is that the call is answered, the third is that knowledgeable help is given, and the final part of the process is that the part is readily available.
This philosophy has stood BMS in good stead, for there is now a new four bay service facility being built at the rear of the premises to provide the room, and especially the height, that is so lacking in the old furniture factory which is presently the offices and workshop.
Looking forward, Bailey believes that keeping the ship tightly managed will continue to be the number one priority.
BMS has very little in the way of borrowings and little to room to amass a large amount of stock, and that is the way he intends to keep it.
One trap he intends to avoid, is over focusing on a particular type or product or brand: “I would never call myself a specialist, because there is always something that can be learnt,” he noted.
Experience has also taught him to be wary of customers who are less than honest in their dealings, but knowing which ones they are is the difficult part, and there are several outstanding accounts which he is still trying to get settled.
He lists three other knocks as being Covid-19, Brexit and Ukraine. Each has proved its challenges and if BMS can get through these, then it should be able to cope with whatever next comes along.