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1. Report of the 52nd Doe Show 7-9 February 2012 2. Dickies Distributor of the Year Award 3. New Highway 3 set to eat up municipal work 4. New Braintree Branch now open 5. Tractor Hire
Report of the 52nd Doe Show, 7-9 February 2012
Despite six inches of snow which fell on the preceding Saturday night, the 52nd Doe Show opened as planned at 9am Tuesday 7th February 2012 at Ulting, Maldon, Essex. Billed as ‘the UK’s largest agricultural, construction and groundcare dealer show’ this year’s event was just as big as usual featuring new machinery and plenty of good bargains in the shop-soiled and used equipment sections. Unfortunately the weather conditions made it impossible to mount working demonstrations. .
Tier 4 marches ahead and the show was the first time that many farmers had the opportunity to see mid range tractors with Tier 4 engines. These tractors follow their bigger brothers introduced in 2011 and bring the benefits of more power from lower fuel consumption to the mid range sector.
Visitors saw a new T6.160 with Tier 4 engine on the New Holland stand as well as a T4.75 PowerStar on turf/amenity tyres which had been launched only two weeks previously at BTME in Harrogate.
Graham Parker, sales director of Ernest Doe said, “As usual, the Show was a fantastic start to the year for us. Tuesday morning dawned bright and cold and the outside display areas were soon full of visitors talking to manufacturers and also negotiating good deals on used machinery. Inside there was a lot of interest in the new mid range tractors where Tier 4 engines are bringing the benefits of improved performance and increased fuel efficiency to the more 'bread and butter' models. Interest was also high in precision farming and Charlie Webber, our specialist in this area, was on hand to explain the efficiency opportunities that GPS systems bring. "I would like to say just how hard all our staff work to put this show on, whatever the weather, whatever the difficulties. We are grateful too for the support given by the manufacturers that we represent who also put on a great show and make this such a successful event for our customers and ourselves."
Ernest Doe has been appointed by Opico to distribute the Maschio range of cultivation machinery and many of the newly-launched power harrows and drills were on the Opico stand at the show.
On the Simba stand were the new SLD460 and the new Centurion drill. The Centurion is an 'operator-friendly' machine being both easy to set up and use.
On the Manitou stand was the new MLA630, a machine that puts Manitou firmly back in the pivot steer telehandler market. The pivot steer concept has a loyal following in the UK and we expect many farmers will looking closely at the advantages that the MLA630 offers.
In the construction area were the new R60CR and R80CR from Hyundai. Appearing for the first time in the UK was the E215C from New Holland. This machine was put through its paces on the demonstration plot.
The Doe Show was the first event in the calendar of New Holland Construction's Grand Prix Challenge. In the Grand Prix customers could test for themselves the power and fuel efficiency of the new C Series wheel loaders and crawler excavators featuring AdBlue technology.
In the groundcare section was the new Ransomes Parkway 3, an all-new triplex mower for the municipal and commercial markets. The Parkway 3 can tackle the toughest jobs. Its 33.5 hp Kubota diesel engine together with heavy duty Magna cylinders gives it the power and performance to cut large grassed areas with ease. The traction control system combines an automatic limited slip differential with on-demand four-wheel drive for hill climbing and there's an optional TST stability system for safe operation.
Also for Ransomes Jacobsen was the HR300 out front rotary or flail mower. The HR300 utilises a 3 cylinder turbocharged 33hp Kubota diesel engine. This is matched with a revised hydraulic transmission system giving high torque and high power. The improved transmission efficiency provides an out-front rotary or flail mower with superior hill climbing ability. There's a choice of wheel widths for better stability and an operator platform that has better accessibility.
Ernest Doe wins Dickies Distributor of the Year Award
Ernest Doe has been presented with the 2011 Distributor of the Year Award from Dickies at a gala award dinner at Marlowe's Crowne Plaza Hotel. Dickies are a major supplier of workwear and footwear and Ernest Doe earned the award for increased sales and enthusiastic marketing campaigns. The awards were presented by TV presenter Quentin Wilson, seen on the left in the photograph below. Receiving the award on behalf of Ernest Doe was Sophie Doe, the company's window dresser. Also in the photo is Maurice Morton, Dickies European Sales and Marketing Director.
Local authorities impressed with abilities of new Highway 3
The launch of the new Highway 3 from Ransomes Jacobsen caused quite a stir at IOG Saltex 2009. This machine is destined to become best-seller in its sector where local authorities demand an efficient and durable machine. Lighter than its competitors, compact and highly manoeuvrable, this commercial triple cylinder mower takes municipal mowing to a higher plane. Taking class leading characteristics from its two successful stablemates Highway 2130 and Parkway 2250, the new Highway 3 provides local authorities and commercial contractors with a highly manoeuvrable, light in weight triplex cylinder mower which provides outstanding performance and productivity.
Demonstration
The Highway 3 is expected to be available from early 2010. Why not contact our Professional Grass Machinery team on 01245 380311 for a demonstration.
We have moved our Braintree branch into new purpose-built premises immediately adjacent to the old buildings in Rayne Road. The official opening was performed by company chairman Alan E Doe at a special event on the evening of Wednesday 23rd September in front of more than five hundred customer guests. In addition to being able to view all the new facilities; showroom, workshop and stores, guests were also able to chat to the many manufacturers’ representatives who were also in attendance. Prior to unveiling a commemorative plaque, Mr Doe talked about the history of the branch, from when he and his father bought what was essentially a field in 1947, through its transformation in 1973, and to the brand new building of today which has been very much the brainchild of his son, Managing Director, Colin E Doe. Also speaking was Richard Spencer, Marketing Manager for New Holland, who explained the requirement for today’s sophisticated agricultural machinery to be serviced and repaired in a modern, well equipped work environment.
Pictured with the commemorative plaque are, from left; Colin E Doe, Managing Director Ernest Doe, Alan E Doe, Managing Director Ernest Doe and Richard Spencer, Marketing Manager New Holland Agriculture
A hog roast supper was provided and a Sales Director Graham Parker led a charity auction which raised £3150 for Macmillan Cancer Support. The new branch has been built with an investment of over £1.3 million and features a workshop which is double the size of the previous facility. The new workshop has lifting equipment integrated into the frame of the building which will bring space saving and productivity benefits.
One of the key features of the new building is that it is one of the first industrial buildings to achieve the BREEAM standard of Very Good. This standard is an all-encompassing environmental standard which takes into consideration everything from transport arrangements, through very high standards of insulation and locally sourced materials, to the energy consumption of the building where a high proportion of the requirement is provided by renewable energy. Managing Director Colin E Doe commented, “Our old premises were nearing the end of their economic life. We would not have been able to bring the New Holland CR 9090, the World’s largest capacity combine, into the old workshop. Now we are in a position to look after the largest equipment in a building which offers excellent working conditions and is energy efficient as well.” The whole of the 13,000 sq ft building is provided with underfloor heating through an electric heat pump which is connected to eleven 90m bore holes. The design promises that for every unit of energy put into the heat pump, 4½ units of energy will come out to heat the building.
The building also has an efficient lighting system. This is provided by effective use of natural light, combined with high bay holophane lights. These lights feature an automatic dimming system which ensures constant light levels (greater than 500 lux) and cuts energy wastage by ensuring that lights are either dimmed or turned off when not needed. The lighting system will ensure better working conditions and help improve productivity. Les Boniface, Braintree Branch Manager said; “We are really pleased to have this new facility. We will be in a position to offer the best in customer service from a state-of–the-art building. A few hurdles had to be negotiated along the way but now we are really looking forward to welcoming our existing and new customers to the new premises.”
Les Boniface, Braintree Branch Manager New parts racking will enable a quicker, more efficient service to be provided and everyone, customers and staff, will benefit from the larger, better equipped facilities. The attractive exterior has been colour coded, with the silver fascia being complemented by the blue and yellow common to both New Holland and Ernest Doe. Automatically opening front doors to the showroom will bring additional benefits to customers, especially those who may be carrying bulky items. This will be setting the standard for all Ernest Doe showrooms.
After a number of years absent from the short term tractor hire business we have decided once again to enter this competitive market. We ran 10 tractors on short term contracts (generally 10 - 16 weeks) during last harvest and have now ordered in excess of 30 tractors to go out for the 2010 harvest period.
Simon Bonfield, our Fulbourn Branch Manager, is running the Doe Hire Fleet, which now consists of 15 combines, 40 trailers and now 40 + tractors both New Holland and Case IH.
Simon said, "We have a number of tractors on long term hire (52 weeks through to 5 year contracts) but with so much demand out there from our customers now seems the right time to return to the short term hire market. Years ago we had over 70 tractors on our hire fleet but it became difficult to sell them all when they returned off hire, that is the key to making this business work."
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