cultureSeptember 2017 Edition

Often it’s difficult to get a well-rounded impression of a machine and its capabilities without hearing from people who actually have one and use it. Manitou Sales Area and Marketing Manager Jean-Philippe Gilbert asked Manitou customer, Adriaan Frick a few questions about his experiences with his Manitou telehandler. Adriaan, whom lives near Geraldton in Western Australia, had a great response to why he chose to get a Manitou telehandler to do all the material handling on his farm.

“We have worked with Manitou before and I liked the machine. They are good, reliable, low-maintenance and easy to work

BULLETIN BOARDS

AFGRI Equipment Customer Relations

ManagerBrenton Read

Brenton discusses his decision to assist in the Wongan Hills re-structure and on assuming the role of Branch Manager, whilst still keeping his commitments as Customer Relations Manager.

“I want to reach out to our customer base in the Wongan Hills area who have continued to support us and assure them our branch’s focus is to deliver the best service possible. We are determined to continue to provide quality support and reliable service to our customers. With my association with the area over the last 17 years, I decided

A Word From... with the Directors, to come back to the branch and influence positive change in some key areas. In the brief time I’ve been back, we’ve had many positive responses from our clients, and valuable discussions in recognition of things we do well and areas where we can improve. I want to personally thank all our customers for sticking by us and continuing to support the branch. Despite some staff moving on, when one door closes, another opens. We have either brought in or promoted through the ranks various staff members who are equipped with the tools they need. I have great confidence in saying our staff are very experienced, highly-qualified and will endeavour to ensure we succeed. Congratulations to Lance Eastwood who has been with Wongan Hills Parts Department coming up 13 years. Lance has accepted the challenge of Parts Manager. Ben

Milton has moved across from our Precision Ag Department to work alongside Brendan Barratt in sales and provide the right equipment, advice and solutions for our customers. Welcome to Clint Harding who has taken on the permanent role of Service Manager. Clint was previously based in Carnamah and comes to Wongan Hills with the passion, drive and the skills needed to grow our business and focus on improving the quality of service we provide. I have every confidence in our team and I know we are all on the same page in driving the Wongan Hills branch forward. For any of our customers who wish to discuss further, my phone number is 0427 994 558. Please don’t hesitate to call me and provide any feedback on ways we can assist your business and help us continue to improve.”

DELIGHTED: Local Geraldton farmer, Adriaan Frick with his Manitou.

with. I was looking for something that could do the general lifting and some of the heavier work on the farm. We found that the Manitou was the most suitable to the Australian conditions, they are strong and had a better cooling system compared to all

the other European brands. I use the Manitou mainly to handle hay and do my fencing but obviously, we can do more stuff with the range of attachments we have… forks, bucket…. Since we have our Manitou, we can work a lot quicker than with our previous machines.”

Rest assured, Manitou’s teles can handle the pressure

Marvellous moments at 35th Mingenew Expo

AFGRI Equipment have had the great honour of being awarded Best Machinery

Display 2017, for our site at this year’s Mingenew Midwest Expo. The event, held on August 16 and 17, celebrated 35 years of innovation and being a part of the Mingenew community. Despite the turn-out being a little quieter this year, the day did not disappoint with an estimated 5,000 visitors attending the show over both days. AFGRI Carnamah Sales Representative Diarmuid Lombard said the day was a day for our farmers. “We greatly value the support of our local farmers and customers and I want to personally thank all who came down and talked to us on our site,” Diarmuid said. “We love attending Mingenew Expo as we understand its importance to farmers and it provides us with a huge opportunity to continue growing with the local community.” AFGRI Equipment Marketing Manager Jacques Coetzee said the win was a testament to the hard work all our staff put in. “The effort our team put into bringing the site together and making it look

GROUP PHOTO: Big congrautlations to all who helped put our site together.the way it did, was fantastic,” Jacques said. “The teamwork between AFGRI Geraldton and AFGRI Carnamah is great to see and their dedication to making a great site that will really reach out and fit well with our customers, is something we as a company strive for.” Our site featured a wide range of our equipment from John Deere, Kuhn, Manitou, Trufab Global, Marshall and more, with a lot of interest in the John Deere 9520RX on site as well as Trufab’s latest release, the Nyrex 38T Chaser Bin. A special mention must also be given to Carnamah’s Finlay Brown & Alan Kidd, who successfully restored the centrepiece of our site, our large John Deere sign. The sign, which was a great highlight of the site with many visitors stopping for photos, was recovered from an old John Deere Pylon. Diarmuid said the win could be

attributed to our commitment to continually trying to improve. “I’ve been in Carnamah (at the branch) for the last five years, and each year, we keep trying to get better and better, and I’m really happy we have managed to get over the line and win this year,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to attending next year’s show and having an even bigger and better Mingenew Expo.” This year’s expo was one of the event’s best with a range of new and exciting programs, different exhibitors, fun competitions and interactive displays. Other notable highlights were the show’s special guest line-up which included international cricketer Brad Hogg, and celebrity master pizza chef Theo Kalogeracos, with the latter visiting our site and checking out some of our latest John Deere equipment up close. ECSTATIC: Diarmuid & Jacques.

Our delegation of farmers and their wives from our Esperance region,

travelled to Germany recently to visit the Horsch Headquarters, factories and farms. The trip was put together by our own, Mark Bratten and the group would like to thank Mark for his meticulous planning in making the trip a great success. From tours to hotels to restaurants, everything was planned extremely well. And of course, his constant barrage of jokes and wit kept us all entertained! Arriving in

VALUABLE: Michael Horsch discussing operations with tour members.

HIT THE FIELD: The group got to see the Horsch Cruiser XL in action.

Munich and travelling to the Horsch Headquarters, the group were joined by Peter and Patty Jack from Muddy River, and welcomed by Michael Horsch (Horsch’s Managing Director) on arrival at the Schwandorf Headquarters. Michael started building machines in the early 1980s from the farm workshop

in Schwandorf, and steadily grew the business into what is now, one of the most respected tillage brands worldwide. Prior to heading to the Czech Republic, the group also visited the Horsch/Leeb sprayer factory, and witnessed some impressive new technology in the Horsch Boom Sight, as well as the rigorous testing and calibration each machine goes through before it leaves the factory. Michael spent nearly four days with the group discussing farming technologies, machinery needs and uses and taking us through his farm in the Czech Republic. Unfortunately, the weather was wet while we were there, so instead of watching wheat being harvested, we made do with a bus tour around the farm, and Michael discussing the future of traceability. Ultimately, chemical drums will be installed with microchips, the spray plan will be on your phone, and the drums will be scanned. If it’s the right chemical for the plan, the doors on the handler will open and the information will be uploaded through the phone

Local farmers gain great insights from Horsch tripThe following account is of the fantastic highlights of our recent Horsch Tour, written by our own AFGRI Geraldton Branch Manager, Graeme Henderson. Graeme, alongside AFGRI Esperance Sales Representative Mark Bratten, joined some local Esperance farmers on the tour, aimed at providing an in-depth look into Horsch equipment, their factories and farms.

MAJESTIC: The tour also explored local German sites and architecture.

OUTLOOK: Assessing the crop.

onto the cloud. If the wrong drum is scanned, the doors won't open. This is obviously, very different to what we know but consumers and supermarkets now demand more traceability of where our food comes from. For anyone interested, you can do a virtual tour of Michael’s farm, Agrovation on the popular game Farming Simulator. Your kids may have already visited it! Michael had the farm mapped into the game to raise awareness into what they are doing and how they are doing it. Despite communism being removed from the area, a lot of old habits still remain in the Eastern Bloc of Europe and Michael saw the game as an opportunity to educate families through their children as to how farms are run and what happens if a field is not sprayed on time, or planted on time. Back into Germany after a stopover in the picturesque Prague, we made a stopover in the equally picturesque Dresden. Dresden was fire bombed by the allies at the end of World War 2 and huge parts of the city had to be rebuilt from absolute rubble. The main cathedral rebuild was only just completed in 2008. Mark had organised us a night at the orchestra, and it's safe to say they don’t get many Aussie beer drinkers at these events, we cleaned them out of cold beer in the first round and the rest were Kimberley Cool at best! After leaving Dresden, we visited Johanas Horsch's farm (Michael’s Brother). As with all the Horsch family, Johanas was extremely welcoming and full of information. He had some very good land on the German grade scale in the top 20%, and some extremely good three year averages which given the season we are having in WA, we won't talk about. A German speciality of slow-cooked pork shoulder and

sauerkraut was served up for us for lunch on arrival at the main factory in Ronneburg. Even before we were given a tour through the factory seeing firsthand how the Horsch equipment gets put together, it was obvious there was plenty of German pride and engineering excellence here. As with most factories these days, we could not take photos on the

production floor, just outside of the completed product. Berlin was our next stop, and oh what history here, World War 1 & 2, the communism period, the Berlin Wall...... and we’re off again! One day was just not enough. A three hour bus journey North greeted us the next morning, but we would not be disappointed. When we arrived, after already missing the chance to see the Horsch Cruiser XL in action in the Czech Republic due to wet weather, the group showed no signs of a three hour bus trip when a 9620RX was tearing up the field behind the bus with said cruiser on the back! From Berlin, the group headed west across Germany via Zweibrüken (unfortunately, no tour of the header factory as it was shut for summer break) and through to Paris before flying back to Perth. Overall, it was a fantastically informative and memorable trip and I was very happy to be a part of it. If anyone is seeking more information on Horsch equipment, please don’t hesitate to contact your local AFGRI branch today!

All fun and sprays at WMG’s Advanced Spray Workshop

WALGA gives great scope for local Gov’ts

AFGRI Equipment attended WALGA’s 2017 Western Australian Local

Government Convention and Trade Exhibition last month. It was the first time AFGRI had attended the event, the largest single gathering of Local Government Authorities in WA. The major assembly is a once a year occasion in which elected members, council workers & CEOs from across the state gather for their annual conference. The event, held from August 2 to August 4, was a great chance to showcase our latest range of John Deere tractors and John Deere Golf & Turf equipment to help build product and services awareness within local government across the state. AFGRI Perth Golf & Government Representative, Dollin Knight said the day was very positive. “The level of interaction was very encouraging,” Dollin said. “We had CEOs, works managers and supervisors from all over the state

as well as a considerable amount of Shire Presidents and Councillors, with whom we normally don’t get to deal with.” On display were a small selection of John Deere equipment AFGRI can supply directly to local governments including a 1585 Terrain Cut Front Mower with 72” fastback deck, a GatorTM XUV 855D and a 6105M Tractor. However, the centrepiece of the stand was a specially-built 7 iron mower deck display that was reportedly the envy of other turf equipment suppliers. Dollin said there was great value for AFGRI in attending the event. “I feel WALGA is extremely important as it provides an opportunity to promote AFGRI Equipment Pty Ltd to a wide variety of end users in a friendly, hassle-free environment,” he said. After completing WALGA, his first show with AFGRI, Dollin couldn’t hide his excitement at the upcoming events still to come, including the IGA Perth Royal Show. “We are preparing to see a lot of people

that dream of being John Deere owners and hopefully, we will be able to help them realise that dream,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s another opportunity to consult with people that we might not usually get to speak with about their requirements and importantly, promote the AFGRI brand into the Metropolitan market.” Dollin also said he was looking forward to rekindling his association with the Karragullen Expo and Horticultural Show, still to come later this year.

DISCUSSIONS: Meeting delegates.

Despite a very wet, cold and wild winter’s day, AFGRI Equipment were glad to

attend the West Midland Group’s Advanced Spray Workshop to help inform customers on all things spraying. The event, held at Badgingarra Research Station, allowed for a comprehensive workshop into sprayers including sprayer decisions, capabilities and potential outcomes. The workshop, which kicked off at 12.30pm, also looked at the pros and cons of certain sprayers as well as spraying in different weather conditions. AFGRI

Moora Sales Representative Jake Wilkins said the event was a great way to discuss our equipment including the John Deere R4045 demo self-propelled sprayer we took along. “The day allowed us to showcase our John Deere sprayer equipment and provide our customers with more of an insight into our current sprayers and our new 2018 models,” Jake said. “Overall, I was very glad to be part of the day.” The event concluded at around 7.30pm, after a generous BBQ and sundowners to cap off the day and fend off the winter’s wind. GO GREEN: Our R4045 Sprayer.

AFGRI Equipment had a fantastic couple of days at Dowerin GWN7 Machinery

Field Days last month, after attending the blockbuster show again this year. The field days, the largest and most widely recognised agricultural event in Western Australia, successfully added to the strong reputation its developed over its 53 year history. This year’s field days were filled with the same hustle and bustle as last year’s, among fears numbers would be drastically down. Despite some promising summer rains, several areas in the region suffered months of dry weather, before welcoming some rain as a short reprieve in mid-July. Even with the rollercoaster season, over 24,000 visitors reportedly attended the event over the two days, matching 2015’s total and only coming in 5 percent short of last year’s record amount. AFGRI Wongan Hills Sales Representative Ben Milton said the day was a fantastic success. “I think it was a really good turnout, especially with the season’s outlook in the area,” Ben said. “We had a lot of positive conversations

AERIAL SHOT: A bird’s eye view of our site at Dowerin Field Days with our wide range of equipment.

and discussions about product and how farmers’ seasons are going.” Exhibitors also continued to show their support to the show with this year’s total number of exhibitors of 770 matching last year’s tally. AFGRI Key Account Manager Brenton Read said the field days have a special place in the local community. “I’ve been doing field days for over 40 years, and Dowerin’s are one of my favourites,” Brenton said. “They are a great way for our customer base to be able to get information and talk to us in a stress-free environment.” Equipment on our site featured a range of John Deere machinery including a range of tractors spearheaded by the 9520RX, various types of hay and seeding equipment, a header, two GatorsTM and plethora of lawn mowers. The site also featured equipment from some of our other suppliers including Manitou, Kuhn & Equalizer with high interest show in the Equalizer modules on display, leading to potential seeding demos already being lined up for next year. Ben also said there was a lot of interest in

Precision Ag technology across the two days as well as Liquid Systems’ Peter Burgess and his display on precision banding of liquid and trace elements also receiving a lot of attention. The weather was also pleasant on both days, with only light rains descending late in the afternoon on the second day. Ben said he now looks forward to next year’s event and hopes to go bigger and better. “I think we had a great site this year, and personally, I am looking forward to expanding it next year and having an even greater 2018 Dowerin Field Days,” he said.

Crowds flock to a great Dowerin’s Field Days

GOOD TALK: Our staff keen to help.

Cause to celebrate with Chapman Valley Show

BIG HIT: Our site at this year’s show.

AFGRI Equipment recently attended another fantastic show in the 2017 Chapman

Valley Show, held on September 2. The show, held at Nanson Showgrounds, had over 8,000 people turn out for the day, with large crowds noticeably filling up the walkways. One of the biggest in its area, the show was filled with numerous attractions including competitions, exhibitions, stalls, displays, events and of course, Sideshow Alley. AFGRI Geraldton Sales Representative Derek Thill said our site was very busy with a good stream of customers the whole day and plenty of conversations. “It’s a very popular small Ag show, and a great day out for the whole family, especially when the sun shines,” Derek said. “It’s very rewarding

to be able to talk to our existing customers, meet new ones and discuss all their machinery requirements.” Our site featured various John Deere equipment including a 5083E Tractor, two 1-Series Compact Utility Tractors, two GatorsTM and a range of ZtrakTM and D-series Ride-on Mowers as well as various toys and merchandise. Derek said there was a lot of interest in the 1-Series tractors with their current six-year Powertrain Warranty and competitive pricing as well as the range of mowers on show . He also said he appreciated how the show continues to grow and its importance to the community. “I would congratulate the show on having another great year, and it’s great to see how it has gone from strength to strength over

the years,” he said. “At AFGRI, we appreciate shows like these as they are a great way to continue to show our support to the local community as we continue to grow with it.” Some other notable shows attended recently by AFGRI Geraldton include the Northampton and Mullewa shows, both receiving positive responses from customers.

equipment. The show also celebrated 100 years of the town of Koorda, potentially adding extra numbers to this year’s show. The celebration showcased notable events in the history of the town as well as some of its past residents. The show also featured a wide range of contests and field competitions as well as entertainment for the whole family. Our site was again filled with a wide range of John Deere equipment with the 9520RX being the talk of the show, with many visitors seeing a type of tractor they generally wouldn’t get to see up close.

on site included the John Deere 9520RX as well as a white Ford Mustang, with both garnering a lot of attention. Other equipment included a R4045 Sprayer, a 9420R Tractor, a 8270R Tractor, a 1023R Compact Utility Tractor and a D105 Ride-on Mower. Another popular show, attended by AFGRI Dalwallinu, was the 2017 Koorda Show. The show, held on September 2, aimed to promote the development of agricultural resources in WA. AFGRI Dalwallinu Sales Representative Ray Trinder said the day went very well with a good number of people calling by to say hello and discuss

AFGRI Dalwallinu capped off another great local show season with outings

at the Dalwallinu and Koorda shows. The 2017 Dalwallinu Ag Show, held on August 19, was a popular affair in the area with around 1300 people heading through the gates, despite a mix of weather. AFGRI Dalwallinu Branch Manager Max Kerkmans said the show was valued by the area. “It was a good day for the whole family and numbers were definitely up from last year,” Max said. “After a tough season’s crop in the Dalwallinu area, it’s important to be a part of shows like these to show your support to the local community. “We love being a part of the show and flying the AFGRI flag high.” Max said the highlight was always talking to local farmers and customers. “It’s really nice to catch up with all the local farmers who come through, listen to them talk about how their seasons are going and how we can help,” Max said. “It provides the opportunity to have lots of positive conversations and chat with people, who you haven’t seen in a while.” Popular attractions

AFGRI Dally brings the goods at local shows

LOOKING SLICK: Our site at the Dalwallinu Agricultural Show with our equipment ready for showgoers.

KOORDA SITE: A special show for all with the town celebrating 100 years.