‘FAST FORWARDS ’ IN FRANCE
Rob Iddeson, who is stepping up to become Territory Manager for France
Simba is aiming to greatly increase its business in the French market with the appointment of Rob Iddeson as Territory Manager for the country.
He will be working closely alongside the staff of Bonnel – Simba’s appointed importer – to develop the market, and to service the growing number of farmers who have bought machines like the X-Press, and are currently considering the SL cultivator.
Rob, whose duties in the UK will be reduced as part of a wider reorganisation of the company’s Territory Manager network, says the company sees France as a significant market for the future:
“We believe the key to building on the initial progress made in France will be recruiting a strong, dedicated and professional network of dealers to serve the key arable farming areas of the country. The aim must be for them to offer the same high standards of sales information, service and support as our British dealers do.
“We will be starting in the main arable farming areas in the North of the country and in the Paris Basin. Many of the soil types here are similar to those across the Southern counties, with shallow soils overlying chalk downland. The same assets that make Simba equipment attractive to British farmers will be valuable in France, where farmers face the same pressures to achieve quick, cost-effective crop establishment.
“It is important that dealers realise that they are selling a system and not just machinery, and very encouraging that Bonnel has already placed a stock order worth some £400,000 for the season”.
On a personal level, he is relishing the opportunity: “It is a very exciting chance for me to establish Simba in a fresh market, and help build the company’s reputation. It is fun to be working with Pierre Bonnel – who is of similar age and background to me – and to share a real desire with him to make this deal a success”.
Guy Leversha, Simba’s Sales and Marketing Director, says: “We are confident that products like the X-Press and SL cultivator are suitable for in the soils and cropping patterns across a wide area of France.
“That cropping includes a significant acreage of grain maize, so the fact that the SL’s working elements can be interchanged – with two gangs of discs run at the front in high trash situations – will be a major asset.
“France is close to us and among the largest potential markets in Europe. Our partnership with Bonnel is already working extremely well and provides us with the perfect platform on which to build”.
