The Farmers Mart Dec-Jan 2020 - Issue 66 | Page 54

54 SIROMER TRACTORS LTD
DEC/JAN 2020 • farmers-mart.co.uk
A 20 YEAR SUCCESS STORY
Farming is a tough way of life that can have
tremendous rewards, immense satisfaction
and enjoyment, yet as we all know Mother
Nature can reduce everything to virtually
nothing, as many farmers in South Yorkshire
and Lincolnshire know all too well, thanks to
the recent “Biblical Deluges” that have
beset certain parts of the country.
AT Farmers Mart we always
seek out the positive and
highlight success in business
and farming. So as I weaved my
way round the country lanes
of Pilling, near Preston, on an
overcast and thankfully only
drizzly Thursday, I arrived at a
true success story celebrating
twenty years in business from
a zero startpoint. The village of
Pilling near Lancaster is home
to SIROMER Tractors run by the
Howard family.
Originally started by husband
and wife team, Jeff and Kath,
back in December 1999. As with
many successful businesses, it
started almost by chance. The
family had a thriving small-hold-
ing that was really crying out for a
small tractor to help with the land
management.
At that time, there were only
expensive models from the big
boys which did not make finan-
cial sense to a smallholding. Jeff,
then an electronics engineer,
was on business in Germany
and came across the Siromer
brand. He was impressed with
the simplicity and the price.
Jeff struck the deal with the
Chinese, suggesting several spec
improvements to make it suita-
ble for the European market.
So, in December 1999, the first
Siromer tractor came into the
country. Initially they imported
eight tractors for a couple of
reasons, they knew of other
people who were interested, also
this meant there was a better deal
to be had with eight rather than
one. Already, what was supposed
to remain as a hobby, was fast
becoming not. Jeff could see that
there were further refinements to
be made and he ven-
tured to the factory in
China to discuss these.
One of the unique
features about SIROMER
TRACTOR’S is that they come
in kit form. At the factory, which
is situated north of Shanghai, they
are manufactured, completed,
run and tested on their own
special track, fully approved, then
promptly driven to another part of
the factory and part dismantled,
placed on a skid along with all the
main parts and fully wrapped,
packed and crated up. The crates
are then shipped to Ipswich and
then by train to Manchester,
with the final journey by road to
Pilling.
Previously they had built the
tractors up themselves prior
to customer delivery. A Welsh
farmer arrived and promptly
stated that he was of the firm
belief he could do a better job
of assembly than the company
team. A light bulb moment! Why
not have the Siromer available
for sale in kit form for customers
to build? Plans were put in place
to make the Siromer available for
customers to build themselves,
which involved the creation of
a fully approved and certified
instruction manual.
Who would have thought
this would have made such a
difference, but it did, business
exploded so to speak! All
manner of people wanted to
purchase tractors in kit form,
from farmers to small-holders,
to estate managers to landown-
ers, even some even buying
them as presents! A lady on
the Isle of Wight bought one for
her husband for their Golden
Wedding! Even building it up
herself. Her delighted husband
has been back numerous times
for all the various add-on pieces
of equipment.
With the business taking off
very quickly, Jeff persuaded wife
Kath to come into the business to
manage the workshop and sales,
whilst he designed and developed
the IT system and ran the nuts
and bolts of the business side.
Daughter Louise, who was well
on with her way to an Economics
degree at Lancaster, was also
persuaded by Jeff to join the busi-
ness and get involved. Kath and
Louise have never looked back,
indeed at the start they both built
a tractor themselves! Something
that is still in place today. If you
join Siromer you build a tractor.
This means that everyone working
there knows their products inside
out and can talk to and advise any
customer.
The business has developed
significantly across the twenty
years. Firstly – The Product,
Jeff, Kath and Louise have made
annual trips to China visiting the
factory to discuss refinements
that they have all come up with,
largely from the feedback from
their ever-growing loyal base of
customers.
To date, just over 4500 Siromer
tractors have been sold, mainly
in the UK, with a few into
Southern Ireland. Louise told me
that many customers upgrading
or buying new tractors are eager
to see what new development
is on the latest model: it’s
expected. Many customers are
so attached to their Siromer that
they don’t part exchange, they
keep the old one!
The factory itself has gone
through a huge amount of natural
progressive development which
now means that, rather than
groups of men with spanners
building entire tractors, there are
now fully automated produc-
tion lines, assembly plants with
robotic welders and powder
coating plants. Refinements can
be made more quickly, the finish
is even better and lasts longer,
parts are more robust and have
a longer life. They have a parts
store that literally stretches as far
as the eye can see. Everything
has developed, conditions are
now much improved for the
Chinese workers, they have an
environment the envy of the
Japanese nowadays. In the early
days there were several factories
the family looked at and wouldn’t
deal with until they settled on
Siromer. Today there are two
tractor factories and three sepa-
rate implement manufacturers.
Louise and Kath told me that
they have seen a huge change
in attitude toward the Chinese.
Twenty years ago, there was
much mistrust and Chinese
engineering was dismissed as
rubbish. Now there is a big
respect for what they produce.
The biggest step change being, if
you want quality you will get it,
but at a fair price; for those that
demand budget-at-all-cost, that
can still be supplied.
Siromer have not lost sight of
one thing across twenty years:
simplicity. You can still build all
models up yourself, although
nowadays, with time constraints
etc, only around 10% do so and
one of the biggest selling points
is that you can service the whole
tractor yourself with little tuition,
everything is easily accessible.
There are no electronics or
computers. A staggering testa-
ment to the Siromer reliability
was a customer high up on the
Rossendale moors who has had
his Siromer since 2002, and he
admitted to Kath who was deliv-
ering a new piece of equipment
to him that he had never serviced
it! And it starts every day. Not
highly recommended, but just
goes to show.
The Siromer range has devel-
oped considerably across the
years. You can now choose from
25 to 75hp models complete
with full cabs. The 25 and 40hp
models remain the leaders,
with a 40hp model delivered
complete with cab just £11,250
complete with full synchromesh,
eight forward and eight reverse
gears.