The Farmers Mart Feb/Mar 2015 - Issue 38 | Page 64
Agriplus
Agriplus: from
small beginnings
to big success
Ian Wilkinson meets Rob Stevenson and Sue
Tucker of Agriplus Ltd in Stokesley.
»»Agriplus may be a major
agricultural dealership today,
but when the business began in
2006, it was with a very modest
investment of just £1,000, from
Rob Stevenson and his uncle,
Richard Winter.
Until then, Rob had been
a technician working at the
Russell’s group, but had always
had the ambition to work
for himself. Rob’s “lightbulb
moment” came as a result
of many of his customers
suggesting he should do
64 Feb/Mar 2015 www.farmers-mart.co.uk
something in the area as there
was no one after Russell’s
closed their Seamer branch.
So in 2006 he decided to fill
that need, using that modest
investment to launch his own
business providing a purely
mobile repairs service covering
the area.
It proved a good move and it
wasn’t long before word spread
and the number of customers
increased – as did the
variety and complexity of the
machinery. Rob quickly realised
that to progress the business
he would need his own
premises, so initially, he rented
workshops on the Cleveland
Land Services site.
Cleveland Land Services then
became one of his earliest big
customers as at the time they
were looking to add another
brand to their range. They
bought five new tractors from
Rob and he acknowledges
their invaluable support, which
helped set him on the road to
success.