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.