The Farmers Mart Feb-Mar 2020 - Issue 67 | Page 78

78 ROBERT D WEBSTER
We’ve also added a country store as we
have in Howden. Our Owstwick depot in
Holderness is a little more off the beaten
track but we have a lot of storage there
and it is also our head office. Our market
share in combine sales in Holderness is
one of the best in the whole of the UK.’
Combine harvester sales have always
been a hallmark of the Robert D Webster
business, but tractor sales are just as
strong, as are Manitou sales, another long-
term franchise – and now the company is
adding far more to its product availability,
as well as offering what they feel is now
the best product support.
‘Technology has moved on so fast and
machinery is continually getting bigger,’
says after sales director John Jackson,
who has had extensive experience in
farm machinery with McCormick Tractors
in Doncaster, Valtra tractors and farm
machinery dealerships in the East Riding.
‘That means less machinery is out there
and the demand and pressure on keeping
the equipment maintained is therefore
much higher. Twenty years ago some
farms might have had two or three com-
bines where today they have one with a
much bigger capacity. So, when that stops
the farmer still wants to keep going, so the
pressure on dealers to provide the level of
immediate support is a lot greater.’
‘The East Riding is a massive area for
combinable crops and our workload over
harvest period is dictated by combines,
which form a core part of our business
as they have ever since Bob Webster
got going. Our market in combines is
phenomenal against the national average
and that’s why when we put together a
new logo recently it includes a combine
harvester.’
The all-new Webster’s operation is
up-to-the-minute on every aspect of
combines, tractors, telehandlers and
all other farm machinery –and after
FEB/MAR 2020 • farmers-mart.co.uk
HISTORY
Bob Webster started at Burton
Fleming as a blacksmith before
moving to Kilham where the
company was known as Webster &
Boyes.
Owstwick Grange was purchased
in the mid-70s where Tom and Jackie
Thompson moved to, creating the
third depot. In the 80s Bob took on
what had been Wardle’s garage in
Howden. That made four depots,
but the original Burton Fleming
operation closed down in 1998.
Today’s three depots are now at
Hutton Cranswick, Howden and
Owstwick.
sales director, John Jackson, tells of the
current shift in combine harvester buying
trends.
‘Our area is going much more towards
rotary and twin rotary combines because
of their higher outputs, although we still
sell straw walkers. The reason for the shift
is about output and farms amalgamating.
Because of cost, farms are either teaming
up to buy one between them or one
person is doing a lot more contracting
or share farming. Rotary is also more
forgiving for weather conditions allowing
you to push on when you need to.’
‘There was a time when farmers
could farm with purely enthusiasm and
passion, but they are now farming even
more business-minded than ever before.
Buying farm machinery is now about
making decisions on financial viability,
whereas there were times when it was
sometimes a case of just wanting some-
thing. It is also now about understanding
today’s technology. With more and more
farmers’ sons and daughters going to
university there is far better education
in farms and farm machinery – and they
now know what they want to do with
their farms and what will work best.’
‘As weather conditions have become
more volatile there is also often a smaller
window in which to get harvest done. It
has been catchy twice in the last three
harvests and in the year it was consist-
ently hot farmers were having to combine
through the night because the weather
was too dry during the day.’
‘Our main New Holland tractor sales are
the T6 and T7 Series ranging from 140hp
to 270hp,’ says Mike. ‘And they are the
only one of the big four tractor brands
manufactured in the UK. Historically the
Webster’s business has been New Holland
and Manitou, but a very important part of
our new approach is now in developing
other franchises so that we can be a one-
stop shop.’
Bednar cultivation lines have just been
added to the team of new products that
also includes Maschio, Polaris, Sumo,
Marshall trailers, KRM, Shelbourne
Reynolds, Berthoud sprayers, Oxdale,
Cousins and Teagle.
‘We’ve also just added Isuzu pickups at
our Howden depot,’ says Mike. ‘This all
adds more strings to our bow.’
‘We’ve always had good people in the
Webster’s team and our current team, that
runs to 35 encompasses both youth and
experience. Our sales team, the front end
of Webster’s, now has two main contacts at
each of our three depots.’
‘At Hutton Cranswick we have Chris,
along with Jim Richardson; at Howden
it’s Richard Smith and Christian Townend;
and at Owstwick it’s myself and Sam
Illingworth.’
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