AFTER a strong start to the year in 2020 for the Farmstar team , come March normal business challenges became at the least onerous and at the worst catastrophic . On the surface of it , the world of agriculture would appear to have been hit the least because we all still need to eat , the food chain has to be supplied and animals know nothing of COVID ; for them it ’ s business and life as usual . However , with guidelines that must be followed , genuine fear of the known and unknown being omnipresent and the government being anything but clear and concise , the normal running of a multi depot agricultural machinery business like Farmstar was potentially looking at disarray and confusion .

Well , it ’ s a good job that at the helm of this prominent business is MD Andrew Waddington . For

those of you that know Andrew , he is a straight-talking guy who deals straight from the top of the pack , tells you just how it is .

Andrew , being both a strategist and having a strong team around him , sat down in February to look at how they could run the business with minimum disruption to deal with what was clearly ahead at some point .

Andrew ’ s standpoint has always been ‘ business as usual ’, no matter what , and the pandemic wasn ’ t going to change that . Boris ’ s speech unnerved and worried people . Andrew delivered a firm and calming message to the Farmstar team , “ We aren ’ t closing , the customers come first , whilst keeping both staff and customers safe and guidelines will be stuck to , whatever they may be ”.

Andrew has always been proud of his staff and their commitment to the business ,

because without them there is no business . All the staff wanted to stay and were prepared to do whatever was needed , 95 % of them were able to . In November last year , one of the sales team did become ill with COVID and Andrew ensured that the whole Sales team and those from his depot was isolated for two weeks . This was just one example of how Andrew puts the health and safety of his team ( and their customers ) as a priority at Farmstar .

All the depots were fully marked out for social distancing , signage put up , sanitiser and masks provided etc . Staff were fully briefed on distancing , sanitising and exactly how they would deal with customers . Customers were asked to phone beforehand and order their parts etc , then come and pick them up from a point in the yard where they would be brought to

Team Marr ( Pre Covid )

them . In September they were allowed inside , everywhere was fully COVID secure and customers had their temperatures checked as a matter of course .

The delivery team were kept on the road as they were key workers being part of the food chain , full sanitising and distancing rules were and continue to be observed .

Machinery demonstrations are an important part of the sales process , they have had one person , Antony , doing all the demos , with every machine being sanitised before and after each outing .

A very successful secure demonstration day event was held at Brigg in September , showcasing Farmstar with their Case IH , Kverneland and new franchise , Sweepers and Machinery Ltd .

Customers wanting to view machinery at any of the depots were spoken to beforehand and booked specific times so that distancing could be observed , and machinery sanitised .

Because from the outset Farmstar have had a simple robust plan that everyone has stuck to whilst adhering to all guidelines , both staff and customers have felt safe and confident and able to keep things as near to normal as possible .

So , despite everything , Farmstar have had a strong 2020 , with sales up on 2019 . In a year where you would imagine it was probably best just to keep things on an even keel , not so at Farmstar . There have been a number of things happening , including new franchises coming on board such as BEDNAR and Sweepers & Machinery Ltd based in Market Rasen . Whilst putting the plan together for COVID etc , it also gave Andrew and the rest of the management team an opportunity to really look at the business and future plans .

Andrew has often thought that , as the business has grown

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