OCT / NOV 2021 • farmers-mart . co . uk successfully selling New Holland balers , combine harvesters , and a range of ploughs manufactured by Kverneland . At the end of 1986 Russells ceased manufacturing its own equipment and auctioned off all of their tooling in January 1987 . Machinery lines including its bale handling kit were bought by manufacturers such as Tanco .

During this time Russells had also begun to acquire other machinery dealers in order to expand its trading area . Croft and Blackburn , and Neasham Tractors were acquired in 1983 and by 1986 they had opened up another depot at Burneston near Bedale . In 1988 Russells were trading from four branches including Kirkbymoorside , Darlington , Burneston and Stokesley .

Prior to ceasing machinery manufacture in 1987 Russells introduced a range of trailers based on old Weeks designs in 1984 .

Russells became Ford dealers in 1983 . This advert showcasing Ford ’ s Force II 10 series tractors dates from 1986 .

Moving into the 90s Russells had not only become one of the largest Ford and New Holland dealers in the North of England they were also selling many more brands of agricultural machinery . These included Bomford and Evershed , Barford , Dowdeswell , Fraser , Grimme , Howard , Kidd , Kverneland , Kongskilde , Sanderson , SKH , Vaderstad , Vicon , Weidemann , and Wessex .

In April 1999 Russells acquired Platts-Harris Northallerton depot , before purchasing its Selby and Epworth branches in 2004 . In 2021 Russells acquired Platts Harris remaining depots at Tuxford and Darley Dale . In between this in June 2003 it took over former Malton based Ford , Fiat and New Holland dealer R Yates & Sons Agri .

Paul Russell joined the business in 2001 , and when his father John retired , he took over as Managing Director in March 2003 . In August 2006 Russells established a ground care division when it took over

This pair of stunning Ford 7810 and 8240 tractors dating from 1991 and 1993 are typical of the Ford tractors Russells successfully sold in the early nineties . They belong to Tom Fawcett and Graham Clarkson , depot and service manager at Russells Leyburn depot .

Hull based K & M Mowers . Russells currently operates two gorund care depots from Gilberdyke , and Rotherham .

In 2008 Russells historic Kirkbymoorside depot closed its doors for the final time before the land and premises were cleared to make way for a new housing estate . Russells moved to a new purpose-built headquarters situated close to the main A64 road near Malton that year .

In January 2016 Russells began trading in Derbyshire following its acquisition of New Holland dealer Hallmark tractors and this was followed by the establishment of a new depot at Rothwell in Northamptonshire in July 2017 . For a time , the business traded as The Russell Group and Hallmark Tractors before being shortened back to Russells .

On October 23rd 2019 Russells opened its state-of-the-art eco-friendly depot at Cubley in Derbyshire run by Jim Nash .

Other notable developments in recent years included the opening of a new depot at Leyburn in October 2018 to support customers in the Yorkshire Dales . Russells also opened a brand-new state of the art eco-friendly facility at Cubley in Derbyshire on October 23rd 2019 . A

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According to AEA Statistics

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