| 2019-02-20 |    |
New Recruits Appointed to the Argo Tractors Team
Stuart Watson and Rachel Groves both join Argo Tractors in different roles.
Stuart Watson joins the Argo Tractors team handling sales and distribution of Landini and McCormick products in the UK and Ireland has been appointed to focus on parts supply to agricultural machinery dealers.
Stuart Watson has been appointed area parts sales manager for Ireland, Scotland and the north of England in support of Landini franchised dealers
Stuart’s territory takes in Ireland, Scotland and the north of England, enabling National Parts Sales Manager Tony Burgess to focus on Wales and the rest of England.
Adrian Winnett, UK and Ireland managing director for Argo Tractors welcomed Stuart’s appointment:
“His career specialising in the parts side of the agricultural machinery business gives us a very experienced manager for this territory.
“Having taken on the distribution of Landini and McCormick tractors in Ireland, we wanted to increase our ability to support our franchised dealers regarding service parts, accessories, lubricants and the other items they sell. With Stuart’s appointment we can now do that while also increasing the attention we can give our dealer parts departments throughout the UK.”
As one of Europe’s largest agricultural tractor manufacturers, Argo Tractors maintains a substantial stock at its international parts distribution warehouse in Italy, which is backed-up by a near £3 million parts supply held locally at UK and Ireland headquarters in Harworth near Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
Landini and McCormick dealers also hold stock of the service and other parts most frequently needed by customers, with next-day delivery available to dealer premises when parts are needed urgently.
Stuart Watson said:
“Argo Tractors has an excellent online parts finding system that our dealers use to quickly locate the correct items for particular tractor models, and we back that up with our parts technical support staff at Harworth.
“In addition to genuine Argo Parts products and the Argo lubricants formulated for the company’s tractors, many of our dealers also stock a range of parts and accessories for other tractor makes from our partner Granit, as well as merchandise such as work and leisure clothing.”
Having worked for specialist parts businesses – including Granit – for much of his career, Stuart liked the idea of working for a tractor manufacturer when the new post became available and was impressed with the scale of the Argo operation during an introductory visit to the group factories in northern Italy.
“The research and development that goes into everything, the scale of the highly integrated production facilities and the formidable parts operation made me appreciate the scale of the business,” he says. “I’m very pleased to be part of the growing team helping to put the Landini and McCormick product names more firmly on the map.”
While farming and agricultural machinery clearly hold a keen interest – he was brought up close to where his Grandfather farmed – his passion beyond work is photography and motorcycle road racing, an interest that lead to his accreditation as a press photographer at the famous Isle of Man TT races and closer to home at Olivers Mount near Scarborough.
Stuart is married, has a daughter and lives near Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire.
Joining a major tractor manufacturer as it prepared to stage its most ambitious presence at the LAMMA show this year proved a challenging “baptism of fire” for Argo Tractors new recruit Rachael Groves.
Her appointment in the new role of Marketing Coordinator meant organising every aspect of the show stand from working on the build schedule and ensuring the social media technology was up and running to staging two dealer meetings during the event.
“It was absolutely non-stop in the weeks leading up to the show and no two days were the same,” says Rachael. “But it was also very exciting to be part of a team putting on such an ambitious, modern and stylish exhibit of Landini and McCormick tractors at the show.”
Having been an active and very much involved member of her local Young Farmers Club in Yorkshire, Rachael cut her teeth in marketing at Sumo, the cultivations and drilling equipment manufacturer.
“That wasn’t the role intended for me; I applied for a job as an office administrator,” says Rachael. “But they recognised my ability to organise things, which I learnt during my time in YFC, and soon had me producing brochures and advertising, and helping to organise their presence at numerous shows and technical events around the country.”
Her roots are firmly in agriculture, having been brought up on the family farm growing arable crops and finishing beef cattle near Pocklington, close to where she now lives with her husband Dominic, an engineer with a manufacturer of potato and beet harvesting equipment.
Rachael Groves is the new marketing coordinator for the UK and Ireland at McCormick manufacturer Argo Tractors
“I’ve always enjoyed farming and was bought two pedigree Limousin heifer calves for my twenty-first birthday,” says Rachael. “I now have nine cows in my own small herd.”
As for joining Argo Tractors, whose UK and Ireland operation is based at Harworth near Doncaster, it has been a real eye-opener, she adds.
“I’d heard of the Landini and McCormick tractor brands, of course, but wasn’t aware of the business behind them; it’s huge – the group operates five factories making components such as axles, transmissions and complete cabs, and assembling the finished products before they are shipped around the World.
“There are ambitious plans to grow the business, especially in the UK and Ireland but also internationally, and it’s very exciting to be part of the team working to achieve that goal.”
Adrian Winnett, UK and Ireland managing director for Argo Tractors, said:
“Rachael brought her energy and enthusiasm to our business just at the right time to help make our presence at the LAMMA show a great success. It involved an enormous effort and she was in the thick of it!
“I’m now looking forward to working with Rachael on all aspects of our marketing effort, including the other shows, technical events and open days that we’ll be participating in to promote the Landini and McCormick products in support our network of sales, service and parts dealers in the UK and Ireland.”
