The GRIMME brand is well known to all potato growers.
The company started the production of potato equipment in the 30s of the last century. In 1956, she launched serial production of trailed potato harvesters. Today, the GRIMME Group of Companies is one of the leading manufacturers of potato technology in the world.
For 19 years, GRIMME products have been supplied to our country by the Agrotrade Company, in 2022 it was recognized as the best Russian GRIMME dealer in terms of sales (by the way, the company has been awarded this title for the third year in a row) and service.
About what Agrotrade Company sees as its tasks as a dealer of GRIMME equipment, how it assesses the situation on the market and what problems it faces in its work, we talk with the chief process engineer of Agrotrade Company Sergey Ariskin.
– Sergey Alexandrovich, demand for agricultural machinery UGLY has risen sharply over the past two years. What is it connected with?
– Sales volumes of machinery in our sector largely depend on two factors: the price of potatoes and the exchange rate. The price of potatoes went up significantly last year. At the same time, not so much equipment was bought earlier for a long period, the fleet of machines of many agricultural enterprises is very worn out. Having received funds, the farms engaged in technical renovation.
The second point that should be noted is that agriculture is now moving to a new level of equipment, farms are acquiring machines in an expanded configuration, adapted to work using modern potato production technologies. And this process is going on not only in Russia, but throughout Europe, so the demand for equipment many times exceeds the supply.
– But it is becoming more and more difficult to deliver products from abroad. First a pandemic, then a special operation… How do you manage to work in such conditions?
– According to my observations, 2020 and 2021 passed relatively calmly, almost until the end of 2021, all orders were received by customers on time. But since December last year, delays began: the number of orders increased several times, and production could not cope with it. The whole of 2022 was very difficult in terms of obtaining vehicles.
– In the short term, will the increased demand for equipment continue?
- Probably yes. But due to the heavy workload of the GRIMME factory, we are currently accepting orders for 2024.
– Are customers ready to wait for the car for more than a year?
- There was a certain waiting period before. The fact is that GRIMME machines are made to order. A modern agricultural producer does not need equipment as standard, each farm chooses a machine with certain options for its special conditions.
Previously, the bulk of applications came to us from November to January, and machines and equipment came to Russia six months later. Now, taking into account all the circumstances, the waiting time for field equipment has stretched to a year.
With warehouse equipment, it is still more difficult: a significant part of the items fell under sanctions and are not currently supplied to Russia. We hope that the situation will gradually change for the better, the plant is making every effort to keep its products available to the Russian consumer.
– GRIMME has more than 30 dealers in Russia, it is certainly not easy to compete. What is the secret of your achievements?
– Those who have a complete understanding of the crop production technology, are well versed in the products they offer, and know how to build relationships with customers can successfully sell potato equipment.
The strength of the Agrotrade Company is knowledge. We are “sharpened for potatoes”, we know almost everything about its production.
We currently have seven sales managers in our team, it is a well-coordinated team, most of them have more than three years of experience. All employees regularly undergo training in technology - these are specialized courses from the GRIMME company (the Grimme Rus plant provides maximum support in the training of specialists, for which we are very grateful to him), and our internal seminars. Plus the individual work of each. In my opinion, without personal interest, dedication, desire to understand, little will come of it. Moreover, now there are all conditions for self-study: there is a lot of information on each model in the public domain.
- Do you also teach interaction with customers?
- Necessarily. We explain to beginners that if a manager has not visited the farm several times during the season, has not seen how potatoes grow in the fields, how cleaning and storage is organized, he is unlikely to sell anything there.
– Should the manager identify the needs of the farm?
- He must have information about the possibilities of modern technology and understand how to apply these opportunities in a particular economy, so that the enterprise benefits from innovations. Thus, his task is not to see the need, but rather to form it.
– Do customers appreciate such offers?
– Over the years of work, we have built partnerships with many farms, much warmer than just interaction “seller-buyer”.
We see our task in helping the customer build an efficient production - in many respects, this result is achieved due to the high saturation of machinery and equipment.
An enterprise that works steadily with high income has the opportunity to develop and acquire even more modern machines. This is a mutually beneficial process, our success always depends on the success of our customers.