XtraBlatt Issue 02-2020

More documents

Recommendations

Info

INTERVIEW dentist, or accountant? Probably not! This is why at this point I would like to appeal for more understanding of the dealership situation. Nowadays the services involved have to satisfy customer – and industry – demands that are spiralling upwards regarding the required know-how levels of our teams and naturally the reliability of the machinery after service. But these external costings are only one side of the coin. What dumps an almost greater load on our member companies are the payment rates for guarantee and warranty work. After all, one third of paid workshop hours are so called internal hours. Of these, almost a quarter are down to guarantee and warranty work. And this is where not a few dealerships stand just at the brink of disaster. Those paying just 35 € or 40 € per mechatronics hour and then asking for a reduction in the hours on the invoice, and maybe also on travel costs too, have – pardon me – totally lost touch with reality. As a rule, the manufacturer should be responsible for any gaps in guarantee and warranty cover. It cannot be the problem of the service partner if new products are rushed onto the market increasingly faster with the trials carried out beforehand fewer and fewer. Those who cause the problems in this respect must shoulder the responsibility. XtraBlatt: Does the problem lie with all makes, in your experience? Kopplin: No. Here, there are certainly clear differences. The manufacturers of tractors and of harvest machinery have already done a lot of homework regarding guarantee costs. Certainly, there’s room for improvement here and there. But after long discussions we’ve achieved a lot, not least “THOSE WHO CAUSE THE PROBLEMS IN THIS RESPECT MUST SHOULDER THE RESPONSIBILITY.” ULF KOPPLIN encouraged by our regular membership surveys. In such questionnaires, we don’t just stick to queries on guarantee themes, but also on a whole series of different aspects at various levels. Incidentally, these questionnaires on dealership satisfaction with their manufacturer suppliers are not only carried out nationally, but also on a European basis. Using the responses allows us to make step-by-step improvements in our cooperation. XtraBlatt: You explicitly mentioned tractors and harvest machinery. What can you say about the implement manufacturing sector? Kopplin: Here lies the greatest need for improvement on the subjects I’ve already discussed. This is why in spring 2020 we conducted an appropriate survey with around 180 dealerships taking part in Germany alone. The differences in the results for individual manufacturers were sometimes substantial. On the other hand, a few makes, such as Krone and Horsch, came through with marks clearly above the average, putting them right at the top of total ranking. For companies where this was not the case, there are acute grounds for discussions. their trading partners as, for example, does Krone. With smaller dealers, there arises the question at some point if, under their own resources, the total effort required in sales and service, whether for tractors or implements, will continue to be worth it. As always, this depends on the individual situation and expectations. But for businesses dealing with only implements, I don’t see much of a future. After all, their workshops have to support the respective firm with enough income. And this depends on machine population and a good basic level of equipment in the workshop. Mostly, this doesn’t work out without self-propelled machinery on sale. In trading and servicing, I also see a future for complete packages. As specialist enterprises, we must be allowed to earn money in trade, despite the pressures on margins through structural change. XtraBlatt: Is the training for skilled dealership staff able to keep up with the technical developments in the industry? Kopplin: This is certainly one of the greatest challenges of our time and one of the core tasks for our association. The fact is, the vocational education and training structures do not everywhere keep up with technological progress. This doesn’t only apply to the master mechanic in the companies but just as much the examination committees, the schooling and training regulations, the chambers of crafts and trades and the technical colleges. Because of the foreseeable and, even now sometimes, acute shortage of teachers, my greatest fear currently lies with the schools. But we too, must react here. For instance, giving extra encouragement for the integration of more electronics and digitalisation in training. This is why I’m especially pleased that the LBT was last year one of the candidates from 176 applicants from many branches to be awarded funding for a support project in the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) innovation competition ‘InnoVET’. This triumph put us up amongst the leaders in the field and polished our professional image – a good sign. XtraBlatt: What does the support project entail? Kopplin: Very briefly, the core idea is the further development of vocational education and training of specialist and management personnel for agricultural and construction machinery engineering with a focus on the digital changes and increasing automation. We hope the result will increase the attractivity of professional education for existing and future generations of specialist personnel in this work. After all, at the risk of repeating myself, the dealerships and, above all, the many committed colleagues involved are the performance providers in our branch, and in the relationship between industry and customers. Let us hope that this remains so!« Ulf Kopplin values very highly the standard of knowledge and qualifications of agricultural and construction machinery mechatronic engineers compared to that in other technology branches. XtraBlatt: Can a dealer in farm machinery earn a living from one implement manufacturer alone, i.e. without tractors and combine harvesters? Kopplin: I believe this would be difficult. I can, however, certainly imagine that on many farms, tractors actually play a secondary role. The really big players in trading have no choice but to accept the exclusivity demanded by the long liners over the whole product range. The medium sized category of dealerships , companies like those of our members, are in a good position with tractor and implement manufacturers when the makes traded are well positioned on the market, and the manufacturers involved also give good support to THE LANDBAUTECHNIK-BUNDESVERBAND* … ... is an association of company owners in the skilled labour and specialised dealership sector. Nationally, it represents some 4,500 businesses, dealerships and service firms on approx. 5,700 locations with almost 44,000 employees and a total annual turnover of 9 bn Euro. The association is organised on a federal basis comprising the respective federal guild association, the 40 LandBauTechnik guilds and the 10 state associations. At national level, the federal association coordinates overriding specialist themes, organises congresses, exhibition presentations, and – through its own academy – a comprehensive schooling and seminar system. It also prepares work aids, information services and advises companies and regional associations. With six manufacturer societies and the Federal Specialist Group for Motorised Machinery, the association represents the interests of dealerships with the industry. It is also internationally linked within the European association for the branch: CLIMMAR. *THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT DEALERS AND REPAIRERS ASSOCIATION IN GERMANY 52 53
INFORM THE GREENNIGHT-TOUR MEADOW MOVIES This year, the corona crisis stopped the famous Krone Grassland Evenings. This left us with the question: How can we still manage to combine information on our latest machinery with personal distancing and not forgetting the traditional conviviality? The Krone management team’s answer: Tractor cinema on 14 locations throughout Germany. White nights, blue hours...Summer offers many magical moments. This year, green nights joined the spectrum. More precisely: the GreenNight-Tour from Krone. Behind this lay a Germany-wide series of tractor cinema events staged on grassland over a period of almost three weeks. “The idea came to us as the development of the corona pandemic encouraged a renaissance of traditional drive-in movies in many places, a cinematic experience permitting distancing and hygiene rules. This could also function with tractors, we thought”, relates Ingo Schoppe from the Krone marketing team. MOBILE CINEMA Conceived, achieved: a total 14 such events were planned between 18th June and 12th July, with venues right across the republic between Wurster near Cuxhaven on the North Sea coast and Dentingen, southwest of Ulm. At each event there was strong support from the respective regional Krone dealerships. “This was a great help for us because an awful lot of work was involved. After all, it wasn’t just that invitations were to be sent off to customers from the region and available areas of grassland found and booked for the cinema evening with room for a large number of tractors. Among the most imposing challenges were the safety and hygiene aspects, as well as securing permission from the local authorities. In fact, though, everyone involved worked together superbly with us”, he smiles. On-site, procedure was always the same. In the forenoon the GreenNight team arrived with sack and pack to get the site ready. Stand areas were measured and parking spaces marked out with lawn mowers, boundary tapes were staked out and an entry control hut positioned, the 18 x 9 m screen was inflated, film and audio equipment assembled – just some of the many jobs necessary before all was set to go. And although the procedure became almost routine after the first event, every date and location needed small extra adjustments. Evenings just before 8.30 the first guests rolled in with their tractors. Mostly, it took an hour before everyone had arrived and the machines lined up in neat rows. Clear instructions were given on what everyone had to watch out for. “For us, the obeying of hygiene and distancing regulations was obviously very important, and instructions were handed out to every participant on arrival because in this respect we could afford no compromise”, emphasises Ingo Schoppe. PLENTY APPLAUSE Our marketing team member found the resonance from customers impressive. On average, between 120 and 150 vehicles found themselves on each grassland site, up to 95 % being tractors. A few cars also turned up and they were naturally let in too, so that their occupants could also follow the exciting programme. Included in the introduction was “Performance-Bingo” a very competitive game devised by the marketing team. This featured contestants drawing numbers and then having to rush over to a bingo board at the entrance and hook up on the matching number there. Part of the excitement was the lighting up of the screen as sunset approached. First, came a number of “action films” featuring the latest Krone machinery at work. The main attraction without a doubt, however, was the film “Farm mechanisation worldwide” produced in cooperation with “profi” magazine and “landtechnikvideos”. At the end there was plenty applause, contented faces and, during the exit of the visitors in their tractors, an absolutely sensational light show staged by the tractors. “One thing was always clear to us as each evening event finished”, concludes Ingo Schoppe. “Our guests were delighted to experience an open-air event again, after weeks and months of the corona limitations.” « Ingo Schoppe: very happy about the great success of the GreenNight-Tour 2020. 54 55
Page 1 and 2: 2 2020 XtraBlatt QUALITY FROM NEARB
Page 4: 4 5 IMPRINT Publisher: Maschinenfab
Page 8: TITLE THEME SOLD TO BUTCHERS Howeve
Page 12: TITLE THEME 1 2 4 Since the summer,
Page 16: INFORM Often overlooked: tyre press
Page 20: ON-FARM PASTURE PIGS SWINE IN THE O
Page 24: INTERVIEW MASCHINENFABRIK BERNARD K
Page 28: INTERNATIONAL FARM CONTRACTOR WILL
Page 32: Xtra fresh
Page 36 and 37: INFORM BEHIND THE SCENES A smoothly
Page 38 and 39: ON-FARM 1 2 3 1 Because ideal cutti
Page 40 and 41: GRÜNLAND-MANAGEMENT: NIEDERLANDE P
Page 42 and 43: INFORM Museum - for many, the term
Page 44 and 45: ON-FARM 4 1 3 and mainly comprises
Page 48 and 49: AT WORK 1 3 1 As part of the grassl
Page 50 and 51: INFORM FUTURE LAB TESTING HEART AND

XtraBlatt Issue 02-2020

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?