Spaldings, a leading aftermarket components specialist, has secured an exclusive distribution agreement for the Dutch Openers range of tine drill coulters in the UK and Ireland.
The Canadian-built Dutch Universal coulter range offers a choice of easily fitted low-draft points for single- and double-row seeding, band sowing and liquid or solid fertiliser placement.
They can be installed on a number of makes and models in the UK market, with replacement bodies or frogs available to convert machines to new points. A single roll pin secures them in place and makes it possible to quickly and easily fit replacements.
A good start for new management
Securing this exclusive deal was one of the first initiatives of a new management team at Spaldings, put in place following the acquisition of a majority shareholding by private equity firm Inspirit Capital.
Spaldings chairman David Fox, chief executive Paul Bray, and chief operations officer Nigel Whelan have all previously held senior management positions in the company.
“We’ve all returned to our old desks with a lot of experience and knowledge about what makes Spaldings a successful business,” said Mr Bray. “This boils down to providing customers with an attractive product range and first-rate service, whether they order by telephone, online or through our field sales team.
“One of our first actions upon returning to Spaldings was to recruit additional field sales personnel to create geographically smaller and more manageable sales areas because we know customers appreciate the personal interaction and service they get from our specialists on the ground.
“At the same time, we’re enhancing our digital presence for those who prefer to place orders online, with a new app for mobile devices and an updated website to come.”
Distribution benefits
As a result of the agreement, Spaldings will handle all genuine Dutch Openers sales in the UK and Ireland, as well as handling replacement and conversion kit sales for drills already in service. Dutch Openers will continue to supply Horsch and Sumo directly.
“There are non-genuine look-alikes in circulation but you have to question whether they meet Dutch Industries’ high standards for design, the quality of materials and manufacturing techniques,” said Mr Bray. “If it doesn’t say ‘Dutch’ on the part, it’s not a Dutch opener.”
In addition to this, Spladings’ engineering department will work closely with Dutch Openers to enhance existing products and develop new ones for the European market.
“Spaldings is not just a distributor, we have our own technical staff and advanced engineering technologies to develop product lines like our SPL Ultra range of high-performance subsoiler and cultivator points and wings,” added Mr Bray.
“We pride ourselves on our in-house design and innovation, and our engineers are now in regular contact with their counterparts at Dutch Openers who have visited our facilities and customers up and down the country to help develop new drill coulter products for the UK and markets elsewhere in Europe.”
For more information go to www.spaldings.co.uk