Farmhand is a business that reflects all that is progressive in the Irish farm machinery scene. The company has developed in phases as the farm machines that it imports and distributes have become more sophisticated.

Farmhand has been a company that has faced the future head-on and that has evolved from the core values held by the family nature of the business. It’s a company that continues to set a standard within the farm machinery industry.

The family behind the Farmhand success is the Scrivener family, lead today by John Scrivener, chairman and managing director of the company. John has grown up with the business, established by his late father Denis Scrivener back in August 1962. John has given 40 years to the business, where the underlying ethos is one of servicing the needs of the Irish farm machinery user.

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The Scrivener family has a central Europe heritage. Denis Scrivener was born in what is now the Czech Republic during an era of European political and military upheaval in 1919. He experienced that upheaval again in the 1940s and came to Ireland in 1949 with his Irish wife. He soon became involved in the farm machinery business.

That European heritage of creating a family business that seeks to develop and expand based on a pride in doing a job well continues to the third generation of the Scrivener family. That has been supported by the many farm machinery companies across Europe that Denis Scrivener, and later John, became associated with, as Farmhand developed a range of farm machinery franchises in Ireland.

And you can sense that ethos when you enter the company’s impressive new premises. You are left in no doubt that Farmhand is a serious farm machinery company and one that’s geared for the future. The emphasis is on training and knowledge to ensure that all of the Farmhand team believes in the products they import and sell, understands their application and can ensure that customers get the best results in the field.

That takes an effort both in terms of investment in facilities and people. John’s sons Paul and Stephen are part of the Farmhand team today. Paul and Stephen are the third generation of Scriveners to work at Farmhand and their enthusiasm for the business has been encouraged and fostered in what is a classic European family business model, with a strong German type influence.

Looking around the new Farmhand premises at Damastown in Dublin 15, it’s obvious that the company has geared itself for a future in the farm machinery business. The new building, which was opened just as the boom years in farm machinery sales were coming to an end, is part of the long-term sustainability of the company.

“We have a very clear vision of where we are and where we want to be,” said John Scrivener. That vision brought John and Farmhand to make a significant investment in the new facility that provides an unrivalled centre for distributing machinery. It also provides a modern facility for parts distribution as well as dealer and customer training.

“We very much value the concept of independent family dealerships. We see that as the future for the sale of farm implements whatever about tractors. Farmhand has never been in the tractor business and don’t intend to enter that area. We see the future as being with family type dealerships,” said John.

While there are moves to consolidate the farm machinery industry, John Scrivener believes differently. “We believe that the local dealer knows the local needs and conditions and understands the demands that machines are under in a local area,” said John. “We believe that what’s important to a farmer is that his farm machinery dealer, first of all knows the requirements, has local knowledge and appreciates climatic and topographical demands, understands the farmer’s scale, can give proper and sound advice and can treat the farmer fairly, and, very importantly, can provide parts and service back-up and then eventually trade back the machine at a fair price. That’s what we regard as essential in a really good dealership. And I think that’s what farmers want too,” said John Scrivener.

And this is the target that Farmhand sets for its 40 full line dealers across the island of Ireland.

To achieve this, Farmhand spends a lot of time and money training its own staff. “Our five service staff will spend several weeks abroad on training courses and on-site training. We spend a good deal of time going out to farm machinery dealers and customers for training,” said John.

“In a business like ours, the basics remain the same,” said John. “What’s important is having a relationship based on family, friends and community and based on a common sense of purpose is what’s equally important to us,” added John.

“This new building at Damastown is a vote of confidence in the future of farm machinery in Ireland. The last building we had at Castleknock did us for 40 years. My instructions to the architect were to create a building that would last 40 more years,” said John Scrivener.

Farmhand spent a lot of money on the new premises and John admits that he did it very consciously, as he believes that buildings should enhance life and enhance working life.

“Within three days of working here, everyone was comfortable, it was easy to work in and that came at a cost, compared to other buildings. What else is money for? Isn’t it better to make a nice building that will last for 40 years than spend it in other ways,” added John with some justified satisfaction.

At Farmhand, John was conscious of being alone in the farm machinery industry in making such an investment. “I hope that it’s attractive because on a practical level it makes a lot of sense, is well constructed, economical and sustainable in terms of running cost,” he added.

“Farmhand is here for the long haul, we have completed 50 years, we have a new generation coming into the company and we aim to be here in at least 50 more years. Our mission remains to bring top quality advanced machinery to Irish farmers at fair prices with a guarantee of a full back-up,” said John Scrivener.

“Our target is to always put the company Farmhand first, for the good of the products that we service and for our customers by extension. It’s sort of the family way of looking at things.

“It’s the same for the family companies that we predominantly are sourcing our products from. They also think in a family way, they are not focused on pressures from shareholders, they take great pride in what they do, they enjoy what they do, they are supplying us and we love what we do too.

“To be successful, we want all of our partners to do well, our suppliers, our dealers and our farmer customers. It’s not a zero sum game; we want to see the whole cake getting bigger and everyone getting the benefit from that success,” said John.

“For the future to be successful, Farmhand has to do well and we want all of our partners to do well, our suppliers, our dealers and our farmer customers.”

John Scrivener QUOTES

John Scrivener on work

“Over the last 40 years I love coming into work, I love what I do at Farmhand. What’s more important in life and I would like to think that the people here at Farmhand really enjoy their work.”

On the most significant machine?

“In the history of Farmhand, the Alo Quicke front end loader has been the most significant machine. We sold close to 50,000 of Quicke loaders down through the years and they each made a difference on the farms they worked on.

On new entrants to Farmhand

“I look for a passion for machinery; young people coming must really love their machinery and respect it and mind it. Secondly, they need to have training and education to get the grounding and knowledge from a recognised college such as Tralee IT. And thirdly, experience, and that comes from work with contractors and or working abroad. They share that interest in machinery, both within the company and with our customers.

On contractors

“Contractors are very important customers for us at Farmhand; I would like them to be more businesslike and to become more profitable. The real problem for contractors across the island of Ireland is one of lack of profitability.”

Contact Details

Farmhand Ltd., Damastown Rise, Damastown Industrial Park, Dublin 15, Ireland

Tel: (01) 812 9700

Fax: (01) 821 3064

Website: www.

farmhand.ie

Email: info@farmhand.ie

Brands: Krone, Amazone, Alo, Trima, Spearhead, Zuidberg, YES