Well-known Dublin-based machinery importer and distributor Farmhand has gone from strength to strength since its establishment in 1962. Celebrating its 60th anniversary this week, we sat down with brothers Paul and Stephen Scrivener to chat about the company’s history and success over the years.

There are two sides to Farmhand’s business – machinery and parts. On the machinery side, Farmhand retails brands such as Krone, Amazone, APV and Quicke through its nationwide dealer network. Meanwhile, its parts business trades under the Fastparts banner. This company supplies spares to almost every dealer in the country.

Over the years, Farmhand moved location several times, but always remained in Dublin, as it imports all of its machinery from mainland Europe, thus proximity to Dublin Port was key.

History

The brothers’ grandfather, Denis, set up Farmhand in 1962. Denis was of Czech descent and was a survivor of World War II. He moved to Ireland after meeting a Tipperary lady while training with the Army reserves in England.

Krone was the first major brand Denis Scrivener set his sights on. Krone already had a distributor in Ireland, but this didn’t deter Denis. He travelled to Germany to meet Krone who agreed to give him the agency, once a six-month notice had passed.

Farmhand was formed as a 50-50 partnership between Denis and Bernard Krone, grandfather of the current CEO, before the Scriveners bought out the shares in the 1990s. At the same time, Denis wrote to a number of embassies looking for other machinery agencies. Soon after, Farmhand became the first importer for Quicke outside of Scandinavia. Denis is remembered by many for his demonstrations, taking a loader off a tractor in less than 90 seconds at shows around the country.

In 1968, Farmhand began importing Amazone equipment.

In 1968, Farmhand begin importing Amazone equipment, with this connection coming through Klaus Dreyer (owner of Amazone) and Bernard Krone. The first Amazone machine available in Ireland was a twin-disc fertiliser spreader which is still on display in Farmhand’s showroom. APV later joined the company in 2013.

At various stages over the years, Farmhand was the exclusive distributor of brands such as Kuhn, Pöttinger, Spearhead, Howard, Kongskilde, Serigstad, Overum, Mengele, Gyro, Cleanacres and Elho.

Farmhand became the first importer for Quicke outside of Scandinavia in 1962 .

The first Krone BiG M was sold in Ireland in 1998, and since then, Ireland has proven a big market for these machines. Farmhand claims to have sold over 60 units of the latest generation BiG M 450, currently the world’s only mass-produced self-propelled mower, since it arrived in 2017/2018. It says its record year for sales was in 2019, when it sold 20 machines, accounting for 25% of Krone’s total annual production of about 80 units.

Despite the first prototype being unveiled to the public in 2000, it was 2009 before the first demonstration BiG X forager was available in Ireland, namely the BiG X 650. The BiG X forager line has also been growing in popularity, with Farmhand saying well over 100 machines are now in the Irish market. It says that for the 2022 season, sales are at 15 units, including three BiG X 1180s, the world’s largest forager. The relationship between Farmhand and Krone families is tight-knit, with the last two generations of Krone CEOs having worked on the ground in Ireland in service roles.

The first Krone BiG M was sold in Ireland in 1998, while today, Ireland accounts for up to 25% of Krone’s total annual production.

Premises

Farmhand has moved location several times, but always remained in Dublin. As it imports 100% of its machinery from mainland Europe, proximity to Dublin Port is key. It started off in 1962 employing three people, renting an office in Merrion Square in Dublin city centre, and a yard behind a pub in Lucan.

Farmhand moved to its first industrial premises in Phibsborough in 1965. This gave the company room to store machines directly from Dublin Port before they were distributed around the country. By 1972 the company was employing 20 people and it moved to a purpose-built facility in Castleknock. The same year John Scrivener, Denis’ son, joined the company, and later became MD in 1975. Ireland joining the EEC in the 1970s saw massive sales of new machinery and the rapid growth of Farmhand.

Work on a new premises on a greenfield site began in 2006. In 2008, Farmhand moved from Castleknock up the road to a purpose-built facility in Damastown, Dublin 15. Its turnover in 2008 was €12.5m, but dropped by 60% in 2009 during the economic downturn. In addition, by the time the company moved premises, the offer on its old premises had dropped in value by 80%. Paul said this was a difficult few years for the company, but they worked through it. Going from strength to strength ever since, Farmhand is expecting to top a record turnover of over €50m this year, double that of 2016.

It is a family-run affair. Paul and his sister Sinead joined the business in 2005, followed by their brother Stephen in 2013.

Going from strength to strength ever since, the company is expecting to top a record turnover of over €50 million this year, double that of 2016.

Dealers

Farmhand retails its range of brands through a network of 30 dealers across the island of Ireland. Ten years ago, it had 50 dealers, while the brothers explained that back in the early 1980s, it had 110-120 dealers. They explained that the decision to decrease dealer numbers over the years was to have bigger and more dedicated family dealerships. Of the 30 dealers, just four offer the big line range of Krone equipment. A dealer standards programme was implemented by Farmhand several years ago, with appearance, marketing, sales and aftersales standards all crucial elements. Farmhand says it carries out over 300 machinery demos each year, all of which are documented by dealers on a CRM system. This includes profiles for every customer including interactions, their machines, demos, every quote they receive and every warranty claim they’ve had etc.

Farmhand currently retail its range of brands through a network of 30 dealers across the island of Ireland.

Parts business

Fastparts is an integral part of Farmhand, and is responsible for employing 20 staff. With 400 dealers across the country, Fastparts is said to offer 25,000 different product ranges across 180 brands from manufacturers all over the world. Carrying a stock of parts worth €3-€3.5m at any one time, a Microsoft computer system that keeps tabs on all stock was installed in 2015. Fastparts is also responsible for the distribution of Dromone hitches and components in Ireland. Also based at the same Dublin premises, a recent extension was just completed with the goal of expanding this side of the business.

Opportunities and threats

“We don’t see a lot of potential for growth with new suppliers, but instead we see more growth with our current suppliers. We are resolute in our vision for the company. We have seen other companies trying to do too many brands or take on a retail side, and that’s not a route we want to go down. We have independence with our current brands to set demos, prices and marketing, whereas if we moved to a new major brand or even a tractor brand, they would be dictating such terms. Especially with the tractor business, it’s a different culture and it’s all about numbers.

“We want to become leaders in high tech equipment. I think the future will involve taking a more measured approach, maximising the use of technology to improve farming practices while being as environmentally efficient as possible. Our suppliers are very progressive and it will be our job to further educate our dealers and end users to improve where possible.

“The volatility around pricing and the availability of machines in recent times are the biggest challenges at present. We have no major fears. We have found that agriculture is a consistent industry. People need to eat and this won’t change. Farming practices may change, but we’ll adapt with them. Our biggest fear would be losing one of our agencies.”

Where do you see Farmhand in 10 years’ time?

“Our plan is to continue to grow, especially the Fastparts department. On the machinery side, I think we would be happy to hold our market share with each of our brands in their respective segments, and even further refine our service. We want our machines to be working to their full potential in the fields. I think we can even further improve our dealer appearance. We want our customers to walk in the door to any of our dealers and get the best possible experience. We want to bring our dealer network to a very professional high standard, with a strong aftersales service.”

Profile

Business: Farmhand Ltd.

Established: 1962.

Managing director: Paul Scrivener.

Employees: 50.

Address: Damastown, Dublin 15.

Farmhand was formed as a 50/50 partnership between Denis and Bernard Krone, grandfather of the current CEO, before the Scriveners bought out the shares in the 1970s.