DEALER TEAMS UP WITH COLLEGE

PICTURED ABOVE: L-R James Hibbert, Julie Dougal, Clive Brickell, Alan Jarrett, Lilly Draper, Alan Jarrett, Sam Thorby, Arthur King, Harry Hollands, Albert Green, Alfie Hookway, Sam Cronin, Alan Johnson, Jeremy Kerswell

A strategic partnership between AGCO dealer, Crawfords Group - comprising Crawfords, Agwood and Crawfords Automotive, and Plumpton College in East Sussex has been announced that they say will ensure that students and apprentices gain practical experience and training on modern tractors with the latest technology, fully aligned with the needs of the industry. 

Crawfords represents Valtra and Fendt from four depots looking after customers in East and South-East England. The network also includes three Agwood depots representing Massey Ferguson in Kent, and East and West Sussex. 

Plumpton College provides land-based and environmental education and training to 5,000 students on full- and part-time courses annually. 

The initial three-year agreement between Crawfords Group and Plumpton College means that students will have three of the latest Valtra tractors always available for technical and operator training, based at the college farm. The first delivery, in mid-May this year, included two N5-series models and a G-5 series, two with powershift transmissions and one with a Direct CVT unit allowing operators to become familiar with both types of system. One tractor has Valtra’s SmartTouch Extend GPS guidance system fitted, which will be transferred to new tractors as the fleet is updated twice each year. 

“We already enjoyed an excellent relationship with Plumpton College as some of our own staff were trained there,” explained Crawfords Group business director, Alan Haines. “There are currently two apprentices from the college working at our Billingshurst, West Sussex depot. They are excellent and clearly benefit from the mix of college and dealer workshop-based training.

“The Crawford family and business managers all believe strongly that working with and encouraging young people is key to the future success of our agricultural industry. For many years we have worked with colleges employing apprentices and engaged with Young Farmers Clubs.” 

Alan stressed that the partnership with Plumpton College will be mutually beneficial. Students will gain experience operating the latest AGCO tractors and the industry will benefit from operators and engineers already familiar with state-of-the-art technology when they leave education and start work. 

Crawfords Group dealer staff will also have access to the college-based tractors for customer demonstrations and operator familiarisation on the college farm, and college facilities including the well-equipped meeting rooms will be used for staff and customer presentations and training.

Plumpton College Principal, Jeremy Kerswell said, “Industry partnerships are critical. We have worked with Crawfords Group and other dealers for many years, but this long-term strategic partnership is different. The dealer has similar values to us, and we see it as a perfect match. Regular access to the latest machinery means that our students will be ‘current’, equipped with skills at the forefront of these technical advances and making them more attractive to modern farming operations and dealers.”

One tractor will be based in the college training workshop, allowing students to learn about routine maintenance and daily checks, and the other two will be used for operator training on the college farm including basic driving and trailer handling experience on a designated site adjacent to the farmyard. The college farm has its own larger Valtra T5-series tractor too, supplied by Crawfords Group earlier this year, which does most of the field work including slurry applications. 

“This is what a college and industry partnership should look like,” Jeremy Kerswell concluded. “For Crawfords Group, getting future farm owners, managers and operators exposed to their kit and, for our students, the up-to-date knowledge and skills to help ensure their future success. The Crawfords Group team members are fabulous to work with, and always keen to support the education and learning needs of the agricultural industry.”