Business South May 2021

42 | TRANSPORT Norwood Farm Machinery - Westport T Russell Fredric The bulk of Norwood Westport’s sales arm comprises sales of New Holland and Kubota tractors, supported by a comprehensive parts and service department for a variety of machinery. forks, Clamps, gra bs, grapples and hitch es 0800 802 478 Talk to the team at Norwood West Coast today - (03) 762 5060 CBN WC Business South Ad.indd 1 11/12/2020 2:19:56 PM For more information call us on 06 370 0390 www.tulloch.nz | Dealers located nationwide Low maintenance, high quality and dependable. The EasyCut Front Mower is a versatile & innovative compact design. It has all the KRONE benefits but with the additional flexibility of utilising either a pull type or push type headstock - allowing optimal adaptability. EASYCUT FRONT MOWER Pictured: EasyCut F 320 M PROUD SUPPLIERS TO NORWOOD WEST COAST N orwood Farm Machinery’s Westport branch is a star performer in the machinery sales and service company’s nationwide network. Headed by the branch’s general manager, Craig Soster, Norwood Westport won the company’s Branch of the Year title in 2017 and Service Department of the Year in 2018. Nationally, Norwood represents some of the world’s largest farm machinery manufac- turers, including Kubota, New Holland and MX along with offering precision farming solutions covering viticulture, horticulture, lifestyle and the recreational sectors. Westport is one 23 Norwood nationwide dealerships and two service centres. Each dealership offers a range of equip- ment and brands specifically chosen to meet the needs of the farmers and contractors in that region. Craig says being recognised in the awards came through a lot of hard work for its 14 staff. “We were very proud and it felt like a sense of accomplishment with being one of the smaller branches in New Zealand and it says a lot for the team here. “We’re a big family, everyone works really hard so everyone was pretty stoked.” Although he is the branch’s general manag- er, Craig also works in a sales role. The bulk of Norwood Westport’s sales arm comprises sales of New Holland and Kubo- ta tractors, supported by a comprehensive parts and service department for a variety of machinery. The service department employs six field technicians. “Its definitely more positive on the coast than it has been for a long time, it’s definitely buoyant at the moment.” Westport branch a standout performer Norwood is dedicated to providing a com- plete 24-hour, seven day a week after sales service and parts package throughout New Zealand, ensuring productivity and peace of mind for machinery operators through busy working periods. Like all branches, Norwood Westport offers overnight access to more than $28m worth of agricultural related parts from the largest agricultural parts distribution warehouse in New Zealand and the largest wholesale parts distribution support team in New Zealand. With considerable advances in technology there has been a big change in service re- quirements during the past few years. Modern machinery’s extended oil change intervals demand higher quality oils and filters being replaced on time. Because today’s tractors are very sophis- ticated, with processors and specialised sys- tems requiring health checks and calibrations, the training and skill of Norwood’s technicians is paramount. Every visit made by an author- ised technician is critical to ensure machinery owners are protected from the expense and stress of downtime. All authorised dealer technicians are offered training at the Norwood National Training Centre based in Palmerston North, as well as on-site training by its factory-trained technical support team. Craig says the local farming community hav- ing two consecutive years of reasonably good payouts, along with the sale of Westland Milk Products to Yili Industrial Group and the 15% rise in the Global Dairy Trade index is good news for the West Coast. “Its definitely more positive on the coast than it has been for a long time, it’s definitely buoyant at the moment.”