Taking on two new sales areas, doubling in size and fighting soaring costs are just some of the key challenges that Lanarkshire-based Bryson Tractors is more than capable of coping with.
Having recently just been granted the West Lothian district and taking over Agricar’s business and area that it ran from Dundonald, in Ayrshire, this has meant that Bryson’s New Holland customer range has hugely expanded from their foundation depot at Lanark.
But, it is a challenge that Nancy Bryson, company director and founder of Bryson Tractors, is willing to rise to: “It is an exciting time for us. I am originally from Ayrshire, so it is really thrilling for me to be back in the home turf and getting to know everyone in that area again.
“We are looking forward to lots of new challenges and have fantastic staff and customers who have been very supportive of these changes. It all adds ups to the fact that we are looking to expand on from what we have and are excited about how it is all going to progress in the future,” she said.
Nancy began the company 20 years ago from scratch. Originally a sales manager in a bank, while her husband, Jake, was running a contracting business, which he sold five years ago for ‘an easier life’ – some hope! It almost seemed that when an opportunity arose to start a machinery business, it was fate.
“The local dealership had been given their notice and at the time we thought it was a good idea and I could sell tractors in my spare time!,” pointed out Nancy.
“Never did I think we would get to the size we are now. Starting out with nothing and deep in borrowings, we scraped our way up to where we are today.”
She is based at the Lanark site, which had seen a major refurbishment three years ago, with the re-opening being just two weeks prior to the pandemic. It wasn’t all bad news, though: “Of course the agricultural industry had to continue through the pandemic and the updated premises allowed for more social distancing in the shop, as well as making customers and staff feel that little bit safer.
“We have been very lucky the way business has continued in the last couple of years, unlike some other businesses, but we had to continue to support farmers … they can’t stop producing food.
“The main thing that Covid-19 really did hit in our business was a delay in some serious discussions with New Holland about taking on the West Lothian district. That had been in the pipeline prior to the pandemic, but had only really been concluded by this May,” she said.
“We needed to expand as we had to become specialists in the jobs that we do, but for a small business the sums sometimes just don’t add up. By expanding, we can now justify getting more specialist kit, and additional staff to support our customers.
“However, we were confident that the foundations had always been there, so expanding our customer base was the natural next step. We now plan to create a centralised hub where we can deal with the future technologies and the telematics side for the whole area,” said Nancy.
However, she added that it would be a major challenge taking on new areas as these were already well-served by other dealers, but she is confident that the manufacturers and brands represented by Bryson Tractors have a solid reputation.
The West Lothian operation will be based out of the Lanark depot. When Bryson Tractors started, it originally started with five members of staff but had now reached 20. The more recent addition of the Ayrshire branch added 15 employees.
On top of that, Nancy had managed to diversify the business over the years by running a hire fleet of 25 tractors, which is mainly for council-based work. “For councils, a lot of what they require is very seasonal, so they cannot justify having expensive kit sitting about when they are not using it,” she explained.
“The value of machinery has risen by quite extraordinary levels over the last few years. We started selling tractors at £30,000 and now it can be over £120,000. We never thought it would jump as much as that,” said Nancy. “So, it really is a no brainer for seasonal users to hire in the kit.
For farming customers, it has been a bit different. “With the rising prices of machinery, some customers do start to pause before making the purchase. However, the fact is businesses need to keep their machinery up to date to keep the reliability and technologies up to date and get the work done, so farmers know they need to make that investment.
“Although input costs have also risen dramatically, farm produce prices as a whole have been good, so I am optimistic that there will be money out there to spend on machinery once people look at their finances.
“The industry is doing well at the moment, but you just don’t know where and when it is all going to end, especially given the fact that the cost of living has just rocketed. Our own inputs are sky-high at the moment and year-on-year they are up by 30% which, unfortunately, we need to pass at least some of the costs to our customers.
“The biggest problem is scaremongering on the news. It creates the fashion and causes many of the shortages that we have been facing – if people hear about it, they start to panic,” said Nancy.
Of course, one major aspect of trading that has been affected by Covid and the war in Ukraine has been a world shortage of new machines. This had been brought about by both of those global events putting a complex parts supply chain out of synch.
“You just couldn’t be able to write it. Customers have been very understanding, as everyone is experiencing the same difficulties, but the main message we want to get out there is that the sooner you speak to us, the better. We need to work together and then plan ahead accordingly,” added Nancy.
Having recently expanded Bryson Tractors’ areas during lockdown, Nancy took the gamble last year of ordering a lot more stock than usual to allow to have stock when re-opening finally happened.
“We tried to be ahead of the game and be as organised as we could. It was the only alternative, but it was frightening at the time. Tractors in the UK used to arrive within three months, however it is now between nine-12 months from ordering,” she added.
“As for specific parts, again being stocked up is our number one priority but we also need to be creative even taking parts from other machines to get a customer up and running again. We can’t have people sitting waiting on parts, especially at this time of year as we know how valuable time is.
“Having been involved in the contracting industry with Jake, I know how stressful a breakdown can be, so we want to be able to minimise this as much as possible,” said Nancy.
As we move with the future, machines are becoming so advanced for everyone to keep on top of but this in turn should help farmers become more efficient, she argued. “The precision guidance that’s now commonplace on tractors will help utilise the machine and what it’s operating with to the fullest potential.
“These systems now allow farmers to fine tune their in-puts by using variable rates, which saves the likes of wasting fertiliser unnecessarily.
“The GPS system also finds the most efficient route for almost any job, too, and that helps reduce fuel costs. All these little things add up and are a great help to the driver and owner,” said Nancy.
She’s proud that New Holland are also pioneering new ways of powering tractors, citing the exciting full production of the T6 methane power tractor powered by nature as an instance.
This is the world’s first 100% methane powered production tractor and is key to CO2 reduction, but without compromising performance. Farmers can make use of agricultural or animal waste – as well as specifically-grown energy crops – to generate biomethane, which powers the tractor, which, in turn, helps grow those same crops. Alternatively, refilling can be performed directly from the gas grid network, or at specific biomethane stations.
“This is a very niche product, but the concept is a no brainer if it works for you. It is essentially free fuel and if you are running kit 24 hours of the day, it is something worth considering, even though it is not going to be for everyone,” said Nancy.
Modern tractors and machines are now coming straight out of the factory with some cutting edge technology and one of those is revolutionising the service side of Nancy’s business. “Most tractors are now equipped with telematic systems which notifies us to show a problem before the driver is even aware, which means we can be on the ball and ready to help with a speedy recovery if need be.
“Technology is advancing really quickly and sometimes it is difficult to stay on top of. It is very much a learning curve for everyone, but we are all picking up tips from one another.
“The future of farm machinery is definitely going down the route of more automated kit, which is now so reliable and in years to come, machines will be able to do it for themselves. That’s a good thing, too, as we all know that there are labour shortages on many farms hence moving towards the more automated/robotic life – just take a look at the dairy industry!
“People are wanting a more work/life balance and automated machines are definitely the way manufacturers will go in the future.
“On the flip side, we have been very lucky with staff over the years. We have a cracking team and don’t tend to have a high turnover of staff, but bringing in new talent seems to be the challenge everyone is facing these days, regardless of the industry that you operate in,” said Nancy.
Bryson Tractors does take on apprentices and helps put them through their studies, while learning on the job. “We need to encourage the next generation to ensure there is a future for our industry,” she pointed out.
“We started from scratch and so can anyone … there are no excuses. It might sound patronising, but it’s the truth, even a female can be a leading role model in the industry!” said Nancy, who has recently just joined the board of Lawrie and Symington, being the first lady on board since Baroness Elliot of Harwood.
“I feel very positive about the future as there are so many exciting opportunities out there and this next big step of taking on West Lothian and Ayrshire will our next biggest challenge but will also give us a fantastic excuse to celebrate 20 years in trade next year,” concluded Nancy. We do love a party!
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here