New State-of-the-Art Farm Machinery Hub Wows Visitors
Published on 28 May 2021
VISITORS to this year’s NZ National Fieldays are invited to check out the country’s most modern farm machinery dealership.
Located opposite the main road to Fieldays, the multi-million complex is the new home for CLAAS Harvest Centre, Waikato and the parts, training and demonstration hub for the network’s five other branches in the North Island.
Designed by Riverside Studios Director, Mark Enderwick, and constructed by Apollo Projects, the facility includes a six-bay service workshop, a 1000 square metre parts warehouse and a 700 square metre showroom, administration and training centre.
The centre also houses a high-tech remote diagnostics facility that enables technicians to monitor the location, operating performance and potential service requirements of any CLAAS, JCB or AMAZONE machinery fitted with telematics in New Zealand.
The three hectare site includes a 6500 square metre ‘hard stand’ area and a product demonstration and training area. The site hosts more than 35 sales, administration, parts and service staff under the leadership of Branch Manager, Stephen Harrison.
Landpower CEO, Richard Wilson, says the complex will underpin increasing demand for high performance farm machinery and after-sales service and support. “Hamilton is our largest dealership in the North Island and has developed a solid business based on forage harvesting technology,” Richard says.
“This expansion will spearhead the continued growth in sales of our extensive range of other lines, including tractors, cultivation, seeding, spraying, spreading, harvesters, hay & forage and handling equipment. “Our goal is to gear up farmers for success by providing access to some of the world’s leading farm machinery brands and providing an unmatched level of after-sales service.
“A large part of that promise relies on recruiting, developing and retaining quality staff. “Having a purpose-built, well-equipped workplace and being able to provide ongoing training throughout our network will enable us to meet that challenge.”
The opening of the new dealership continues CLAAS’ long association in the Waikato. Well-known local business, A.M. Bisley & Co, represented CLAAS before many years before its farm machinery business was acquired by Farmrite, an Invercargill-based farm machinery importer and distributor established by Herby and Pam Whyte in 1975. 20 years later, Farmrite’s network of 12 franchises and 50 independent dealers throughout Australia and New Zealand was rebadged Landpower and then in 2008, as the CLAAS Harvest Centre network.
