Zetor distributor, McHale Plant Sales, has announced that it is to intensify its involvement in selling directly to farmers. To facilitate this development, the company is providing a main retail sales service through its base at Birdhill, Co. Tipperary and at its new east coast location on the Greenogue Industrial Estate, Rathcoole.
In operational terms, McHale Zetor will provide customers with the full range of retail services including sales, finance, spare parts and servicing along with full trade-in and technical support. Fronting the initiative is McHale Plant Sales director John O’Brien and sales specialist Patrick Shanahan.
Working in parallel with what their managing director Michael McHale calls a ‘slimmed-down’ main dealer network, the initiative is one that mirrors a situation common within the motor trade. According to McHale ‘our retail sales activities will operate alongside, and complement, the work being done by our network of independent dealers, all of whom will continue to represent Zetor as before’.
‘In addition, it will enable us to provide sales coverage in those ‘open’ areas where no Zetor dealers existed previously,’ he said.
Driving this change in direction by McHale is the need to establish a sales structure that has the marketing and financial resources needed to better exploit what Michael McHale calls ‘Zetor’s exciting future’. In this regard, the introduction of the new high-powered Crystal, and Zetor’s movement towards higher-powered and more technically advanced models generally, were key influencing factors.
In the wings also, according to Michael McHale ‘is Zetor’s move towards greater styling and design with their engagement of legendary Italian car stylists Pininfarina to create modern designs that will be seen on future models.’
Though not ruling out the possibility that McHale Zetor will expand its presence in the marketplace over time – with the acquisition of product lines that would augment its tractor range or by extending its physical footprint beyond Birdhill and Rathcoole – the emphasis over the foreseeable future, according to Michael McHale ‘will be to build a customer base and better exploit the potential that the Zetor franchise has to offer’.
