As this is our last year that we are exhibiting at the Royal Cornwall Show we would like to take this opportunity to invite all our customers, past and present, to come and visit us on our stand for a chat/beer/cup of tea. For over 20 years PES have been exhibiting at the show, it was the move into selling new machinery that prompted us to do it as PES had always been known for selling dumper parts in the south-west. That part of the business has grown considerably in this time with PES now being the largest supplier of Thwaites, Terex, Terex/JCB, Mecalac and Barford in the UK with over £1million worth of parts on the shelf ready for next day delivery.
We thought it would be an ideal place to showcase our equipment, remember this was the early days of the internet and where a mobile phone was used to call people!!! At this stage PES were selling Japanese made IHI mini-diggers and Spanish made Ausa dumper and forklifts, which if we are being brutally honest, were proper ‘hard to sell’ products. Anybody who drove or bought an IHI were delighted with the product, powerful smooth hydraulics coupled with Japanese build quality made it a popular product but it suffered from the fact that nobody had ever heard of it. Previously it had been brought into the UK in the 1980’s for about 5 years under the Chieftain banner and it achieved quite a good penetration into the market but once the anti-dumping duties came in, as they were a relatively small manufacturer, they couldn’t compete and withdrew from the market.
Ausa, on the other hand, were quite a well-known manufacturer as they sold literally thousands of their 108 skip loaders. Remember them, the single cylinder air-cooled, rear wheel steer skip-loading dumper that A Plant had loads in their hire fleet. At one time they were one of only manufacturers of skip loading dumpers and did very well out of it. They kind of fell behind in their offerings and so at the turn of the century came out with a completely new range of dumpers. Under the control of Martin Bell, the ex-Barford Managing Director, and Glen Pritchard, the UK’s best OEM Dealer Manager, Ausa overtook Barford and became the 3rd largest supplier of dumpers in the UK behind Thwaites and Terex. As they had always suffered from a reputation for poor back-up, Ausa appointed PES as their UK parts distributor and for over 10 years we supported the Ausa dealer network with their spare parts and with our knowledge and expertise, lost that reputation.
Things change though and when the opportunity came along to sell Volvo compact equipment it was a no-brainer and as soon as Martin and Glen left Ausa for new ventures things started to unravel with Ausa. When the opportunity came along to represent Thwaites, the UK’s no 1 dumper manufacturer, it was the birth of a whole new good working relationship and the opposite end of the spectrum to the one with Ausa which had deteriorated over the years. When they decided to take the parts supply business back to direct from Spain there were no tears shed at PES, in fact it was a welcome relief. When you look at their contraction in the market and virtual disappearance of Ausa dumpers in the construction industry its hard to think of them becoming a serious player in the UK again.
Our stand at the show for the first couple of years was down by the south entrance showcasing our IHI diggers and Ausa dumpers until we moved to the one where we are now. Our stand these days has Volvo compact equipment, Thwaites dumpers, Winget mixers, Epiroc hydraulic attachments, Augertorque earth drills and Husqvarna compaction and concrete finishing equipment on it and, for those of you who might not of noticed, there is normally two large items of Volvo equipment as well. The biggest items we have had on the stand is a Volvo A30G, a 30 tonne carry capacity articulated dumper and a Volvo EC300E excavator, a 30-tonne excavator and I can assure you it takes a bit of planning getting that in and out of the showground!!!
So, there you have it, a short-potted history of our involvement with the Royal Cornwall Show. It’s been a lot of hard work over the years but well worth it but all good things come to and end. As stated in previous posts, in today’s digital age with the internet, Instagram, Facebook and the myriad of other social media platforms the value of parking some machines on a piece of grass in Wadebridge has diminished. We’ll miss the interaction with customers, it was always a good opportunity to talk to customers away from the workplace but our younger customers, especially pre-40 years old, don’t seem to have the same pull to attend as the post-40 years old do.
We’d like to take the opportunity to thank all the staff at the Royal Cornwall Show and the telehandler drivers for all their help and assistance over the years, without their planning and organisation the show wouldn’t go ahead. To all our customers who have taken the time to come and have a chat and a drink, thank you as well and remember this will be the last opportunity to visit our stand so please try and find time to come on and say hello and also goodbye.
Look out in the future for some new, hi-tech, internet-based marketing that PES will be doing and stand back in amazement as PES joins the 21st century in the sales marketing of Thwaites, Volvo, Epiroc, Winget and Husqvarna products.
