Perth Power Tractors & Machinery is WA's newest ag machinery dealer

It recently opened at 50 Kewdale Road, Welshpool, and is representing some of the big names in machinery - with one of the keynote brands being Versatile tractors.

Dealer principal Paul McGovern said the business was formed after the Power Farming Group (PFG), which is a New Zealand-owned organisation, reached out through its Victoria office to its contacts in the Perth-based Autoleague group.

"They were looking for representation in Western Australia for their stable of brands," Mr McGovern said.

He heads up the business after most recently running semi-trailer dealership, G&A Lombardi, for 18 months.

Prior to that he was the dealer principal at WA Hino for 21 years, which he said was "a good stint" where they won national dealer of the year five times, and even earlier he sold trucks with Skipper Trucks.

While the foray into agriculture machinery is different to what he is used to, Mr McGovern said at the end of the day it was still a dealership and they were still selling product.

He said the idea was the same and they needed to back up that product with a service department, as well as supply spare parts and offer trade-ins on machinery.

"The principles are exactly the same," Mr McGovern said.

"The other thing that we are doing here is we are servicing all makes of trucks as well because we have a tremendously well-equipped workshop out the back

"We know our tractors will be going to remote homes and we probably won't see them again, but we are offering truck services and repairs."

And when it comes to the machinery on offer - it is wide ranging.

On the tractor side, he said "we can supply from a 26 horsepower Solis which is more of a hobby farmer/market gardener tractor, up to a 720hp DeltaTrack Versatile tractor out of Canada".

One of the stars of the stable is Versatile tractors, something many farmers who like the iconic brand have already welcomed.

"Having a dealership that is focused on Versatile and not competing brands at that level means that it will be our focus and it will get the service accordingly," Mr McGovern said.

While there are none of the big red tractors on display yet, the business believes it will gain its "fair share of that market".

"We have got four sold already before the first one arrives," Mr McGovern said.

"It is a very well-respected brand and it is a very strong, simple tractor with a Cummins engine and a Caterpillar transmission, so it has got very good componentry and it's not complicated.

"There is no AdBlue, there is no diesel particulate filter either, so it is just a very good, solid workhorse.

"And it is priced very well too."

Another big name in the tractor line-up is Deutz Fahr.

"It is a German brand that has been around for a long time and again they have a wide range of tractors, going from 50hp up to 340hp with the Warrior series which is a great tractor."

A new brand to the local market is Solis tractors.

"It is an Indian manufacturer and is one of the largest selling tractors in Europe and they build 300,000 tractors a year, so they are a very, very big player," Mr McGovern said.

He said it was a new brand in Australia and would be backed by PFG and was "very well-priced".

Mr McGovern said these tractors were targeted to market gardeners, small farmers, hobby farmings and even football clubs, saying it was ideal for "anyone that is using a small tractor".

"It has got a three-point linkage, PTO, they are available in four wheel drive and come standard with a 4in1 bucket, so they are ready to work straight out of the door and straight onto the farm."

Perth Power Tractors & Machinery delivered its first McHale baler last week, in time for the current hay season.

Mr McGovern said the McHale baler was rated as one of the best balers in the world, originating from Ireland.

McHale Fusion Vario is a feature of the McHale fleet, being a fully-integrated bale wrapper and he said they have a couple of those in stock as well.

Something to appeal to vineyards is an automatic grape picker from Gregoire.

"With a lot of vineyards battling to get people to pick their crops, this thing actually picks the crop for them," Mr McGovern said.

He said the brand had been very successful in vineyards in the Eastern States and New Zealand and it didn't damage the grapes.

The introduction of Bad Boy Mowers to Australia has also been a recent talking point.

V8 Supercar star Craig Lowndes recently signed on as a national ambassador for the bright orange brand that will appeal to councils and contractors, as well as individuals in the lawn mowing market.

Mr McGovern said despite only recently opening their doors, they have already been spreading the word, having a small presence at the recent Newdegate Machinery Field Days, as well as talking to people at the Dowerin Machinery Field Days back in August.

He said they planned to attend all the major agriculture machinery field days next year to promote the range of products and services on offer.

At the moment PPTM is stocking up its spare parts department, as well as putting experienced staff into the business, including David Rogers, who has a long history with Versatile tractors and other large tractors.

They have a couple of mechanics already onsite and more are planned to start in the very near future.

Mr McGovern said they were still looking for an experienced sales person, particularly in the smaller end of the farm machinery market, as well as a spare parts person.

"We are under no illusion - we don't want to be the biggest, but we need to be profitable and we need to be providing a very good service," Mr McGovern said.

"We want to establish a very good reputation as a great company to deal with."

Farmers in Perth for business are invited to drop into the new Welshpool business

"We make a great coffee and farmers are welcome to call by and have a look at what we have got," he said.

"We have a lot of stock here and can actually sell and deliver from the floor."

More information: Call into 50 Kewdale Road, Welshpool, go to perthtractors.com.au or call 9256 8088.