‘New’ Vaderstad drill thrill . . . at fraction of price

John Noble knows a thing or two about Vaderstad equipment. And so he should. He has been selling the Swedish firm’s drills since 1992.

And over the last 10 years he has developed a thorough refurbishment programme for used Vaderstad equipment taken in part-exchange, which allows customers to save 25 to 30 per cent on the cost of buying an equivalent new model.

“As our new drill business strengthened during the late 1990s, we were taking in more and more second-hand Vaderstad drills, but realised customers had concerns about what they would need to do to get these drills up to a decent standard for prolonged, reliable use,” says Mr Noble, who runs Cambridge Farm Machinery at Hauxton, near Cambridge.

“The answer was to develop our own refurbishment programme using genuine Vaderstad spare parts to bring drills up to a high standard,” he says.

It is an approach which has helped Mr Noble’s firm to strengthen residual values, giving customers slower depreciation along with a lower operating cost per acre.

Cost savings

“The cost savings available from buying a refurbished Vaderstad drill for example, has made this equipment much more affordable to farmers.

Previously they may have found it hard to justify buying a new model,” he says. “And many have also used the cost savings as an opportunity to trade up a size, too.”

Mr Noble’s faith in his own workshop facilities and team of engineers allows his company to fully rebuild, commission, back up and support its refurbished kit for customers throughout the first season’s use.

“Giving great customer service is our way of putting a warranty on what we do,” he says. “There are no shortcuts when refurbishing drills – it has to be done properly. And it is easier to put things right when equipment is stripped down in the workshop, than to respond to a call-out for something you should have done in the first place.”

Most refurbishment work focuses on drills, and of the 70 to 80 or so mainstream Vaderstad implements which the firm sold last year, almost half of them are refurbished and sold throughout the country.

“With drills, the age defines the trade-in value and this ultimately sets the second-hand price when refurbished,” he says. “We have to factor in the cost of genuine parts and labour to get that drill up to a high standard, for which someone is prepared to pay a sensible price.”

He adds that labour is the firm’s biggest cost. “It can take one person up to a month– which can be anything from 140 to 160 hours of labour – to overhaul and rebuild an 8m drill,” he says. “We also incorporate the latest factory modifications which are appropriate for individual models too, and we also carry out software upgrades for control boxes.”

“Typically, it costs around £1,000 per metre to freshen up a drill,” he says. “It’s not uncommon to spend £7,000 to 8,000 on parts, as nine-out-of-ten drills get new system discs, coulters, coulter-discs, bearings, wear plates, scrapers, tines, pins and bushes, for example. Even tyres can be replaced if badly worn.”

Thorough overhaul

Mr Noble adds that such a thorough overhaul is not an easy task to complete, but the company gets good support from Vaderstad’s UK operation and the factory.

“The factory will supply the parts we need and while most items are available off the shelf, structural parts or sections of frame could take longer to supply – but we will always get it,” he says.

“Obsolescence is not something which shows up on the radar – it is a family business which understands what farmers need.”

Mr Noble says machines which have been through the workshop are ready for work and, other than operator-inflicted damage, they are unlikely to need further investment during their first season back in the field.

“Customer expectations are very high, and the final part of the process is to touch up the paint where necessary and give the hopper a damn good polish,” he says.

“What we sell also has to look right as well as work properly. It’s all about giving fair value for money.”

As an added bonus to customers, having such a busy refurbishment programme also means that Cambridge Farm Machinery carries a substantial stock of new and used genuine parts.

“We carry anything up to £200,000 of new spares and, there are always a few part-worn discs and other components which have come off second-hand machines we can be use to help customers out of a hole,” adds Mr Noble.

“There is always the odd missing or broken disc needing to be replaced and there is an extremely good chance we will be able to lay our hands on a suitably worn one to match.”

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