Salisbury based Harper Plant, Kubota’s construction dealer in Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire, has passed a substantial milestone by selling its 1,000th Kubota machine.
Sold in latter half of 2016, the unit in question was a Kubota K008-3 micro excavator, part of a package deal of K008-3s and U17-3s sold to tool and plant hire firm The Hire Shed. The landmark sale comes after eight years of continual growth for Harper Plant after the recession of 2008/09, with the business also achieving the Kubota Gold Award for Service Excellence during this period.
Andy Harper, Managing Director of Harper Plant, commented: “Setting up as a service and maintenance business with a modest team of three back in 2003, to then becoming a certified Kubota dealer in 2005, it’s amazing to see the journey Harper Plant has gone on to achieve this 1,000th sale. We now boast nine full time members of staff, with specialists dedicating in sales, service and parts, which is testament to our business growth and increase in demand for Kubota machines in the South and South West regions.
“Whilst Kubota excavators have been sought after by owner-operators for some time, over the past 3-4 years there has been a significant rise in popularity of Kubota machines with plant hire firms, a development we have been able to capitalize on. For example, the U17-3 has been a particularly successful product for us, as plant hire firms will regularly hire out to contractors undertaking building and utility work due to its zero-tailswing operation and reliability.
“Another key facet in our development as a dealer is our aftersales support to customers, with three full time service engineers and two specialist parts staff operating out of our HQ in Salisbury, ensuring that the high customer service standard we set is always maintained. This is backed up by Kubota’s excellent service training program and parts delivery.
“Ultimately we work in a repeat business industry. If we look after our current customers, they will come back with more orders, we will get recommended to other firms and our market share will continue to rise within the territories we operate in. It’s an exciting time for us, with the quality and popularity of the Kubota machines on the market and the value we add as a dealer, I’m optimistic for what Harper Plant can achieve as we move forward.”
