A leading North West agricultural machinery business which counts
Manchester United among its customers is expanding with support from
Yorkshire Bank.
Clarke and Pulman Ltd, which is based in Burscough, Lancashire, has
recruited two new trainee engineers, including a 16-year-old apprentice,
and extended its sales team after a period of rapid growth. It is also
planning to move to larger premises to accommodate its burgeoning number
of staff and services.
The firm's extraordinary growth - staffing levels have increased by
almost 50 per cent in the last five years - were enabled by banking
facilities worth almost £1million from Yorkshire Bank, including
substantial working capital finance. The facilities were arranged by Ian
Hardman, head of the Bank's Business and Private Banking Centre in
Preston.
Founded in 2003, Clarke and Pulman Ltd sells, hires and services
agricultural and groundcare machinery. It has up to 40 machines on hire
around the country at any one time. Among the leading brands it stocks
are Massey Ferguson, Kuhn and Fendt. In 2011, it secured an agreement to
become the North West's only supplier of JCB machinery and parts.
The firm's customers range from farms and agricultural businesses to
local authorities and football clubs, including Manchester United,
seeking groundcare equipment. One of its largest clients is Huntapac, a
major root vegetable supplier with more than 300 staff and contracts to
supply some of the biggest supermarkets in the UK.
Since Clarke and Pulman Ltd switched to Yorkshire Bank in 2007,
staffing levels have risen from 14 to 25. The firm's latest recruits are
a 20-year-old agricultural studies graduate and a 16-year-old school
leaver, who begins his apprenticeship with Clarke and Pulman this month
[September]. Each will be trained as agricultural engineers, a highly
specialised profession due to the complex nature of tractor electronics.
As a result of the company's ongoing expansion, it is planning to move
to bigger premises. It currently operates from a purpose-built 8000sq ft
site in the Lancashire market town of Burscough.
Ged Clarke, Clarke and Pulman Ltd's managing director, said: "From the
moment the business was established in 2003, it has been our aim to
become one of the UK's leading agricultural machinery dealerships. I am
proud to say, with help from our banking partners, Yorkshire Bank, we
are well on our way to achieving that goal.
"Key to our success has been Yorkshire Bank's flexible approach to
banking facilities and its expertise in growing businesses. The team's
comprehensive understanding of the agribusiness sector has also been a
major benefit."
David Hannon, Yorkshire Bank's head of agribusiness, said: "Clarke and
Pulman has earned a first class reputation within the farming industry
for its wide range of machinery, knowledgeable staff and high standard
of aftersales care.
"It has been a pleasure to help it achieve its growth aspirations and
Yorkshire Bank looks forward to continuing to work in partnership with
the business as it seeks new ways to develop."
source: easier
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