Set up in 2004 by a group of independent farm machinery retailers it imports and distributes farm machinery to its member shareholders.
Over the past 10 years of operation Origin Agroup has experienced formidable growth and has firmly positioned itself and its products on the market, the company says.
This rapid growth and expansion would not have been achieved by any other business model, says managing director David Donnelly.
“Quite simply our success is contributed to the fact we adopted a cooperative business model with cooperative principles and ethos which fairly represents the shareholder members and their customers interests,” he says.
“Cooperatives are founded on strong values, and we put them into practice every day. With relationships built on trust, co-ops enable the member owners, customers and suppliers to work together to serve everyone’s needs.”
Donnelly believes that trust is the glue that holds the member owners of a cooperative together.
“It’s vital to the success of Origin Agroup as we create and develop long-term relationships with our customers and suppliers from all around the world.
“Our objective is to ensure that New Zealand farmers and contractors get the best possible equipment, that the machinery they need will be available when they need it, and that they will be well looked after by the members of the Origin Agroup cooperative with service and parts when they need it most.”
Origin Agroup imports its products directly from overseas manufacturers on exclusive market distribution agreements; this provides shareholder members and their customers with a competitive range of quality products.
Origin Agroup distributes many successfully recognised European brands of machinery which include Pottinger cultivation, seeding and harvesting equipment; Alpego power harrows, rotary hoes, mulchers, seed drills, and sub-soilers; Dal-Bo cambridge rollers and disc harrows; Manip tractor front end loaders; Bogballe fertilizer spreaders; HatzenbichleR air seeders and harrows and Tatoma mixer wagons.
Donnelly says the group is poised for further product and distribution expansion but emphasises the fact that Origin Agroup has successfully been here for the past ten years and will be here for the future.
“It was a logical decision to provide the industry with an alternative supply of products and services to the farm machinery market which could look after its retailers with an exclusive range of products more fairly and the co-op structure is a proven business model which achieves this.
“We knew 10 years ago that simply starting up a new company to import farm machinery and introduce new products would be difficult, so we needed a point of difference that would benefit both the farm machinery retailer and their customers and the Cooperative model would provide this difference”.
