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TAMA president Kyle Baxter.
While some parts of the New Zealand economy have been damaged beyond repair by the Covid-19 pandemic, the country’s ag machinery sector is not one of them.
“There is a large swath of businesses that continue to show massive resilience to everything that has being thrown at them in the past year,” Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) president Kyle Baxter told Rural News. “With the agri sector, certainly one of the strongest performers.”
However, Baxter notes that many TAMA member companies are seeing first-hand the challenges that European suppliers have to deal with on a daily basis. This includes both regional and country-wide lockdowns that are changing on a daily / weekly basis, causing huge upheaval to supply chains – all of which is affecting supply to NZ.
At present, global shipping is causing the greatest upheavals for the industry. Baxter warns that this might result in delays to the supply of parts and equipment into and out of NZ during the first half of 2021.
“I encourage each of our members to discuss the impact of these potential shipping delays with staff and more importantly, their customers,” he says. “The sooner a business can identify potential supply problems, the more time they will have to look for alternative solutions to keep your customers operational.”
He also adds that the annual discussions around “indent ordering” appearing to be happening quite a bit earlier than previous years, with many customers already making a commitment on spring 2021 equipment to secure delivery in a timely manner.
Looking ahead, Baxter says the organisation is well into the planning of its second bi-annual TAMA Conference in Christchurch on 27 August. Running the theme of “Growing our World”, the event – with principal sponsor Rural News – will bring member companies up to date with industry trends, best practice and innovative solutions.
It will also see three Emerging Talent Awards presented for sales, parts & service staff working in the ag sector.
Additionally, TAMA is also looking to give boost to people just starting their careers in the industry. It recently announced scholarships for industry trainees, who are studying towards a certificate or diploma standards, the chance to pick up a $500 bonus. For more information visit: https://tama.org.nz/industry-training-scholarships/
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