A host of the biggest brands in ground and turfcare were on show at Wildwood Machinery’s first Open Day, at East Horton Golf Club in Hampshire on July 3, attended by groundcare professionals and buyers from across Southern England.
Wildwood Machinery Managing Director, James Bastian said: “We put on the Open Day to thank our partners, suppliers, staff and customers. It was an opportunity to showcase our growing range of state-of-the-art machinery, and I wanted to do it in an environment where everyone could relax and have a bit of fun, but also try putting the machinery through its paces.”
He added: “We’re very lucky that East Horton Golf Club is a core part of our family business and it proved to be the perfect venue. Lots of our guests were also able to enjoy a round of golf as part of the day – a perfect mix of business and pleasure. We can all sit at our desks sending emails and making phone calls, but ultimately, we want the end user to get their hands on this equipment and see just how good it is.”
Manufacturers showcasing their wares included Aspen, DeWalt, ECHO Robotics, Gambetti Amenity & Golf, INFINICUT, ISEKI, Jacobsen, Ransomes, Raymo, RovMo, Stogger and Wessex International.
Bastian added: “The Open Day was such a huge success that we’re already looking forward to doing it again next year – but bigger and better. The whole environment had a lovely vibe about it. We’ve had great support from our manufacturers and our customers have turned out in force.”
Commenting on the appeal of attending the Open Day, John Clifford, Regional Sales Manager at ISEKI UK & Ireland, commented: “Holding the event at East Horton, where you’ve got grass and greens and turf meant potential customers could go out there and try a machine for themselves, whilst we could be on hand to give them some instruction on how to use it. We’ve got leads that we can follow up on, so it’s been a very successful day.”
Alan Jack, Sales Manager, INFINICUT, added: “It just shows you what level of business Wildwood Machinery is – all the staff are here, all the mechanics are here. And for me, it doesn’t matter what you’re selling, sales is all about people and James and his team has shown the importance of that today.”
The next major event for Wildwood Machinery is the opening of a purpose-built new showroom and headquarters on the East Horton site, scheduled for later this year.