We are celebrating our tenth birthday this year, but for a company so young, we have certainly packed plenty in – and plan to do more of the same in the years to come.
Founded in Wisbech in 2009 by Darren and Belinda Smith, who between them have almost 50 years of experience in the agricultural machine industry, we have become market leaders in developing and manufacturing our own automated weighing, bagging, placing and palletising machinery.
Customer satisfaction and reliable after-sales service are at the core of everything we do. All staff, at all levels, are trained to fully understand every aspect of our machines, so whoever customers speak to, they can be sure that they are talking to someone who knows exactly what they are talking about.
“Darren has years of experience as a service engineer and I spent a long time working for my family’s vegetable supply service, so between us, we know all about the requirements and challenges of serving this sector,” said Belinda, our finance director.
“Initially we were supplying support services for other companies’ machines, but we realized it made a lot more sense, and allowed us to provide the best support possible, if we made the equipment ourselves. That means we know it better so can give better satisfaction to customers. So far that’s been a recipe for growth and success.”
To say nothing of awards, too - Agrimech came out on top in the manufacturing services category at the 2017 Manufacturing MX industry awards, honouring the best in British manufacturing, and in 2018 we picked up another MMX award, for the most Progressive SME, and also won the achieving customer value award at the 2018 Processing and Packaging Machinery Association.
“Those awards have been a huge thumbs up from the industry for the way we’ve been doing things and the decisions we’ve taken over the last few years,” said Belinda. “We’re very proud to see our peers recognise the work everyone’s put in and effort they’ve made, but we certainly don’t take things for granted, Having set standards so high, we know that people who come to us expect the best, so that motivates us to ensure that they get it.”
At Agrimech, the level of insight and expertise that all staff members have relating to the products means that whoever customers talk to, they are talking to an expert. It is this level of quality service that has helped us win awards and establish our name, and is the primary motivator of everything we do – even ahead of profitability.
“Our approach is ‘service before sales’, says Belinda. “We’re proud of the machines we make, and no-one understands them like we do or can provide the support that we do. We’d rather take longer to get the job entirely right, than do it more quickly and fit more jobs in. That kind of dedication is the approach that earns you customer respect, trust and repeat business.”
With Wisbech being in the Cambridge fens, there is plenty of local agricultural industry nearby for us to support – and we try to keep things local beyond that, by keeping as much of the supply chain as possible close to home.
“Being part of the local community is important to us, and so is helping preserve and support our local environment, so whenever possible, we try to source parts locally, for ecological reasons and also to play our role in the Wisbech area,” said Belinda.
“We’re proud of being a local business success story, and of having a supportive family environment for our workers, and of being a company that our customers know they can trust – but we also want to be seen as good neighbours by those who maybe don’t have that same type of interaction with us.”
And whilst we may remain loyal to our local and family roots, as far as the future is concerned, Agrimech is looking onwardsand upwards.
“We’ve just launched our new product, the Hydra, which is a multi-headed weighing device, and the first one made in this country,” she said.
“This is a new product for our staff to get to know, and a new product for our customers to benefit from. Over the last 10 years a lot of people have put a lot of hard work into getting Agrimech to where we are now, and with quality products like this, we can help the company to continue to grow and strengthen. If we can do that, our customers and our local community will be the ones to benefit – and that’s how we like it.”
