When the pressure is on and there’s grass on the ground, good machinery is only part of the equation. Having knowledgeable local support when you need it can be just as important.
That’s why FarmShop recently brought SaMASZ Service Agents from around New Zealand together at our Kaiwaka HQ for our second dedicated SaMASZ Service Agent Day.
With 16 Dealers and Service Agents nationwide and growing, the day was about strengthening the knowledge, relationships and practical expertise around SaMASZ, bringing to life practical examples of customers, from Northland to Southland.
Service is half the sale
FarmShop has a clear goal to make SaMASZ the #1 hay mower brand in New Zealand and developing a strong nationwide service network is a big part of getting there.
As our team puts it, service is half the sale.
Our Service Agents are machinery people. Many are farmers themselves and have worked on multiple machinery brands. They understand the demands of the season and they know what it means when a machine needs attention and there’s work waiting to be done.
For SaMASZ customers, that means having someone local to call on with genuine product knowledge, backed by FarmShop’s parts and technical support.
During the season, our goal is to respond to support enquiries within an hour, wherever reasonably possible, with replacement parts following quickly when required.
The network isn’t finished yet. With 16 Service Agents currently located around the country, FarmShop is particularly looking to strengthen representation in Hawke’s Bay and Waikato as SaMASZ continues to grow.
Getting hands-on with SaMASZ
The Service Agent Day gave the network an opportunity to take a closer look at what makes SaMASZ machinery tick.
Technical training included breaking down the SaMASZ cutterbar, changing keyways and modules, along with sharing general setup and servicing techniques.
For some of the newer agents, seeing the machinery firsthand surprised them around just how heavily built SaMASZ equipment is.
The day also covered some of the features that differentiate the range from its competitors, from the construction of the cutterbar and SaMASZ’s two-year warranty through to practical features such as the folding system on the KT mower range.
It’s one thing to see these features in a brochure. It’s another to get around the machine, operate them and understand how they work.
Sharing knowledge from around the country
Importantly, the learning didn’t all come from FarmShop.
Bringing experienced agricultural machinery specialists together meant everyone had different techniques, sales experiences and servicing knowledge to contribute.
One example came from Southland Service Agent Charlie Milne of Thornlie Park, who explained how he pressure-tests every cutterbar on the used mowers he works on. It was a practical idea that quickly caught the attention of other agents in the room.
That kind of knowledge sharing is a big part of what FarmShop wants the network to become.
With 16 Service Agents, we’re not simply building a collection of service or sales points on a map. We’re creating a network where practical knowledge and experience can be shared, helping SaMASZ owners around the country get better support.
Farmers are thinking bigger
The conversations also reinforced a trend FarmShop and its Service Agents have been seeing in the market: farmers are moving towards larger mowing equipment.
As farms become bigger and operators look to cover more ground in less time, efficiency is increasingly driving machinery decisions.
One recent example is Omakau contractor Andrew Manson, who traded another brand of double mowers for a set of SaMASZ triples. After working through the numbers, the increased efficiency of the triple mower setup stacked up.
It’s a trend FarmShop expects to see continue as farmers and contractors look more closely at the cost of labour, fuel and tractor hours alongside the initial cost of machinery.
FarmFix gets put to the test
Bringing the Service Agents together was also a chance to introduce them to FarmFix, FarmShop’s AI-powered SaMASZ support tool.
The response was encouraging, with agents seeing the potential for FarmFix to make finding technical information quicker and easier, while complementing the knowledge and support available through FarmShop.
Even better, putting FarmFix in front of people who work on machinery every day helped us identify opportunities to make it even more useful.
A question about how to replace the breakaway key in a cutterbar disc module highlighted an opportunity for additional support. Our workshop team created a how-to video to help answer that real-world question.
That’s exactly how we want FarmFix to develop: around the questions farmers, contractors and Service Agents are actually asking.
Although one Service Agent may have stretched its technical capabilities a little too far. After being impressed with FarmFix’s answer about replacing the breakaway key on a Friday night, he proceeded to ask it what beer his customer liked!
Some questions are still best left to first-hand knowledge, but give the tool a go yourself – it’s great to test it against your own SaMASZ kit, try it here: FARMFIX.
Local support when it matters
With another hay season approaching, FarmShop is continuing to invest in the people, parts, technology and knowledge supporting SaMASZ machinery around New Zealand.
Our Service Agent network is already 16 strong, and we’re not stopping there.
Because becoming New Zealand’s leading hay mower brand isn’t simply about putting more mowers into paddocks. It’s about making sure the people running them have expert support behind them when they need it.
We’re looking forward to the next catch up!