ANDY Wilson is settling into his new role as group construction sales manager at HRN Tractors after ending a 17-year association with Molson Young Plant Sales.
HRN was appointed a full-line Kubota construction equipment dealer in Scotland last year, with its sister company Agritrac having already landed the Hyundai dealership north of the border.
Andy has been selling Kubota models at Young for the past nine years and was keen to stay involved with the brand to capitalise on his vast experience of the machines and bring continuity for customers who have been loyal to Kubota for a number of years.
“I started on January 11,” Andy told Project Plant. “I’ve been selling Kubota for so long and been on the road for the last nine years doing exceptionally well with it. I’ve also sold Hyundai machines in the past, so I’ve got product knowledge of both brands.
“When Kubota said they were moving (dealerships), I had to make a big decision. HRN is a company with big ideas and intentions. They’ve been a successful agricultural dealer for a long time and I hope to help them on the construction side. I’d certainly like to think we can add more major brands to the portfolio too.”
The move reunites Andy with a number of former Young Plant colleagues, including sales manager Leigh Dalgleish and construction coordinator Olive Kerr. “Having familiar faces around the place has definitely been a help,” Andy added. “I worked with Leigh for five years and Olive for 17 years. There are also mechanics and a parts guy who I’ve worked with before. We all know each other well and know how we work together. Between seven of us, we have 149 years’ experience.”
Andy initially joined Young Plant in 2004 as a parts assistant before working his way up the ranks. He joined the sales team in 2012 and in recent years has been selling over 120 Kubota excavators annually. Reflecting on his time at the Doune-headquartered businesses, he said he leaves with a lot of happy memories.
“There are so many,” he said. “Working with Brian (Young) and Bob (Lyttle) and some of the jokes and laughs we had. Brian’s mother was a character and a half. A lot of people had been there a long time. We worked hard and we played hard.”
Another former Molson Young employee, Kris McWalter, has also joined HRN as construction sales representative for the north of Scotland. He worked in the agricultural parts industry for a decade before moving into the field of construction sales.
