The planets must have been aligned on the day in 2022 that De Wet Dannhauser, Sales Manager at ALM Tractor World, called Charles Inggs to enquire about whether Bell Equipment, the South African distributor for the well-known JCB brand of yellow metal, perhaps needed an outlet that focused on agriculture.

The reason is that on that day, De Wet Dannhauser was on Charles Inggs’ list of prospective dealers to call to find out whether ALM Tractor World would be interested in being a dealer for the well-known machine brand’s agricultural division.

Charles Inggs is Bell Equipment’s Development Manager for the Forestry and Agriculture business and his huge responsibility of late is to find dealers to distribute and service the company’s agriculture-focused equipment.

ALM Tractor World was founded by three business partners in April 2015 and the first letters of their names have been used to name the Sasolburg-based agricultural equipment dealer. Louis Claassen, one of the three founding members and a leading commercial farmer, is now the sole owner. The Claassen family has farmed land in the Wolwehoek area close to present-day Sasolburg since the early 1900s. Louis has grown the farming side to also cultivate potatoes and pecan nuts in the Vaalharts area of the Northern Cape. Known for the precision farming methods that he applies, his son, Louis Claassen Jnr was recently awarded the title of Potato Seed Producer of the Year.

“As an established dealer in the agricultural space, distributing and servicing strong brands to mainly crop farmers, we’re ideally situated to serve a loyal customer base in an approximate 100km radius from Sasolburg,” De Wet tells us. “This would include the farming areas around Heilbron, Frankfort, Heidelberg, the south of Johannesburg, Parys and Vredefort.”

“Our 33 strong staff under the experienced eye of our Dealer Principal Mike Friedman, works out of large premises in Sasolburg where we have a light-filled showroom, expansive parts storage and workshops that reminds one how beneficial it is to have more than adequate workspace.”

De Wet goes on to explain that they have seven field service units that travel to service agricultural equipment on farms, and a workshop staff complement of 11.

“We had always wanted to sell a reputable brand of yellow machines that would complement our agricultural range and were delighted when Charles Inggs informed us that we had been selected as a dealer for Bell Equipment Forestry & Agriculture,” De Wet adds. “Further motivation had been provided by a colleague, Johnny Scholtz of JBJ Machinery in Schweizer-Reneke who encouraged us to try and obtain a dealership arrangement with Bell Equipment as the distributors for JCB Equipment, two companies he has high regard for.”

Ironically, soon after being appointed by Bell Equipment as a dealer, ALM Tractor World sold a JCB 3DX Pro Backhoe Loader to a customer who saw it standing in the showroom. “This we see as the start of a thrilling ride for us as we believe there are huge gaps in the agricultural equipment market that could be filled by the likes of the JCB Loadalls, Wheel Loaders and even Skid Steers,” De Wet enthuses. “As a company, we’ve moved with the times and reach our large and growing customer base with weekly marketing campaigns that we put our on several social media platforms, and we’ve enjoyed much success with the method.”

De Wet believes their company’s technical staff as well as those working in spares will all grow from the added technical training and product knowledge they look forward to receiving from Bell Equipment. The team of mechanics expects to undergo training in either Johannesburg or Richards Bay and the team in spares will learn about new products online.

“First prize for us would be to see several bright yellow JCB agricultural products standing on our showroom floor, as we believe this makes any piece of equipment that much easier to sell and, with the sound reputations of Bell Equipment and JCB so well established, we see a win-win situation for all concerned.”

Mike Friedman, Dealer Principal of ALM Tractor World.