General

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW Highlighting best practice

The Rivard Hydro excavator, a market

largely in charge of its own future and building on the value of its brand name. Most of these companies already have a great start in this respect and are well known in their countries and regions by the farm communities and local governments that make up their customers. Each company also retains its own management team, sales operation, marketing and design so that we can fully differentiate one product line from another. Most unusually perhaps, companies making similar products sometimes compete fiercely with sister companies. Through this we drive competitive innovation and offer customers the widest choice of specifications and features. This approach also works because each company has developed its own strengths, whether to do with its geographical customer base or its position within a market. Only the purchasing and corporate finance departments are centralised, alongside a small part of the manufacturing operation. One of the major gains from these acquisitions has been an increased distribution exposure within both our home and export markets. As a result, we now have a dealer and

distribution network which extends to thousands of outlets. As we channel a growing volume of sales through our manufacturing units, we can produce economies of scale that enable us to keep our factories busy.

leader in the provision of non-destructive digging – a simple and very reliable design

In reflection

Our progress to date is the result of energy and determination, a skilled and committed workforce and a constant push to develop new and better machines that will serve an evolving market. We will continue to grow through acquisition, but we will also build on the organic growth driven by the farming and governmental sectors where environmental management of the countryside is increasingly emphasised. Our current product range, across all companies, displays our global leadership and demonstrates our extensive capabilities. Through the ingenuity of our in-house research and development teams, and by working with universities that specialise in areas such as precision farming, we will continue our leadership and create products to meet the demands of the next generation and beyond.

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We now have a dealer and distribution network which extends to thousands of outlets

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22 | ALAMO GROUP