Already present in numerous European markets including Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands, Slovenian grass kit manufacturer SIP has appointed Martin Holden as sales director of a new factory-backed sales organisation designed to increase the firm’s presence in Great Britain.

The Slovenian company has been planning strategic sales growth for some years. The process started with the recruitment on new designers to develop new and future products, and the mower and mower conditioner range has been completely revised during the past three years. SIP sales and marketing director Andrei Cosovici reckons the company is now perfectly placed to not only offer British dealers and farmers a complete range of modern and robust mowers, rakes and tedders, but also the professional contracting market.

“Our focus is to provide mowing, tedding and raking/gathering integrated solutions up to a working width of 15m,” he said. The company already offers a 15m tedder. The next machine will be a new 15m four-rotor rake. The plan is to launch it at Agritechnica in November and have it in production for the 2018 season, and we can only assume it will not be too long before the company comes with a 15m mower. Martin has spent virtually his entire career in the grass harvesting business and for many years represented the JF brand. “I have known of the SIP brand for many years but have been very surprised and encouraged by the new direction the company has taken with its products and I know they will prove to be a big surprise to the market and competitors alike,” he said. “This is the start of an exciting project and having met the company and seen first-hand the production facilities, I am absolutely confident SIP products have a strong future in Great Britain, and I am delighted to join a specialist manufacturer with a long-term ambition to take a bigger share of the European grass equipment market.”

The new organisation, which is keen to talk to dealers in Scotland, England and Wales, has a stand at Grassland & Muck next week where more information will be available on the new set-up and machines. Meath-based Farmec was appointed as the SIP distributor in Ireland last year