APRIL 2009

Welcome to the SM Plant website. The site is specifically designed to give our customers a real insight in to what we are trying to achieve, and access to as much information as we can possibly share. Special Offers, Used Plant & Machinery, News, Bulletins, Spec sheets etc.. for all types of excavators, telehandlers, backhoe loaders, dumpers, rollers and all other types of compact plant will all be listed and updated continuously.

The Blog is a chance for me to express some of my personal views and ideas, with customers and colleagues alike. Hopefully they will be of interest, and will stimulate feedback and discussion.

April was an interesting month for us. There is still much talk of doom and gloom, yet our sales of used equipment have been stronger than ever.

Excavators are especially busy with demand coming from both the UK and Overseas. 3/4 tonne micro diggers right up to 9 ton zero tail swing machines are in strong demand. We have attended almost all of the high profile and local auctions, looking to buy machines, but with a few notable exceptions we have been unsuccessful.

The SM Plant "No Quibble" guarantee continues to reassure customers old & new, and although it is rarely exercised, customers really do appreciate the extra reassurance

New machine sales continue to be few and far between, but as demand for machinery recovers, I feel certain that customer confidence will return and as long as the lendors stay open for business, normal service should resume in Q3. A late surge in the last week of the month saw some new Volvo excavators being retailed, and enquiry levels for mew kit at their strongest for six months.

It seems to me that confidence is the answer to the economic mess we find ourselves part. When I say confidence, I really mean trust. Can you really trust anybody these days? Most of us make promises or commitments, based in some part on the promises or commitments of others. Consequently, if you are let down, it is very difficult to keep your own promise. You let your customer, supplier or colleague down, and they will be less likely to trust you in the future. Thus the cycle begins, and once begun it is extremely difficult to regain that trust.

The nett result is that people are prepared to commit to less than ever before, and this causes a crisis in confidence. If you're not prepared to stand by something that you make, repair, hire or sell, then why should anybody support you in your endeavours?

Take the banking fraternity for example. They have for many years been the providers of cash flow in most sectors, and our own is no exception. The global system that they operated in was supposed to work on trust, and clearly that trust was misplaced. Now they manifestly trust nobody, and what`s worse they are tarring most companies, in our "sector" with the same brush as the one used by those in their industry.

Businesses that for years have used a model that has worked for them, and the banks, and for which they have paid the banks handsomely for, are being forced to completely change the model overnight. Not because the model doesn't work, because it clearly has and does. They are being forced to change it because the banks' answer to the situation is to declare that all agreements are subject to re-negotiation, at the earliest possible point and all overdraft facilities are payable on demand.

Is there any real surprise that confidence is at such a low point?

I believe in our ability to shape our own destiny. We try to do the best we can every time. Hopefully we have done it well enough and often enough over the years for people to have confidence in us.

I hope that you visit our website as often as possible. The items and information change and are updated daily, and as the month progresses, I hope to be able to update this blog regularly. Your feedback would be appreciated. Use the guestbook to comment and give feedback.

Best regards

Contact Spike