Grethe Bestbier
A veteran of the PVC industry, Peter Ker-Fox sold his first PVC pipe in the 1990s. Since then he has played major sales and marketing roles in some of the industry’s best-known suppliers of PVC, HDPE, flexible hose and other piping solutions. In January 2022 he joined the Agrico team to help it serve a broader market.
His experience in plastic products and solutions will prove valuable to customers of Agrico, believes Agrico managing director Walter Andrag.
“Peter knows almost everyone in the industry. He has built a career out of making sure that the needs of his customers are met. I look forward to working with him to help Agrico create more value for customers,” says Walter.
Agrico currently produces and sells more than 2 000 km of PVC pipe per year, and its PVC factory in Bellville has spare capacity to produce more.
“From an economies of scale perspective, if you look at our stock holding currently and the market that we are servicing, our branches are mainly serving end-customers in the agricultural market,” says Peter.
According to Peter, entering other sectors beyond the irrigation sector is critical to fully leveraging the capabilities of the plant.
“At the end of the day, it’s a question of growth. Agrico is seen as an irrigation company, but its products can also serve other markets. We are well-positioned to serve markets such as the industrial and civil markets on top of the irrigation market.”
In pursuit of better addressing the needs of these markets, two strategic changes have already been made: Agrico PVC pipes have undergone a colour change to the industry-standard blue, and are now certified by South African Technical Auditing Services (SATAS) to comply with the respective SANS-standards.
Another step towards serving more customers will be offering Agrico pipes to other irrigation firms. It is necessary to explore ways in which Agrico can create value for irrigation customers and dealers, also when the end-customer is not doing business with an Agrico branch.
“I want to open up the playing field. I don’t want Agrico to lose the opportunity of supplying these firms, purely because an end-customer chooses not to do business with an Agrico branch,” he explains. “A farmer doing business with another irrigation supplier should still have access to high-quality well-priced PVC pipe.”
A major challenge, Peter says, will be to win the trust of these irrigation resellers. Beyond price, service and relationships are also critical, Peter believes.
“We understand that Agrico can only service a small part of the irrigation market directly. There’s a lot to be gained by also serving other irrigation firms, and we need to earn their trust and support.”
“I’ve spent 20 odd years building relationships with a lot of independent irrigation design companies, civil contractors and civil merchants, and I think my success has come from being honest and truthful in a very trying market where everyone’s trying to win orders.”
In samewerking met Agrico-kundiges is dit nou vir Carl en Cawood Crous moontlik om water met sonkrag van rivier na dam te pomp, en met behulp van gravitasie na hul spilpunte te vervoer.
Elke druppel water wat op die plase Kromvlei en Vrede, in die distrik Piketberg gebruik word, tel. As deel van die Karsten-groep se boerdery, word watertoediening op beide plase wetenskaplik en met deeglike beplanning aangepak. Hul vennoot in dié proses, is Agrico.
Wanneer ’n bielie van ’n implement deur die grond sny soos ’n warm mes deur botter, kan dit enige boer se hart vinniger laat klop. Hierdie implement is die Agrico T1250-skeurploeg, wat gedurende die Hoopstad Groentoer aan boere gedemonstreer is.
Van pasraam tot plaasgereed: ontdek hoe Agrico se HSD’s in Suid-Afrika vervaardig word met plaaslike vakmanskap, gevorderde tegnologie en deeglike toetsing. Elke implement begin as ’n idee, word in detail ontwerp, vervaardig van kwaliteit staal, en saamgestel om optimale prestasie en duursaamheid te verseker. Agrico se plaaslike ingenieurs verstaan die uitdagings van Afrika-plase, wat beteken dat elke HSD nie net robuust en betroubaar is nie, maar ook die trots van plaaslike vervaardiging dra.
Choosing the right centre pivot is about more than just moving water. It’s about finding a system that fits your land, your crops and the realities of farming conditions. The Agrico G3 centre pivot was developed with exactly this in mind. Let’s unpack the system feature by feature, showing how flexibility and strength come together to form a reliable irrigation solution.
Terwyl drupbesproeiing ’n gewilde opsie vir sitrusboerderye is, is die regte besproeiingstelsel die een wat vir die spesifieke boer wérk. Vir die Endulini-boerdery van Pietie Ferreira in die Gamtoosvallei en die Sondagsriviervallei is die bestuurspraktyke wat met mikrobesproeiing gepaard gaan, die wenresep.
