Introducing Courtney Lucas ... from Devon, UK to Warragul

Courtney Lucas is new to Gendore Tractors and Machinery Warragul, but he’s certainly not new to the agricultural machinery industry.

Courtney was born and bred on a dairy farm in Devon, South West England. Although his parents sold their dairy herd in the year 2000, Courtney always knew he wanted to remain employed in the agricultural industry.

He trained as an agricultural engineer at Bicton College, Devon and then spent his early working years at Bateman Sprayers performing fabrication, rebuilds, warranty repairs and was mainly involved in the manufacturing of machinery.

Courtney’s career then saw him work on a farm in England where he performed a wide variety of tasks.

In early 2000 he came to Australia for 12 months to work on a sheep and wheat farm near Donald in Victoria’s Western District.

Courtney enjoyed the experience greatly and this change of scenery would remain on his mind when a future opportunity arose.

Courtney returned to Devon, England and took up employment with the local New Holland dealer Andrew Symons Ltd. Devon is a mixed farming region consisting mainly of dairy, beef, sheep and cropping farms.

Courtney worked in the parts department at the company for 5 years and in that time the number of mechanics increased from 2 to 5. The company was growing rapidly.

In 2006 he moved into the sales department at the company. He sold New Holland tractors and balers as well as Kverneland, McHale and Fleming product.

Courtney said there are many similarities between farms in Devon and those in Gippsland, and also some differences.

“The farms in Devon are highly intensive, dairy cattle are often confined to sheds and farmers may take 3-4 cuts of grass each year. The weather challenge in Devon is not the hot and dry but it’s the wet and cold – too much rain is the big enemy there. Having said that the tractors and machinery used in Devon are very similar to those used by farmers here”, said Courtney.

In early 2018, and with his earlier Australian experience on his mind, Courtney, his wife Pippa and their 2 children made the decision to move from Devon to Drouin to allow him to take up a sales role with Gendore Tractors and Machinery, Warragul.

Courtney said “I was looking for a new opportunity and a new challenge when I saw the role in Warragul advertised. My wife and children were initially shocked, but always supportive when we decided to make the move. The role at Gendore appealed to me because it’s a family owned company, it sells the products that I have experience with and I see huge potential in the area. Gippsland appealed to me due to the variety of agriculture here – there’s everything from dairy farms to veggie growers.

“Since arriving I’ve been warmly welcomed by the Gendore team and the customers are open, honest and happy to speak to me. I really look forward to building new relationships in an area where the dealership is still quite new”, said Courtney.

Courtney’s experience allows him to sell the customer the right product for their purpose, not necessarily the product they first ask for. Courtney said “the New Holland product’s range, reliability and performance is as strong as it’s ever been”.

Gendore Tractors and Machinery general manager Tim Burgess said “I am stoked to have Courtney working with us in Warragul. To have someone with his experience is so valuable to us and our customers. New Holland builds some of its larger range of tractors including the T6 and T7 Series in Basildon, England. Its just down the road from where Courtney grew up and worked. He’s toured the plant many times and knows the product inside and out. I can see Courtney also assisting with training our staff in aspects of the product” said Tim.

Call into Gendore Tractors and Machinery in Warragul at 180 Queen Street and say g’day to Courtney.