Bobcat has appointed A&M Group, with headquarters in Bridgend, as the company’s new Authorised Dealer for South, West and Mid Wales. The company is now responsible for sales and service in the region for the entire Bobcat range of loaders, mini-excavators, telehandlers, light compaction and attachments.
Newport-based Border Bobcat, the previous dealer for the area, is now specialising in the Bobcat skid-steer, compact track, compact wheel and small articulated loader ranges for the counties of Powys and Gwent.
Bobcat’s district manager for the UK South area, Andrew Wolton, said he was delighted to confirm A&M Group as the new full line Bobcat Authorised Dealer for the area.
“I look forward to working closely with A&M Group and we’re confident that they’ll be as successful as a full-liner for the entire Bobcat range as they have been selling the Bobcat agricultural telehandler range in Wales during the past few years,” he added.
As part of developments in taking on the Bobcat dealership, A&M Group has purchased two plots on the Brackla Industrial Estate at Bridgend, one of which will form the location for the company’s new headquarters. The new facilities complement the existing operations at St Clears in Carmarthenshire, from where A&M Group serves the West of Wales.
The business manager at A&M Group, James Atherton, said he was pleased to be appointed as the full dealer for Bobcat in South, West and Mid Wales.
“We intend to build on the substantial success we’ve had with the Bobcat agricultural telehandler range in our area,” he added. “In 2021 alone, we sold more than 60 new Bobcat telehandlers to farmers across the region, converting many of them to the Bobcat brand for the first time.
“Our extensive experience in the construction market will be key in meeting our goals. To support the new dealership, we’re making substantial investments in our premises at Bridgend, including the construction of our new headquarters building. To meet demand from the growing construction market and other industries in this part of Wales, we have initially ordered more than 210 new Bobcat machines.”
A&M Group is a family business founded in 1986 by Mark Atherton and his business partner Ralph Morris. Trading originally as A&M Engineering and first operating out of premises at Lower Lamphey, in Pembrokeshire, the growth of the business led to the company building new facilities at St Clears in 2006. The company changed its name to A&M Group in 2019 when the new partnership was formed between Mark Atherton and his two sons, James and Josh.
The business development side is run by James, while Josh runs the sales side. Mr Atherton has a third son, Jack, who’s currently doing an engineering course at Harper Adams University and is looking forward to joining the business in 2024.
Although agriculture has always been the primary business, A&M Group has powered growth by adding additional products and services to the business for other sectors such as construction, groundscare, online retailing and finance.
“The number of employees at A&M Group has grown year-on-year and we continue to look to build our team and improve our services,” James Atherton said. “We’ve demonstrated time and again that we can convert our large customer base to the brands we represent. We’re aiming to achieve the same for the Bobcat brand to match our success with the agricultural telehandlers.”
