Mole Valley: “We Help Our Farming Members And Customers Be As Productive, Profitable And Sustainable For The Future As We Can”

Farms and agricultural businesses need a wide range of products and equipment to run smoothly. From animal feed to clothing, tractor oil to fencing, and pest controls to wheelbarrows, the shopping list is long and so to have a good choice of quality products at the right price, all under one roof, is very useful. Recently, we talked to one of our customers, Michael Julian, Product Manager of Mole Valley Farmers Ltd, who have been supplying the agricultural world successfully for over 60 years.

Tell us about your business
Mole Valley Farmers was founded in 1960 by a small group of farmers in North Devon that had become disillusioned with paying over the odds for the agricultural products so set up their own buying group with the aim of helping their members improve productivity and profitability. 61 years on and this is still very much at the heart of everything we do today and our very much guided by those founding principles and core values. Over the years the business has grown to become one of the country’s leading agricultural supply businesses servicing UK agriculture and the wider rural community. We stock a vast range of products from key agricultural inputs and sundries through to equine, garden and clothing ranges (and everything in between) that really offers something for everyone!

What do you do?
My role at Mole is a Product Manager and I look after product categories including oils & lubricants, electric fencing, livestock identification, storage tanks and the livestock handling equipment, feeders and drinkers you would find in our yards. The main function of my role is the procurement for my product categories but we work closely with many other parts of the business including customer services, sales and marketing to provide our customers with the best possible service.

Tell us about your background and how you got involved?
My family have a small beef and sheep farm on the edge of Exmoor, so I have always had an interest in agriculture. After college I went to work in the automotive trade but wanted to come back to agriculture and when an opportunity came up at Mole Valley it seemed like the perfect opportunity and I joined back in 2018.

How many employees do you have?
We have around 2,000 employees working across our different sites, these include 58 retail stores, 4 feed mills, a fertiliser plant and engineering division.

Who are your customers?
We have an incredibly diverse customer base ranging from large scale, professional farmers, trade customers and contractors to pet owners and country
lifestyle shoppers. I always find it really interesting when I’m in store to look at what our customers are buying because you see such a wide range of products in trolleys!

What is your company ethos?
Our company ethos very much still revolves around the founding principles of the business and that is to help our farmer members and customers business’s to be as productive, profitable and sustainable for the future. We have a strong set of core values that show in everything we do and shape the way we interact with customers, suppliers and each other.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?
A series of very noisy and persistent alarms!

What is the best or most unique thing Mole Valley does?
I’d have to say the people. I may be slightly bias, but I think we have got a fantastic team right across the business with everyone passionate about the British countryside and our way of life, all playing their part to put our customers first. Within the business we also have a vast amount of experience and expertise which really helps us to deliver the best possible service to our customers.

Do you have any news to share with us?
Last year (2020) we celebrated out 60th year as a business. Unfortunately, COVID restrictions meant we couldn’t celebrate in the way we would have liked but I’m sure we will make up for it at some point! We are just about to relaunch our own label range of lubricants which will include a couple of new products for us. This is something that I’ve been working on with our marketing team and Witham for quite a while now and is going to be very exciting for us.

How has the last year impacted your business?
It has been challenging on a number of fronts, from the front-end staff having to quickly adapt to COVID restrictions to supply challenges and different ways of working but overall we have come through these challenges and ultimately they have made us a stronger and more resilient team. As a key supplier we kept all our stores open during the pandemic which I think was really appreciated by our customers and offered them reassurances that we were still able to supply and support them.

What are your biggest challenges at the moment?
At the moment supply would be our biggest challenge in a lot of product areas. We work very closely with our supplies and have great relationships with them to be able to limit any disruption to our customers.

What are your plans for the business in the future?
We’ll keep doing our best for UK agriculture and are always looking for innovation and better ways of doing things. We have some exciting new products coming through. As a business we are investing in our sites and brand which is great to see and will bring real benefits for our customers.

Who is your inspiration in the business world?
Nigel from Witham is probably my biggest inspiration… Seriously though, we’ve been working with Witham for over 7 years now and it’s been a real success story for us. Witham manufacture our own label products which includes agricultural, hydraulic and engine oils, coolants, greases and horticultural products. We’ve also recently started stocking their hand cleaners. The products they supply are great quality and the back up and supply has been fantastic. Honesty is something I value very highly from our suppliers. Reliability and good service would also be important along with good quality products of course.

Over the years we have built a great working relationship up with Witham and they have always done their best by us which counts for a lot. We get great service and nothing is ever too much trouble. Of course the product range and value come in to it as well.

To read more about our long history working with the agricultural sector, the support we offer and our product ranges, please click here.