Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
John Deere Southern Africa celebrated its best sales year in four decades at the John Deere 2023 Awards Ceremony, which took place recently at Kievits Kroon in Gauteng. Lucas Groenewald, the divisional sales manager of John Deere Southern Africa, announced this remarkable achievement at the event.
With its partners, the multinational company achieved remarkable sales of 2 360 tractors in the year. The 5075E Family Utility Tractor also maintained its position as the market leader. Groenewald added that they sold 213 combine harvesters, a record number for John Deere in this market.
Hentie Breedt, John Deere’s marketing and communications manager in Africa and the Middle East, received one of the most prestigious awards for the evening, namely the Jackie Pretorius Extra Mile Award for exceptional service.
Read more about last year’s awards here.
Dealer of the Year
The night’s highest honour went to AFGRI North, which was named John Deere’s top Dealer of the Year: Multiple Dealer Outlet 2023. JD Implemente (JDI) and GWK followed in second and third place respectively. Swazi Trac received the award for the Dealer of the Year: Single Dealer Outlet 2023 within South Africa. For dealerships outside South Africa, Tata Zambia took the prize as the Dealer of the Year 2023.
Top sales specialists
The country’s top salesperson of large agricultural products was André Botha of GWK Douglas. He was followed by Paul Jansen van Rensburg of AFGRI Bethal, who came second. The third place went to Arnold Jordaan of JDI in Bredasdorp. Jacob van Niekerk (AFGRI Piketberg) and Nicolaas Strydom (JDI Riversdal) were fourth and fifth respectively.
Paul Jansen van Rensburg from AFGRI Bethal was the small agricultural machinery expert of the year. He was followed by Emile Tomlinson from JDI in Swellendam, who came second. The third place went to Nelis van Heerden from Senwes in Aliwal North. Jacob van Niekerk from AFGRI in Piketberg and Nicolaas Strydom from JDI Riversdal were fourth and fifth respectively.
The top honours for John Deere’s extended warranty, known as PowerGard Protection Plan, went to Kwek Dietrichsen from Senwes in Hoopstad. He was followed by Theunis Verster from AFGRI Bethlehem, who came second. The third place went to Philip Human from AFGRI Standerton. Johan Botha from AFGRI Middelburg and Paul Jansen van Rensburg from AFGRI in Bethal were fourth and fifth respectively.
Top Agricultural Technicians
The year’s top technicians for John Deere were Ruan Kriel, Stephan de Klerk, Izak de Lane, Waldo van der Walt and Christo Dawson, in that order. The best agricultural workshop for the year was AFGRI Harrismith, with Senwes Parys and AFGRI Bethlehem coming second and third respectively. Armand Botha from Mascor in Nelspruit was the top construction and forestry technician for the year, and AFGRI Middelburg won the award for the best construction and forestry workshop for 2023.
Finance specialists of the year
The specialist of the year for John Deere Finance was Marthie Botha from Mpumalanga, who covers the regions of Bethal, Standerton, Grootvlei, Piet Retief and Ermelo. She was followed by Willem Roets from the eastern Free state, who serves the AFGRI branches in Bethlehem, Frankfort, Marquard, and Harrismith. The third place went to Armand Denoon from Northwest. Karen Jordaan won the award for compiling the most contracts for the year, known as SSC-contracts. Zandile Madalane was the John Deere Business Analyst of the Year, and Karen Jordaan also received the SSC-award for compiling nearly 600 contracts over the past year.
Aftermarket service
Morne Cloete from AFGRI North in Polokwane received the award for the Parts Expert of the Year 2023. Abraham Mouton of AFGRI South in Caledon came in second, followed by Magda Wallace of AFGRI North in Bethlehem, Gregory Makenna of Senwes in Petrusburg and MG Labuschagne from AFGRI North in Ermelo.
AFGRI North in Lydenburg was announced as the top Parts Sales Branch of the Year 2023. – Susan Marais, Plaas Media
