Student organises 4-day dealership event on campus

Posted 14 April 2014

Placement year can often prove a challenge for students, as Freddy Holland found out when he was asked to organise a four-day training event at Harper Adams on behalf of his employers.

After investigating various locations to host the event, agricultural machinery manufacturers, New Holland, chose the university in Shropshire and turned to Freddy for his knowledge of the site and staff contacts.

Thanks to weeks of hard work, he was able to successfully organise the BlueStock event – attracting around 150 salesmen from New Holland dealerships across the UK and Ireland.

The BSc (Hons) Off Road Vehicle Design with Marketing and Management student from Bridgnorth, said: “As I’m a student at Harper Adams and that was one of the proposed locations, I was asked to give the team a tour of the campus and showcase the facilities available, such as the soil hall and teaching classrooms.

“It was then a case of liaising with the staff at the university to organise the room bookings, arrange accommodation for the delegates, and ensure that all of the right machines would be there and that the relevant insurance covered the event.

“It has been a daunting task and a challenge, but it’s great to look back and know that the salesmen that have attended the event had the chance both to benefit of the New Holland Product Specialists’ knowledge, and to gain hands-on experience of all the machines – the two key tools to be the best specialised salesmen.

“Working for New Holland has been a great experience as they have always treated me as an employee and not as a student. I have gained a lot of event management skills through organising the event.”

Freddy’s official job title at New Holland is PLM Marketing Support, and as part of his role he had to deliver sessions on PLM (Precision Land Management) at the BlueStock event, including one-hour demonstrations.

To enable this to happen, around 20 machines were brought to the campus, allowing the salesmen to compare New Holland machines with competitors.

The 22-year-old, who is a member of the Harper Adams Off Road Club and a former Adams’ Grammar School student, added: “Throughout my placement I have been assisting dealers that sell PLM products either on the telephone or in person.

“I’ve really enjoyed it so far and know what a great opportunity it has been.”

Nicolas Ferrara, New Holland Marketing Manager UK&ROI, commented: “We are really glad Freddy had the opportunity to develop his project management skills during the planning and organisation of this important training event.

“Together with his role of PLM Marketing support, he had the chance to experience the wide range of activities that take place daily in a big multinational company. And he has done a terrific job!”

New Holland Agriculture  is a global brand of agricultural machinery  The UK&ROI headquarters are in Basildon, Essex where the high-horse power T6 and T7 tractors ranges are manufactured.