Britains last plough maker to stop

By FWi staff

DOWDESWELL Engineering, Britains sole plough manufacturer, plans to stop making farm implements once a production run for this autumns sales season has been completed.

It intends to continue producing parts.

The Warwickshire-based firm closed its Norfolk subsidiary earlier this year to stem losses and hoped that concentrating on its core non-powered implement product lines would help turn things around.

“But with the current state of the market, which has been made worse by the foot-and-mouth crisis, we have reluctantly concluded that we dont have the resources to continue manufacturing,” says managing director Tim Dowdeswell.

Dowdeswell Engineering grew into the UKs biggest implement maker during the mid-1990s, but turnover of 12 million in 1998 has slumped to less than half that figure.

“The UK plough market has fallen from 2500 to less than 900 units a year as minimum tillage techniques have become more popular and farms have amalgamated or shared equipment,” says Mr Dowdeswell.