Kverneland’s plough guru Alan Jones is taking a well-earned early retirement after 31 years with the company. Although it’s not the last we’ve seen of him – he will continue to be involved with the company in a consultancy role, and will attend key shows throughout 2012.
Alan’s journey through farming started long before he joined Kverneland. In the late 1960s he worked for an agricultural dealership in Shropshire as a workshop fitter, shortly after leaving school.
Four years later, he went to Rycotewood Agricultural College to gain a City & Guilds certificate in agricultural engineering, which enabled him to join Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies in Ipswich, where he became a technical service engineer and product specialist with the company.
In 1980, he joined Kverneland UK as assistant service manager, becoming service manager in 1984. In the years that followed, Alan has enjoyed several roles with Kverneland, including product support manager before taking on the role of product manager in 1998 for ploughs and cultivation.
Alan’s passion for all-things plough-based has seen him produce a guide to Ploughing, offering advice and guidance on how to correctly set up a plough. Copies of the guide are still available from Kverneland UK.
Last autumn, Alan was presented with the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award for the Land-based Industry and he has maintained an active role with the Society of Ploughmen, of which he is currently chairman.
The role of product manager for ploughs and cultivation now falls into the capable hands of 38-year old Adam Burt, who has worked alongside Alan over the last 12 months in a transitional period leading up to the 2012 change-over.
A farmer’s son from Norfolk, Adam trained and qualified as an agricultural engineer and spent 14 years with Evergreen Tractors. After a two-year spell with auction firm Cheffins, he joined Kverneland in 2004 as product support engineer before moving up to key account manager in 2005.
