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WHEN most children ask their parents whether they can have a bike for Christmas or their birthday, it is with a view to cycling around the Island, catching up with friends and enjoying some independence.
And this is probably what Rob Romeril’s father was expecting his son to do when he received just such a gift. Rob, however, had other ideas.
“My father bought me a pushbike when I was about 12 years old,” reflected the managing director of Tractor Services. “I stripped it down to see how it worked and then started on the somewhat trickier job of putting it back together.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the way things work,” Rob added. “When I was a child, I was always asking how something worked. After dismantling the pushbike, I then spent many of my teenage years stripping car engines, always with a view to answering the same question.”
But while mechanics had always been a source of fascination, Rob’s entry into the world of tractors was not planned.
“I left school in 1973, just after dad had founded Tractor Services and taken on the Massey Ferguson franchise for the Island. I spent my first six months after leaving school working in my father’s haulage business, then six months in Tractor Services’ parts department. The initial idea was that I would do a six-month apprenticeship to see whether I liked the job. Fifty years later, I’m still here and still trying to decide,” Rob laughed.
And while Rob is now the business’s managing director, running the firm alongside his wife, Sharon, he is still just as likely to be found kitted out in a pair of overalls “dismantling” a tractor in the workshop, as he is to be behind his desk in the office.
“I still love getting stuck in and getting my hands dirty,” he smiled, although he was quick to admit that the style of work had changed significantly since Tractor Services’ early days.
“In the early 70s, we were selling the Massey Ferguson 135, which had a 45-horsepower engine,” Rob said. “I remember when the MF165, with 68 horsepower, came out, and a lot of the farmers found it too big and heavy for their land. Those were in the days when Jersey had around 1,000 farms, many of which were smallholdings with a dozen or so cows. The industry has changed a lot over the past five decades.”
And it is not just agriculture which has changed. While Massey Ferguson remains the company’s main franchise, the seven-strong team will service and provide parts for any tractors, and the business has also expanded to include a retail area and a range of other equipment.
“As well as tractors, we stock Ifor Williams trailers and Bomford, Wessex and Fleming equipment,” said Rob.
“We also have a comprehensive range of batteries and lubricants for cars, so any-one can pop in and get what they need.”
Of course, the tractors which the team supply and service have also evolved significantly from the models of 50 years ago.
“While the size of vehicle increased during the 70s, most of the tractors were still two-wheel drive. The four-wheel-drive versions didn’t really take over until the 80s,” said Rob. “The cabs have also improved dramatically. Cabs used to be added by after-market suppliers, whereas now they are an integral part of the tractor and come with so many features, such as cab suspension, axle suspension and air-conditioning, which make them much more comfortable to operate.
“The operating systems have also changed, with Massey being one of the first manufacturers, in the 80s, to introduce electronic linkage hydraulics. Nowadays, that’s industry standard, with computers controlling many areas of operation, including engine-emission technology, which is currently at tier five.
“Now we diagnose problems by plugging in laptops and use laptops to update the many ECUs [engine control units] fitted today,” added Rob, highlighting the work of senior technician Nigel Le Cornu, technician and “diagnostic leader” Frank Quenault and apprentice technician Emile Blampied, who joined the business two years ago.
Together with parts adviser Paul Moitie and parts assistant Marc Romano, the Tractor Services team are committed to maintaining and repairing tractors, as well as supplying new and second-hand tractors into the Island.
“It’s great to have built up such a great team who share my desire to provide excellent service and value for money,” said Rob. “I would also like to mention and thank our extremely loyal customers, many of whom have been with us throughout our 50-plus-year journey.”
