2020 will certainly be a year we will all remember for some time to come as we battled with the uncertainties and difficulties which the COVID-19 pandemic threw our way. It will also be memorable for SANY as it was the year we began a new chapter in the UK & Ireland.

It started with the end of a four year relationship with TDL Equipment who were our first national dealer for the excavator range. TDL laid some strong foundations for SANY, however, it was time to move on and embark on a new strategy to achieve our ambitious growth plans.

SANY Team 

We decided to build on a new route to market with a direct sales channel in Scotland and a full new, regional, dealer network across England & Wales, whilst continuing to work with our current partner, Sleator Plant, in Ireland. 

These changes meant we had to invest and grow the UK team as prior to 2020, we only had one UK based team member; Tony Thorpe, Dealer Development Director.

Neil Tilly came onboard in January as Customer Support Manager and was closely followed by Lyle Sibbald who joined to set up the direct sales route in Scotland. Throughtout the year we added more people to the team including; Murray Allan as Field Service Engineer, Stewart Smith as a Regional Sales Manager for Scotland and Leigh Harris as Business Development Director.

At the end of 2020 our team consists of 15 members from both t he UK and China; including functions such as Product Support, Product Development, Sales & Marketing, Finance and Technical Support. We have plans to rapidly expand the team at the start of 2021 with the addition of a parts manager, workshop technicians and office management. 

Many new faces joined the team in 2020

SANY Dealers

With a new regional dealer network planned for England & Wales, Tony Thorpe, Dealer Development Director, and Leigh Harris, Business Development Director, certainly were busy signing and setting up many new dealers throughout the year. 

Truro Tractors was the first new dealer to join the family at the end of September to cover the South West of England. They were followed by Banner Equipment who joined in October to cover the North East of England. East Anglia region was then filled by Global Recycling Solutions in November.

December saw the addition of three more dealers; MSM DRH to cover the West Midlands region, C&O Tractors for the South Coast of England and Fitzgerald Plant Services for South Wales.

With more dealers to be announced in the new year, 2021 looks set to be a very exciting and busy year for SANY.

New regional dealer network across England and Wales

SANY Scotland 

From initial entry into the UK back in 2015, the SANY product has been particularly well received in Scotland with some large companies such as AB2000, Allma Construction and Malcolm Construction being early adopters of the brand.

It was, therefore, decided that SANY would embark on a direct sales and support route in this market.

Lyle Sibbald joined the team in March of this year and has been busy building a team to support the Scottish business. The end of this year will see SANY secure a depot just outside of Glasgow and there are plans to bring on many more team members for Scotland at the start of 2021. 

The mini excavator range has never reached it’s potential in Scotland over the past few years, therefore, there was a big push on this range towards the end of 2020 and the addition of Regional Sales Manager, Stewart Smith, saw some very positve results with the first SANY SY26U’s and SY50’s sold in Scotland. 

A special thanks must go to David, John and all the team at Sibbald Training who have supported the Scottish business over the past few months as we have been waiting to secure our new premises. 

It has been a busy year for the Scottish Team

2021 Plans 

SANY has some very ambitious plans for the UK & Ireland and 2021 will be another action packed year.

More dealers will be announced at the start of the year to ensure we have a full network of excellent partners covering England and Wales.

Our new depot in Scotland will be up and running in the early part of the year and will be fully stocked with parts and products to support the Scottish customer base and dealer network throughout the UK & Ireland.

The SANY team will continue to expand as we add more team members to support and grow the UK & Irish business with knowledgeable factory support personell and local industry experts.

SANY also plan to attend numerous trade shows and exhibitions in 2021 such as: Executive Hire Show in April, ScotPlant in April and Hillhead in June.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our customers, dealers and partners for their support in 2020.

Have a safe and healthy Christmas and we look forward to an exciting 2021.

The SANY UK & Ireland Team