Haddy agricultural store and contracting business is a family-run outfit established 25 years ago by Jon Haddy.
As the business grew Jon’s wife and children got involved in running the business, which has gone from strength to strength, now employing six people.
Jon’s wife Ness and daughter Harriet look after the shop, which they opened a year ago. Sons Will and Tom look after the contracting side of the business. Employee James works in the workshop.
When the business decided to expand it turned to Hydroscand to purchase a crimping machine that gave them the ability to create their own hose assemblies on-site and provide an extra service to its customers.
The Branch Technician from Hydroscand in Plymouth travelled down to Jon Haddy in East Allington, Torquay, to provide on-site training in how to create hose assemblies correctly. There are now three people in the business who are able to create hose assemblies for Haddy’s customers.
“All the guys at Hydroscand are really great. I can’t get over the support and enthusiasm from Hydroscand. You don’t find that from many companies these days. It’s something to be proud of.” said Harriet.
Customers travel from up to 15 miles away to have their hose repaired at the shop and sometimes James will go out to a customer and repair a hose on-site.
Harriet – What harvest time means to me
Harvest time is definitely one of the biggest challenges for our industry. It’s a time that’s stressful, enjoyable and rewarding in equal measures.
The tractor drivers start work at 7am and we pray the weather stays on our side. If it rains they will use that time to check their machinery for faults, so within a five-minute window the shop could be extremely busy with drivers who have popped in for a quick hose repair.
There are up to 10 tractor drivers operating the machinery and while it’s dry they will work through the night to get everything, taking a short break for lunch. In the late evening, myself and Mum will take out dinner to the ones who are still working.
In the contracting side of the business my brothers are busy from 7-7:30 moving machinery around, then at 8am it’s peaceful – a stark comparison to winter-time when they are around all day.
When everything’s going well everyone loves it. It’s quite common to see someone walk into the shop covered in oil with a hose in their hand – then you know they’re having a bad day. There are often breakdowns, but everybody pulls together to get the job done.
Harvest time is a lovely time of year and it’s looked forward to and semi-dreaded at the same time. Once the wheels start turning it’s very rewarding to provide a service that keeps machinery moving.
During the pandemic, people have honoured the NHS for keeping going, but most people haven’t thought about the agriculture industry which also has to keep going. We’re really proud to be doing work that feeds the growing nation.