LEADING dealer Rickerby made history in more ways than one when it hosted its Spring Show, for it was celebrating its 140th anniversary and 19th annual spring show, with more than 70 exhibitors under one roof.

Thousands beat a path to Carlisle for the show at Rickerby’s Currock Road branch.

On show were some franchises new to Rickerby this year, including the time-saving Bale Boss bedders and Claydon direct seed drills, which can be used direct onto stubble or cultivated soils.

New products on show from Claas included the latest Jaguar foragers, the 900 series tracked tractors, the new Axion tier five tractor, the wide-body Scorpion 746 telehandler range and the latest Lexion combine.

New weeders from Lemken Steketee were also on display, and trade stands from other suppliers to the sector were also at the show.

Although visitor numbers were slightly down on previous years due to weather, nearly 4,000 visitors travelled from all over the county and further afield for the two days.

Rickerby’s 140th anniversary was marked with a special-edition show magazine covering the history of the dealership down the years.

The business was founded by Joseph Rickerby, who acquired a small firm of engineers in Carlisle and set out to design, patent and manufacture his own farm machinery.

His foresight regarding the growth of mechanisation for farming proved well-founded and, over the years, the company has grown.

It now includes branches in Penrith, Hexham, Alnwick, Cornhill on Tweed, Bowburn, Carnforth, Castle Douglas and Dunbar, making it one of the largest agricultural dealerships in the UK.

There are also plans in the pipeline for a new dealership in south-west Lancashire.

To mark the anniversary, various franchises offered a selection of special-edition machines.

Martyn Henderson, Rickerby’s west sales director, said: “We are lucky enough to have a tremendous history to build upon, and we plan to continue to provide not only market-leading machinery but also the first-class service which has helped make the business such a success.

“The show is a great opportunity for people to come and speak to us, and the manufacturers, to find out more about how we can work together. And, as always, we’ve made sure there were some great bargains to be had.”

Names at the show included Claas, McConnel, Bailey, Kidd, Abbey, Bunning, Wakely, Opico, Storth, KRM, Lemken, Tanco, Kawasaki, Foster, Fleming, Schäffer, Tama, Q8, He-va, Sky, Lagan, IAE, Kramp, Tornado, Logic, Claydon, and Bargram.

Rickerby also supply used machinery and equipment from manufacturers including CLAAS, Abbey, Lemken, Bailey, McConnel, Tanco.

“All used machinery and equipment we supply is high-quality. And we make sure that every piece of used machinery we supply goes through an assessment process,” said Mr Henderson.

The first Rickerby show was held in 2002 to help revitalise the farming sector after so many in the region had experienced great hardships during the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.