Published by Farmers Guide, August 2006.

Hard work pays off for contracting newcomers

Maybe it's the natural reserve of the British that prevents us from having an Anglicised equivalent of 'the American dream', but that's not to say that we don't have our fair share of people who - through sheer hard work and determination, and maybe just a little luck along the way - have built successful businesses.

A perfect example is Essex-based father and son team Richard and Michael Long, who, in a little more than two years, have built a thriving contracting business with blue-chip clients in the construction sector as well as a growing list of farmers and equestrian businesses calling on their services.

Based at Copford, on the south-west fringes of Colchester, the business grew from a passion the pair had for farming and farm machinery. Richard, who was a gamekeeper for 27 years on the Birch Estate - where the family still lives - before retiring in 2003 and getting involved in contracting, always had a close involvement with the farming side of the estate.

The same is true of Michael, who grew up on the estate and went to Writtle Agricultural College, where he gained both a National Certificate and First Diploma in Agriculture. After about six years working alongside his father on the Birch Estate, Michael went to work for Essex-based plant and machinery hire company Cadman as a bulldozer operator, a role he filled for a further six years before leaving in 2004 to help set up the new business.

Although it was 2004 before everything came together to get R Long & Son firmly established, the seeds of the business had been planted the previous year when Richard and Michael bought Ford 8100 for £1,500 and totally refurbished it. Money was tight at the start, but the tractor was soon picking up work and earning its keep.

"At first we got involved in grass topping and a lot of paddock work, harrowing and rolling the grass," Richard told farmers Guide. "Our attitude then was - as it is now - if we're offered work, we'll buy the equipment we need to do the job if we can make a profit from it."

With help from the Eastern Agrilink, there was a steady flow of contracting work.

"If there was anything needing to be done locally, we'd get a call from the machinery ring; and if we could do it, we would," Richard said. "There are farmers around who say that machinery rings are just a club for farmers who don't have any friends, but that's just not the case.

"It's an ideal way to match any spare capacity in machinery to work that needs to be done; and you can't ignore the savings in diesel supply that can be gained by being part of a large buying group."

Right from the start, the business plan at R Long & Son was to reinvest as much of its cashflow as possible back into the business, something that is evident from the fact that a total of 10 tractors have passed through the firm's hands in just three years.

"We buy them, make a bit of money and then trade them in for something newer," Richard said.

Of the current fleet of five tractors, four are Massey Fergusons, including two 6400-series tractors bought new and a MF6400 and 6200 model bought used. The fifth tractor, a Ford 8210 has been kept in the fleet because it is perfectly matched to the firm's high-reach hedge cutter, which remains an important part of the company's workload.

It is well worth noting that all seven of the most recent tractors that R Long & Son has bought were supplied by Thurlow Nunn Standen's Melton depot, near Woodbridge, Suffolk.

"In the early days of the business, TNS couldn't do enough to help and it's still the same today," Richard said. "The first tractor we bought from them was a Fendt 510 and our business relationship hasn't looked back through a succession of newer, and now brand new, models.

"As in any new business, it's important to find a supplier who believes in what you're doing and will do what they can to help. As well as the tractors, we have bought two bowsers, a grass topper and a set of grass harrows and rolls from TNS. And although we are their most distant customer, they're happy to come and service the tractors and other machinery when required."

If finding a good supplier in TNS was one piece of luck for the fledgling business, another was winning work on the prestigious Colchester Garrison construction project

"Michael was carrying out some work in the very earliest stages of the project when he was still with Cadman and just happened to ask the site manager if there was any tractor work available," Richard said. "That was two years ago now and we've now been working full time on the site for just about all of that time."

Tractors are extremely versatile on building projects like that at Colchester Garrison and carry out a lot of the general carrying and shifting of materials around the site, as well as pulling water bowsers for damping down the dust, washing roadways and even watering newly established plants in landscaped areas.

One tractor is fitted with a loader which can be fitted with forks or a bucket for small loading or unloading jobs, and the tractors are also used to pull the site's diesel bowsers; indeed it is almost a full-time job keeping all the plant on the project topped up with fuel.

Another piece of kit that has proved invaluable on the project is a four-tonne Komatsu bulldozer that Richard and Michael bought a little more than a year ago.

"We asked the site manager if we could try it out at Colchester Garrison and they won't let us take it away again," Richard said. "It's on constant hire here and has proved extremely flexible for landscaping work and levelling spoil heaps."

As well as Richard and Michael, the company has three other staff on the garrison job. They all work on a self-employed basis and have the required CIS tax status cards and CSCS cards that show they are qualified to operate the plant they are working with.

While Colchester Garrison provides a lot of work for R Long & Son, the firm has managed to keep its other customers happy as well by carrying out work at the evening and weekends.

This approach has allowed them to keep everyone happy and build strong relationships with both Sir Robert McAlpine and Lagan Keltbray on the Colchester Garrison project; aggregates supplier Hanson, where the company is responsible for reinstatement work; and Colchester-based landscaping company Landsure, as well as their smaller customers.

With another two years work still to go at Colchester Garrison, both Richard and Michael are confident about the immediate future, although they are also certain that they'll never get another job that's so convenient, being only a few minutes drive from where they live. As they have already had enquiries about their availability to work on the planned expansion of Stansted Airport, the pair's involvement in construction looks safe, but they are keen to expand the agricultural side as well.

"We haven't advertised in the past as we don't want to let anyone down," Richard said. "If someone calls and you can't help them, they're unlikely to ring again.

"But we're in a position now where we can take on some more of the specialist work we're good at. Our 8m-reach hedge cutter, with both a slasher head and saw blade is ideal for big hedges, while we're always on the lookout for larger landscaping projects and the construction of ponds and reservoirs."

A farm of their own

One thing driving the Richard and Michael Long more than anything else is their desire to have a farm of their own. Up until they took on the Colchester Garrison work, they always had a few cattle at home, as well as some pigs, for home consumption, but now they're keen to get into farming on a larger scale.

"We're looking for about 200 acres in the Colchester area and already have Colchester auctioneers Stanford's looking for suitable properties," Richard said. "We've both been closely involved with farming for almost all our lives and it's always been our ambition to have our own farm."

The Longs are confident they can run the contracting and farming businesses side-by-side, taking care of their own land at the weekends and in the evenings.

"We're clear that there's no point going into farming to make money, but it's something we want to do," Richard said. "We aim to set up a mixed farm with arable and livestock, where I have a few ideas I want to try out that I don't think have been looked at before."